Now hear this

Ears come to my attentions more these days because with buzz hair cuts on men and pony tails on women, ears are in the open and more visible. The bell shape is visible from the front. A trumpet for guiding noise. I thought that was why humans have them. Scientists have shown something entirely different. The outer appendage we call our ear has very little to do with our hearing. The blob of skin on the sides of our heads is a hold over that evolution simply left there. Does evolution ever undo something useless? No. Evolution simply marches on over and around whatever was brought forth.
However ears are very critical to our four legged relatives. Predators must hear their dinner. Prey must hear their stalkers. Really a matter of life or death. Well ears are quite important to people also. For conversation. That is if a speaker wants to have attentive listeners. And especially if the listeners want to hear what is spoken. So I will not discount the importance of ears.
But do you know that the blob of skin varies more from one individual to another than do noses? At least I think they do. Sitting behind short hairdos makes ear-study one of scientific revelations. What a variety of variations! The two ears on one individual can vary making it impossible to identify a person if you have only the ears. Good thing that part is not used in mug shots. Maybe that’s the reason mug shots require a profile shot. Interesting. Many so called scientific studies claim such generalities as a certain type of earlobe indicates impending heart attacks. Does piercing prevent plaque buildup in arteries? I think not. The reason ears are pierced is because they are a perfect place on which to hang ornaments.
Naomi Sherer