Scientists have finally discovered why zebras have stripes. Unfortunately the paper is behind a paywall, so here’s a good article describing the findings. The basics are this: the range of striped equids (the horse family) overlaps with where biting flies are most active—regardless of species and where the stripes occur on the body. So the stripes aren’t for camouflage, social interaction or even to reduce body temperature. The stripes have to do with the biting flies!

Now obviously this discovery isn’t ground-breaking or universe shaking, but 50 years from now, who knows how it’ll be utilized. But for me, that’s not why I like this study. This study unearthed new information, a question was asked and the solution found using the tried and true scientific method.

As a recovering Christian I can imagine asking my pastor back in the day “Why do zebras have stripes?” The most likely answer to come from a man steeped in religious teachings would be “Because god made them that way.” or something to that effect. This answer effectively shuts down any further inquiry into the question.

When it comes to discovering the cosmos, it doesn’t pay to ask a theologian, pastor, priest, rabbi or imam. It’s an intellectual cul-de-sac, and inspires no further follow-up questions, no further search for additional knowledge. It’s implied to not look behind the curtain. With religion or even “faith”, it all comes back to god being the sole, dead-end answer.

A delicate balancing act

Imagine with me a hypothetical world where religious leaders were given ruling powers, the power to make laws and to punish those who break them. It could easily follow that with a worldview in which all answers must ultimately lead to a supreme being, any questions into the nature of things would be directed back to the source of all natural things, the creator. This dystopia environment would surely not encourage any inquiry into the nature of things and in fact would punish any result found to lead away from the supreme being. The theocracy is constantly on a knifes edge and anything new is a threat to that delicate balance. It must, therefore, keep a keen eye and a tight grip on knowledge. It must only dole it out to those it can trust will not seek to find answers which would undermine it’s power, thereby keeping the vast majority of it’s subjects uneducated is a necessary safeguard.

What results is a bottleneck on discovery and innovation.

Obviously the above thought experiment isn’t a hypothetical, Europe had been in this state for centuries under the Catholic church. The Middle East is going through it now under Muslim rule.

The alternative

Now we know why zebras have stripes. The millenia old question has been answered, so what now? Is that it? Of course not! All great questions answered by science actually churn out more questions, and there are a lot of great questions. So let’s throw out some ideas (of course you can do that in the comments, I get to do that here).

• Could this new information be used to ease the suffering/discomfort of fellow humans who live in the same regions as the striped animals?
• Can clothing or blankets be made to have the same effect? Would those items reduce the amount of pesticides used to control the pests?
• What other insects/pests does this effect work on?
• Could the method used to discover this link between zebras & flies be effectively used to answer other questions?

And I’m sure there’s a dozen more questions that could be raised just from this one study.

Conclusion

My point is this, the world we are waking up to is a huge and wondrous place for an inquisitive species such as ourselves. Looking around in the toolbox of humankind, the least reliable tool for discovery has been religion. On the flip-side, the most reliable tool to satisfy our innate curiosity has consistently been the scientific method. It presents itself with no pre-conceived conclusions, it welcomes free thought and it’s accepting of the many failures that will ultimately guide us to the glorious successes.

Why do zebras have stripes? Well, the biting answer ultimately flies in the face of organized religion.