When asked whether we could infer anything about the mind of god by observing his creation, J.B.S. Haldane, a scientist who is not as well known as his work would justify, replied that god has "an inordinate fondness for beetles." At the time scientists had classified roughly 8,000 species of mammals and 400,000 species of beetles. If there is a god, it would appear he prefers beetles over mammals. Beetles were here long before we were, and will probably survive for eons after we have exterminated ourselves. I suspect that if we compared vertebrates to arthropods the contrast would be even more extreme.
