I finally splurged for a paid ChatGPT subscription! With access to GPT-4, I asked it to refine my earlier argument about fish being bad swimming instructors. Here's what it gave me:
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Certainly, let's rework the argument using more scientifically grounded explanations and references:
While it's true that fish, with their adept aquatic abilities, may seem like logical swimming instructors for humans at first glance, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this is far from practical or effective. Even if we put aside the substantial communication and physical barriers, there are fundamental biological and behavioral differences between fish and humans that pose significant challenges.
Humans are terrestrial, bipedal mammals, and our motor skills and locomotive mechanisms are naturally adapted to this lifestyle. Fish, in contrast, are aquatic creatures designed to maneuver efficiently in water (Webb, P.W., 1982, "Locomotor patterns in the evolution of actinopterygian fishes"). Their ability to swim is an innate behavior, hardwired into their neural circuitry, not a learned skill (Gould, J.L., 1982, "Ethology: The Mechanisms and Evolution of Behavior"). Given this, fish cannot consciously comprehend or articulate the mechanics of their swimming abilities as humans would require in a teaching-learning scenario.
In the field of pedagogy, it is well accepted that the process of teaching involves more than simply demonstrating a skill; it requires an understanding of learning styles, the ability to give and receive feedback, and a degree of self-awareness in the teacher (Boud, D., et al., 1985, "Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning"). Fish, as far as current scientific consensus suggests, lack these cognitive capacities (Butler, A.B., et al., 2005, "Evolution of the Neural Basis of Consciousness: A Bird-Mammal Comparison").
Furthermore, many human skills, including swimming, are learned through a combination of instruction, practice, and feedback (Kirschner, P.A., et al., 2006, "Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work"). This model of learning doesn't align with the unconscious, reflex-driven behaviors seen in fish.
Lastly, it's important to acknowledge the vast physiological differences between humans and fish. Human limbs and fish fins have evolved for different purposes and environments, with humans developing more for grasping and manipulation and fish for efficient aquatic locomotion (Thorsen, D.H., et al., 2004, "Biomechanics of Locomotion in Asian Carp"). These differences are fundamental and cannot be bridged by simple observation or imitation.
In conclusion, despite their swimming prowess, fish cannot be effective swimming instructors for humans due to biological, behavioral, and cognitive differences, as well as practical communication and anatomical obstacles. This argument does not discount the value of observing aquatic creatures to improve our understanding of efficient movement in water, but it's clear that such observation is a far cry from active instruction.
