Had to include this poem from the late 1800s. It was published when new "evidence" indicated that the Stegasauri family of dinosaurs had a second brain near the base of it's spine near the hip. Much was made of this new discovery but it is now thought that the enlarged cavity did not contain a second brain. We think that it contained excess nerves and fluids, likely glycogen, as a "battery backup" for bursts of energy, clearly for a purpose other than thinking! How often do you see clear philosophical terms in poetry?
The Riddle Of The Dinosaur - Bert Taylor
Behold the mighty dinosaur,
Famous in prehistoric lore,
Not only for his weight and length,
But for his intellectual strength.
You will observe by these remains
The creature had two sets of brains,
The one in his head, the usual place,
The other at his spinal base.
Thus he could reason a priori
As well as a posteriori.
No problem bothered him a bit,
He made both head and tail of it.
So wise he was
So wise and solemn
Each thought filled just a spinal column.
If one brain found the pressure strong,
It passed a few ideas along.
It something slipped the forward mind
’Twas rescued by the one behind.
And if in error he was caught
He had a saving afterthought.
As he thought twice before he spoke
He had no judgment to revoke.
For he could think without congestion
Upon both sides of every question.
O gaze upon this noble beast,
Defunct ten million years at least.
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