The reason for the Fall Of Civilization

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

http://www.homeonthestrange.com/view.php?ID=192



Okay, my peeps:  which animal will win?

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

It's perfectly obvious that it depends on the size of the bear and the size of the shark...

[Pachyderm]

me...

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

It's perfectly obvious that it depends on the size of the bear and the size of the shark...

And what about the size of the tank? You mean that this does not have any influence?

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

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Well, if the tank is small enough to prevent movement for the shark it may give the advantage to the bear but I still have my doubts if there is an adult white shark in the tank.

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

And will the bear have a breathing device?

Given the fact that the bear cannot breathe under water, he would need to be trained to scuba dive, in order for the shark not to have a too high of an advantage and make this a more or less fair fight.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

But the tank is half full, suggesting that the bear would be able to stand and probably have his paws above water.

I saw a documentary in which they showed how polar bears hunted belugas quite successfully, although in fairness the belugas had to swim toward the hole in the ice to breath and keep it open or perish so the advantage was complete for the bears.
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You notice what we're doing?  

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

You notice what we're doing?  

There are four options of what we are doing right now:

A) having the dumbest argument ever
B) wasting time discussing a topic that is highly improbable to find a solution ever
C) killing time on a slow foggy, rainy, cold November afternoon

D) making fools of ourselves...

please chose what fits best

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I'd choose C) but

a) it isn't foggy here
b) nor rainy
c) much less cold

[Griffin NoName]

You couldn't force them to fight. So it's silly.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

As radio personality Paul Harvey often said:  Page Two

http://www.homeonthestrange.com/view.php?ID=193



Carry on, my merry monastery-ites!

I'm loving the discussion, really... so good, I've nothing to add

[Aggie]

You couldn't force them to fight. So it's silly.

Note the area - silly isn't an excuse to stop in Games and Jokes.  If they were hungry, they'd 'fight' as they are both top predators.

Was initially going to put my money on the polar bear, but a shark takes considerably more killing than a bear does. I think the bear would do a better job of 'fighting' if this were a fantasy Pokemon-style matchup, but the bear wouldn't be likely to get at any significant vital areas on the shark quickly. A grizzly might do better with those digging claws....


EDIT: did some wiki-wandering - I did not know how bloody big full-grown male polar bears are - every example I've seen with humans nearby for comparison must have been young'uns or females.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Have you seen how huge a great white is? 

(then again polar bears also eat walruses which are also humongous in size)

[Aggie]

The largest great whites are massive, but an average mature specimen doesn't ridiculously outclass a typical male polar bear - for the sake of the fight one could put a big male bear against a male great white on the smallish size, both at 1500 lbs.  The shark would only probably have about a metre of length on the bear (3 m vs 4 m).

What struck me the most about the size of a big polar bear was the wiki statement that they are twice the size of a Siberian tiger.  

(for the record, if I had to be around one of those three in the wild, I'd take the shark.  We're not natural prey for them.  Polar bears will eat your @$$ and I wouldn't take my chances with any big cat)

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Okay, since I started it:

The bear has very thick fur, which would limit the shark's immediate ability to lethal injury.  But, the shark has demonstrated capability to bite through steel.

However, the bear has a thick layer of blubber, which also would limit the immediate damage the shark can do with his initial bite.

Finally, the bear has the advantage of warm blood metabolism-- which means he can out-think the shark in a knife-fight battle-- which the tank would force.

The shark's chief method of attack, is a long run-up to the prey, and depends on surprise and momentum.   In the close confines of the tank, the bear has the advantage of 4 legs and a mouth.  The shark just has a mouth attack, and cannot swim away.

I think the close confines of the tank would favor the polar bear-- the shark doesn't have enough room to turn.