Do the Math - Cicadas Did
Magicicada: Wikipedia/Bruce Marlin Although I am reluctant to bug you with this, but it is about time for the 17-year periodic " Magicicada " to appear. Would you like to hear them? Good. After 17 years and when the temperature is 64 degrees Fahrenheit, they burrow up from the ground in huge numbers to wreak vengeance upon the living. All right, so the part about vengeance is exaggerated, but it does sound like a kind of science fiction or horror movie device, what with waiting for the right time, temperature and all. It is eminently logical to see that they are the product of a Master Designer, but people foolishly give undue credit to evolution. Entomologists study insects and spiders. They regularly discover examples of mathematical genius hardwired into various tiny-brained arthropods. And as young students know all too well, math doesn't come easy. Science writer Seth Borenstein recently wrote an AP article describing why residents of the