Wonderstruck at Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

I captured this amazing scene at a recent visit to Toronto's Aquarium. This state-of-the-art facility opened to the public in 2013. Often when visiting a place like this, I'm deeply curious about the science of the life I see around me or the technology that makes a display like this possible. But here I was overwhelmed by the spectacle. I moved through the aquarium glass tunnel, mesmerized. A short essay came to mind, an essay by the American scientist and author Lewis Thomas. At one time, he too stood transfixed in a glass-enclosed aquarium, overwhelmed by the view of life around him. He wrote about his experience, saying, I was transfixed. As I now recall it, there was only one sensation in my head, purulation mixed with amazement at such perfection. Swept off my feet, I floated from one side to the other, swiveling my brain, staring, astounded. I could hear shouts across my corpus callosum, from one hemisphere to the other. I remember thinking with what was left of my consciousness that I wanted no part of the science of this life before me. I never wanted to know how they performed their marvels. I wished for no news about the physiology of their breathing, the coordination of their muscles, their vision, their endocrine systems, their digestive tracts. I hoped never to have to think of them as a collection of cells. All I asked for was the full complexity, then in front of my eyes, of whole, intact life. Something worth remembering had happened in my mind. I believe that Thomas articulated an experience that many of us have when visiting a place like this. In another essay, Thomas also commented on the enigma of awareness, speculating on consciousness in all living things. He wrote, I am entitled to say, if I like, that awareness exists in all the individual creatures on the planet. Worms, sea urchins, gnats, whales, subhuman primates, super primate humans, the lot. I can say this because we don't know what we're talking about. Consciousness is so much a total mystery for our own species that we cannot begin to guess about its existence in others. You may not agree with Thomas's argument, but this aquarium, in its dramatic presentation of life, is an ideal place to contemplate the possibilities. If you're visiting Toronto and enjoy experiences like this one, try to find the time to visit the aquarium. It is spectacular. If you're interested in reading more from Louis Thomas, you'll find titles of his books in the closing credits. For more science and technology related videos, visit our website, HiloRoad.com