a vast system. Thoughts for a Countdown Astronauts must be decontaminated before they are allowed to interact on Earth. Thomas states that this is an act of “human chauvinism.” Most organisms on Earth are symbiotic or, if harmful, have both adapted to warn the other. All organisms on Earth are interdependent and a stray virus or bacteria from the moon will not be adapted to harm us since it is not part of this connection. Bacteria are interconnected to the point where some cannot survive without others and some even live within others. We must recognize how interconnected even the smallest organisms are on Earth; especially if we must interact with life outside our planet. On Societies as Organisms Thomas introduces one of his key metaphors of humans behaving like ants. He suggests that this metaphor is not used because humans do not like to be compared to insects that, as a society, can function as an organism. There are many examples of animals acting as a large organism when in large groups from termites and slime molds to birds and fish. Thomas argues that the communication of results in science puts humans in the same model as these other species. As all scientists communicate and build on each other's work in order to explore that which we do not know. A Fear of Pheromones Humans fear pheromones because we believe we have gone above the basic secretion of chemicals in our communication. However, there are signs that point to humans relying on pheromones as well as our most technological forms of communication. Thomas shows pheromones in the animal world with examples of moths and fish. He then goes on to explain what impact pheromones in humans could have on the future such as in the perfume industry and finding histocompatible donors. The Music of This Sphere Music is the only form of communication that saves us from an overwhelming amount of small talk. This is not only a human phenomenon, but happens throughout the animal world. Thomas makes examples of animals from termites and earthworms to gorillas and alligators that perform some sort of rhythmic noise making that can be interpreted as music if we had full range of hearing. From the vast number of animals that participate in music it is clear that the need to make music is a fundamental characteristic of biology. Thomas proposes that the