WHEN A RENOWNED PROFESSOR TELLS LIES (Professor Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka Lied) By Segun Melchizedek Edward II

WHEN A RENOWNED PROFESSOR TELLS LIES (Professor Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka Lied)

Segun Melchizedek Edward II writes in response to the attack of Prof. Wole Soyinka against GMB (Crimes of Buhari).

If there was one disease the human race ought to dread most, it is the twin-disease of arrogance and ignorance spurn from knowing one is famous and wrapping outright falsehood in finely crafted language. Unfortunately, people infected with the disease are so sure many would not take the pains to research their assertions and authenticate what they put forth what with the excruciating economic conditions many a Nigerian contends with on a daily basis – too busy seeking a means of self-sustenance to have time for academic research and critical thinking. Professor Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka, grandson of the Rev. Canon J. J. Ransome-Kuti, his maternal grandfather, was dead wrong on so many counts in his essay on Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Please, do not get it wrong. I have utmost respect for the Nobel Laureate, a playwright and prolific author of “The Interpreters”, “You Must Set Forth at Dawn”, “The Swamp Dwellers”, “The Lion and the Jewel” and so many more classical works and one of the leading lights of Nigerian authors of the second generation of the nation’s literary giants.

I feel so pained one with such outstanding achievements on many fronts would fail to research what he puts forth in the public domain, knowing many would run with it without verifying the issues raised therein. I admit though that man, in his present fallen state, is subject to making mistakes – sometimes very costly ones too and our illustrious professor is not immune.

Soyinka is not in a position to castigate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. While he talks about alleged human rights abuses, he plays the blind man to the excesses of the present civilian administration. Soyinka made no comment when a governor whipped a PHCN official in this dispensation. He made no comment when a critic of the Bauchi State Governor was hounded into detention for speaking the truth. Soyinka was so audibly silent when a governor summoned a Reverend Father to Government House and flogged him mercilessly. I can go on and on. All over the world leaders, in their zeal to deliver on their mandates, might commit one infraction or the other and they do step on toes. It does not make sense to play down on the weight of circumstantial evidence at the time and to seek to malign Gen. Buhari, even when the same respected professor demonstrated in his treatise that he does not know the reasons for the decisions or he chose to feign ignorance.

Let us examine for ourselves the veracity of the professor’s claims. You have a right to know the truth and many alive today will testify to the facts that I present herein. I focus on three major outright false allegations levelled by Professor Wole Soyinka against Gen. Buhari.

A Mere Hoax: The 53 Suitcases

It is obvious that Prof. Wole Soyinka chose to pander to baseless sentiments founded on outright lies. First, Atiku Abubakar whom he had referred to as the Customs Officer in question is still alive and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari had since asked Atiku to speak up. For the records, Buhari was not at the airport. What was reported to the then Head of State was that an Emir had returned to the country with his retinue of 15 wives and so many children and someone had mischievously counted all the luggage they had returned with, claiming they had contained foreign currencies. One of the Emirs that returned was the father of then Major Jokolo. Courtesy demands that he goes to welcome his father and he had gone there to do so. Even Atiku Abubakar never reported seeing foreign currencies in any of the luggage. He is still alive and I believe Professor Wole Soyinka could so easily have reached him. I still want to throw the challenge to any journalist who had seen foreign currencies in any of the luggage should step forward and say so. It is interesting that none of the media outfits that spread the rumors reported sighting even a cent. If, as Atiku Abubakar claims, the military boys rudely whisked the items away, how then did he or anyone see foreign currencies in the suitcases?

Buhari’s Refusal to Appear before The Oputa Panel

The Oputa Panel set up by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was not a constitutional body neither could its findings be said to be binding on anyone. It is critical to note that the Oputa Panel never indicted Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. It did not even have the mandate to do so. What Gen. Obasanjo tried to do with the Oputa Panel was akin to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa with a view to calming frayed nerves and to foster unity what with the pent up anger built up over the botched June 12, 1993 Presidential Election won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola a free and fair process that was scuttled by Prof. Wole Soyinka’s friend whose evil action he did not condemn: Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. The only straw Prof. Wole Soyinka could clutch onto in a sea of lies he amazingly peddles is that the former Head of State did not appear before the panel, forgetting that the Head of State had immunity for his actions while in office and as at the time the panel was set up and until this very second, the immunity clause has not been expunged from our laws. Legally, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was under no obligation to appear before the panel. I really would not know why the renowned professor would overlook these established facts and run to the public with half-truths and outright lies. Until this day, I have not heard or seen Prof. Wole Soyinka clamour for the removal of that vexatious clause from our laws.

Alleged Human Rights Abuses

Professor Wole Soyinka was already an elder states man when Gen. Muhammadu Buhari became Head of State. He, therefore, cannot feign ignorance of the compelling circumstances that brought in the military. Those circumstances required drastic measures to tackle with a view to lifting off the nation her pariah status in the comity of nations. The prevalent circumstances at the time include:

Widespread corruption that crippled the economy; Nigeria had assumed the notorious status of a major drug trafficking hub; Excessive violence due to irresponsible politics on the part of the civilians who had held sway leading to unprecedented carnage and wanton bloodshed and we witness a repeat of it right now; Hoarding of essential food items, petroleum products and the essentials for daily living by an unscrupulous few who created artificial scarcity to sell their stock at cut-throat prices; Excessive dependence on import and abuse of foreign exchange allocations as well as import licensing in such a manner that encouraged nepotism, tribalism and excessive fraud; All of the foregoing put excessive pressure on the economy and created galloping inflation and the Naira began to be worthless in terms of its exchange value with other major world currencies; There was a general abysmal slide in the educational sector and the nation experienced the horror of unbridled examination malpractices and our institutions were producing some idiots and imbeciles who presently ruin everything in the nation; Workers were receiving wages for work not done; Public servants stayed away from their work places for days and would come to work late; Head teachers and principals in schools introduced all sorts of illegal levies on students; Students were found loitering aimlessly on the streets during school hours and indulging in all forms of crime; The nation was generating a lot of revenues from various sources that were not judiciously and productively managed and public infrastructure were in a state of total disrepair while state funds that could have been properly channelled by vision went into private pockets; and there are many more.

It is obvious from all the foregoing that drastic measures were required to restore the image of Nigeria and to put her on the path of true growth and development on all fronts. Though some measures were truly drastic, they were inevitable. They were simply sine qua non to turning around the fortunes of the nation for the good of all. There were instantaneous results in economic rebound from a comatose state to a healthy status. The nation made massive savings. Inflationary pressure ebbed. Nigerians learned to do things in an orderly fashion. The state of heightened insecurity was managed competently and with drastic measures and the unending violence was curbed. Nigerians caught on with the can – do spirit. The exchange rate of the Naira to international currencies improved. There were massive investments in infrastructure within a short time. The country’s image improved instantly and we did not borrow a dime to do any of those things. Is Prof. Wole Soyinka feigning ignorance of those things? He obviously is doing so for reasons best known to him. He was a living witness at the time. Let his conscience be his judge.

It is, however, not surprising that those who were the major beneficiaries of the rot prior to the Buhari administration and whose nefarious activities were cut short in the interest of all Nigerians are not happy and still have an axe to grind with the man who was fair, just and impartial who also chose to channel the nation’s wealth towards productive ends to oil the engine of growth and true development, rather than participate in cornering the nation’s wealth. Quite a number of them infused massive funds into some media houses and dictate to the editors what to write and whose image to destroy. Their common enemy is Gen. Muhammadu Buhari who stands with the people anytime and all the time in an unflinching manner and no matter whose Ox was gored.

It beats me that Prof Wole Soyinka could ignore all these facts that were extant at the time to play on the English Language to tell polished lies which remain what they are no matter the finesse that went into crafting them: pure and unadulterated and highly concentrated lies from the pits of hell.

What the professor did not tell us is that he was also ashamed of the status of Nigeria in the comity of nations at the time. He did not tell us that he was disappointed at the turn of events years after a hard-won independence from the nation’s colonial master. He did not mention salient piercing questions his peers asked about the state of affairs in his country and how ashamed he was.

It is also significant that Prof. Wole Soyinka did not tell us what he would have done if he were in Gen. Buhari’s shoes at the time. There was this urgency to stem the tide of gross indiscipline on all fronts that made the nation a laughing stock. I also find it hard to believe that Prof. Wole Soyinka chose to ignore the roles of civilians who were always serving in every shade of government who added the negative image to various administrations with their notorious activities.

It is also shocking that he chose to ignore the realities of the working of the military administration under the leadership of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. The decisions were jointly made at the Supreme Military Council with many civilians as advisers at federal and state levels. He also forgot or he deliberately chose to ignore the fact that the laws that were termed draconian, though necessary at the time, were all drafted by civilians who were lawyers some of whom are Senior Advocates of Nigeria today with inputs from civilian directors and heads of MDAs. There was no time we really ran a pure military government in Nigeria. Civilians ran the business as Permanent Secretaries and advisers and offered their services as drafts men to the soldiers.

It is interesting – quite interesting – that Prof. Wole Soyinka who believes everything military was evil accepted to serve in the most corrupt of all the military regimes in Nigeria headed by Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. He was the pioneer Chairman of the Federal Roads Safety Commission. I had actually thought that a man of principle should never have accepted to serve under such a government. Could that be the reason he was silent at the atrocities of his good friend and benefactor, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida?

I can go on and on. The father of secret cults on Nigerian campuses goofed in so many ways in that cheap essay written in fine English. It is so unfortunate that he succeeded in convincing anyone at all who also runs with unfounded rumors just because a revered Professor of Letters uttered them.

Facts are truly sacred and even lies told in the finest language cannot become truth. It will be announced from the rooftop

EGYPT’S UPRISING: MY MESSAGE TO NIGERIAN MUSLIMS

EGYPT’S UPRISING: MY MESSAGE TO NIGERIAN MUSLIMS

By

Semiu Ayobami Akanmu

I really doubt if critical objective analysis still exist in our intellectual domain. Those who are supporting Morsi or opposing him simply because of his religious affiliation and his party (Muslim Brotherhood) are the minds responsible for the perpetual suffering of the masses. They continue to allow the flawed Marx's saying: 'Religious is the opium of the masses' to pass ingenuity test.

It is quite unknown to them that these faith-based political parties do not in any manner represent the interest of the suffering masses. Instead, they water the hoggish but sadistic propensity of a class of the capitalists and feudalists. They are just exploiting 'RELIGION' as a means to their self-cantered ends. For the purpose of modesty, I will not mention names of some of these players in the Nigeria's religious-political field. I only wish the gullible can see beyond their noses!!

The sincere ones among my Muslims brethren must not be allowed to be choked by the overwhelming staring ill-treatment. Taking through Democracy will never bring the desire. Apart from the fact that both the means and the ends must be in conformity with Islamic tenet, history has taught us that Democracy's proprietor are watching their structure so keenly. They will deploy all apparatuses to crush any hijack. The death toll in Egypt now is an evidence in this direction. Lest not forget the power tussle in Syria has done none of the sides any good.  

The contemporary political Islam needs to be jettisoned. Yes, I abhor the contemporary political Islam.  You must not be jaundiced not to see the word 'CONTEMPORARY'. The sincerity of the players always fails when subjected to authenticity test.
Apart from being a Muslim, having studied the world adoptable economic models, it is arguable that Islamic models for economic sustenance remain the most infallible and plausible. Those who want to contend with this can through up an intellectual debate.

The contemporary political Islamists are Neo-Liberalists. In Malaysia, an Islamic party pitched its tent with a Buddhist party in the country's last general election, because they want to wrestle power from the sitting government. You need to ask the interception of the both religions. The Indonesia's counterpart is facially telling people there is no Hudud in their manifestos. However, as a student of politics of power, all are power-mongers, using convenient way to exploit the masses' votes.

In Philippine, the Moro Islamic front was endorsed by the US because they agreed on economic inter-relationship. In this case, their secession struggle was endorsed and they will be leaving Philippine to form Moro Republic. You should ask also why the so-called Anti-West campaigners suddenly became an ally of the same nation.

The occasional 'We-no-go-gree' Islamists are chess used in playing the game of politics. Those who have read about the Islamic Salvation Front of Algeria and Hamaz of Palestine will agree with me that the recent happening in Egypt is a further validation of the incompatibility of Islam and Democracy.

The local ones in Nigeria have tested their sheer ignorance. I wish they invest in a venture that will be rewarding. Investing in Democracy will only assured you of LIQUIDATION of spirituality, lives and property!!

At such a point in our journey in life, we are faced with many difficulties, teeming challenges, intricacies and technicalities. There comes a question: What is the way out?
I have once received a question: 'You have bashed the violent way of Al-Shabab and Boko Haram, you also condemned the methodology of Al-Qaeda, now you are saying those who took to power via ballot are kidding, then what can we do?

It must be noted that the complexity of our problem is beyond a binary answer (Yes or No), it is even not that of probability theory. I only hope fuzzy logic will solve this out (Apology for being too computer scientific). Fuzzy logic gives us the opportunity of varying points of accuracy as the situations agree with.

First, we need to understand that: if we are driven by the textual evidence that Sharee'a will till rule the world, we must know it is a matter of 80% faith, and 20% of our work. This will avoid us the temptation of not verifying our methodology. Since we believe more in our faith than our work, we will ensure that the work is strictly in conformity with Islam. We will not be too zealous and emotional.

If we hardly believe the little but Islam-compliant work can do, then our belief that Hell and Heaven exist is a lip service. If we hardly believe Democracy and Terrorism cannot give us Sharee'a after all this logical chain of happenings and histories staring at our faces, then that we believe in Angel is utter hypocrisy. Then, what is the work?

I am just an analyst, a scientist and a dialectician.  I am not an Islamic scholar; hence I will avoid dipping to matters of Islamic jurisprudence. My position is just a fall out of my analytical work. The work we need to do is creating our micro system (to the best of its capacity) within the macro system. Our proposed system will surely have its limitation, but we shall continue growing it.

It would have been better if I am not addressing majorly Third world Muslims, and specifically Nigeria Muslims. The division caused by sectarianism, ethnocentrism and organization-centrism is a potent killer of this initiative. It had killed many previous attempts to adopt this approach, and it will continue till we grow emotionally matured.
The retrogression fuelled by the class of Muslim Aristocrats, a sub-set of the capitalist class is also evident. This set of people has expropriated previous struggles and attempts to launch this initiative as a vehicle to drive home their economic gains. We pray Allah change them, because it will not be easy on the day of Qiyamat if they die on this.

However, till that anti-progress virus is exterminated, and the parasitic elitist army in our fold turn a new leaf, incubating this idea and its support at individual's capacity is the only option we are left with.  We must not forget that individual personal soul is the first point of call, before that of the families, relatives and communities. This yoruba adage: 'Ti ina ba'njoni, t'io jo omo eni, tara eni la ko yanju' will do justice to my intent.

After the call to Allah and His Prophet (SAW) forms the crux of our Da'wah, our work will be creating all institutions that will allow us to live relatively comfortably without any interference of the 'outside world', and participation in its institutional mechanisms.

This is more of action than talk or expression of 'verbs'.  May Allah give us the faith, steadfastness and understanding.

10 Questions Still Baffling Scientists....

10 Questions Still Baffling Scientists...... 

Science has done a terrific job of answering some of the world’s most difficult questions, but certain mysteries still elude researchers. How does gravity work? Can your pet fish really predict an earthquake? Why do we yawn so much? Here’s what we don’t know and how close we are to figuring it out.

1. Why Do We Yawn?

Theories about why we yawn are as common as grumpy toddlers at nap time, but two explanations seem plausible after experimental tests. One is that yawns help cool the brain and optimize its performance. Psychologists at the State University of New York at Albany say it explains why we yawn when we’re drowsy: Like the fan in a computer, the yawn kicks in when our performance starts lagging.

But if yawns are our brains’ way of kick-starting their efficiency, why is yawning contagious? The brain-cooling camp suggests that it’s a way to maintain group vigilance and safety. When a member of a pack yawns, signaling that he is not functioning at his best, the whole group may need to yawn for a collective cognitive boost.

That’s not the only theory floating around, though. Another explanation contends that contagious yawning builds and maintains empathy between yawners. A sympathetic yawn signals an appreciation and understanding of someone else’s condition and subconsciously says, “Me too, buddy.” So which story is the accurate one? Scientists aren’t ready to declare a winner yet—they need a little time to sleep on it.

2. Why Do People Spontaneously Combust?

Here’s what we know: Humans really do spontaneously combust. One of the first people recorded to have gone up in smoke is a poor Italian knight who burst into flames after drinking strong wine in the mid–17th century. The cause of the mysterious fireworks befuddles scientists, but they’re certain that each instance is less spontaneous than it seems. Over centuries, 120 cases of spontaneous human combustion have been reported, but because most of the cases involve smokers, a common hypothesis is that an outside flame is involved. The theory is that a cigarette scorches the skin and breaks it deep enough to force body fat to seep rapidly from the wound into burning clothing; together they act like candle wax and a wick.

It’s far more probable than the competing idea—that methane gases build up in the intestines and are sparked from inside the body by a mix of enzymes. But there’s a problem with testing both theories: Researchers can’t just walk around setting people on fire. They may have found a substitute that will answer the question, though. Pig tissue combusts in a way that’s consistent with the “wick effect,” and samples are far easier to obtain. Who knew bacon would help solve the mystery of one of Spinal Tap’s drummers?

3. Why Do Placebos Work?

When a new drug enters clinical trials, researchers need a control group against which to compare its effects. Members of this group are given what they’re told is the drug but is actually a pill containing no active ingredients, a placebo. Frequently, though, the control subjects feel the drug’s effects. Or at least they say they do. What actually happens to placebo poppers is still unsettled. Some studies have found objectively measured effects that are in line with a real drug’s results. Others have found that the benefits are only subjective; patients said they felt better after taking the placebo, regardless of their actual improvement. This mixed bag of evidence could support any number of explanations. There could be an actual physiological response, Pavlovian conditioning (a patient expects to feel better after medicating), positive feelings from patient-doctor interactions, an unconscious desire to “do well” in a clinical trial, or even a natural improvement in symptoms.

Whatever the cause, pharmaceutical companies are keen to figure out the placebo effect given its potential to throw clinical trials into disarray. Real drugs often can’t compete against the effects of fakers, and about half get scrapped in late-stage trials. For the researchers who’ve spent nearly 10 years trying to bring their drugs to market, that’s a bitter pill to swallow.

4. What Was Life’s Last Universal Common Ancestor?

A whale and a bacterium or an octopus and an orchid don’t seem to have much in common, but deep down they’re all the same. Research reveals that most of life’s tiniest components, like proteins and nucleic acids, are nearly universal. The genetic code is written in the same way across all organisms. A small core of genome sequences is also similar across major branches of life’s family tree. All this suggests that every living thing made of cells can trace its lineage back to one source, a universal common ancestor.

In theory, this idea makes a lot of sense. Getting this ancestor to show up for a paternity test is tougher. Scientists estimate that the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) split into microbes and later eukaryotes (animals, plants, and the like) around 2.9 billion years ago. The fossil record from that era is scant, and by now, the genes that have traveled down the family tree have been lost, swapped, or shuffled around.

But some features of proteins and nucleic acids encoded by these genes—such as their three-dimensional structure—have been preserved throughout time. A survey of these molecular traits offers a glimpse at what the last universal common ancestor might have looked like. Researchers have found that tiny organelles (specialized subparts of cells) as well as their associated enzymes are shared by all major branches of life, meaning that they must have been present in the last universal common ancestor. This and other evidence suggests that the LUCA was as complex as a modern cell—which doesn’t make our forebear all that visually impressive. But on the plus side, until scientists get to the bottom of this question, we can all save money on Father’s Day cards for the granddaddy of all life on Earth.

5. How Does Memory Work?

For a long time, neuroscientists thought a memory was stored in a scattered group of neurons in either the hippocampus or in the neocortex. Last year, researchers at MIT proved that theory for the first time by causing mice to remember or forget an event by activating or deactivating the associated neurons.

It’s an essential piece to the puzzle, but to recall a memory on its own, the brain has to activate the correct assortment of neurons. And how exactly the brain pulls off that trick isn’t fully understood. Studies on rodents and brain imaging in people suggests that some of the same neurons that the original experience affected are involved. In other words, remembering something may not just be a matter of grabbing it from its storage space but re-forming the memory each time it’s pulled out.

6. Can Animals Really Predict Earthquakes?

The idea that our furry and feathered friends could warn us about impending doom is a nice one, but it’s been hard for scientists to prove. Pet owners have noted how their animals acted funny just before an earthquake since the days of ancient Greece. There’s no shortage of reports, but almost every one is anecdotal, based on opinions of what’s “normal” and “funny” for an animal. And the stories are generally reported long after the fact.

It’s not out of the question that animals may sense and react to some environmental change that we don’t notice—anything from seismic waves to changes in electric or magnetic fields. However, it’s not clear that earthquakes even produce such precursors. Plus, whatever the proposed cause, it’s nearly impossible to test. If we can’t predict earthquakes, we don’t know when to observe animals, and it’s even more difficult for researchers trying to reproduce the experiment later. The few “lucky” cases where quakes happened during animal experiments provide conflicting evidence. If you’re going to rely on a cat for earthquake advice, consult one with a degree in seismology.

7. How Do Organs Know When to Stop Growing?

Every mammal starts out as a single cell before growing into trillions of them. Usually, there’s tight control over the number and size of cells, tissue, and organs, but sometimes things go very wrong, resulting in anything from cancer to a leg that’s larger than its partner. So what’s sending the “stop growing” signal?

Four proteins that make up the core of what’s known as the Salvador-Warts-Hippo signaling pathway appear to help regulate growth for a number of organs. Shutoff signals sent down the pathway deactivate the protein that promotes growth, but that’s where scientists’ knowledge stops. Where these signals originate and which other elements are affecting SWH is unknown. Scientists continue to learn how to manipulate the pathway, discovering new triggers and working their way to the source, but there are still a lot of mysteries—including how we may be able to “turn off” cancer.

8. Are There Human Pheromones?

Can you actually smell someone’s fear? Or sniff out a rat? Plenty of animals communicate with chemical signals called pheromones, but whether humans are part of that club is a contentious issue. There’s some evidence of people making behavioral and physical changes in response to chemosignals, but scientists haven’t been able to figure out which chemicals trigger these responses. And despite what the labels on pheromonein-fused colognes and hair gels will tell you, no compound has been identified as a human pheromone or linked to a specific response.

Moreover, if people are giving off pheromones, scientists aren’t sure how others are detecting them. Many mammals and reptiles have what’s known as a vomeronasal organ that detects pheromones. While some human noses contain the tiny organ, it may not be functional; sensory neurons have little or no connection with the nervous system. So for now, the answer to this question remains “maybe.” And that uncertainty truly stinks.

9. What’s the Deal With Gravity?

Of the four fundamental forces of nature, gravity is the runt of the litter. It holds the universe together, but it’s weaker than its three siblings: electromagnetism, weak nuclear forces, and strong nuclear forces. How much punier is it? The next step up, weak nuclear, is 1026 (100,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000) times stronger. Gravity’s relatively feeble pull makes it hard to demonstrate with small objects in the lab.

Gravity doesn’t play well with the other forces either. Try as they might, scientists can’t use quantum theory and general relativity to explain gravity on small scales. And this incompatibility leaves us short of physicists’ grandest goal: a unified theory of everything.

Worse still, scientists can’t even figure out what gravity is made of. The other fundamental forces are all associated with particles that help carry them, but no one’s been able to detect the gravitational particle—the hypothetical graviton—even with the most super of supercolliders! And while some scientists are frustrated by its elusive nature, others know it’s just gravity’s way—the force has a reputation for bringing us down.

10. How Many Species Are There?

Taxonomists have been finding, naming, and describing species in an organized manner for more than 200 years, and they’re probably nowhere close to being finished. It’s not that they’re slacking off on the job either. In the last decade alone, scientists have reported more than 16,000 new species per year; in total, they’ve cataloged 1.2 million. It’s anybody’s guess how many are left undiscovered, though. Going out and finding every single species would take the 300,000 working taxonomists a lifetime, so they have to make educated guesses.

Making these kinds of extrapolations presents serious logistical hurdles. Biodiversity hotspots often fall in developing countries, which suffer from a shortage of taxonomists. Furthermore, up to 80 percent of the planet’s life may be hiding out in hard-to-reach places under the sea.

Given these troubles, it’s no wonder there’s a wide variance in expert guesses of how many species are left undiscovered. The most recent ballpark figures place the number between five and 15 million species, which makes the odds of someone discovering a unicorn (see next page!) just slightly better than we’d even dared to dream.

This story originally appeared in mental_floss magazine. Subscribe to our print edition here, and our iPad edition here.