• Re: Evolution as collusion between adaptation and environment

    From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Wed Oct 18 18:07:51 2023
    Hi there,

    After thinking about Evolution for some time, I came to notice that there is a difference between adaptation that colludes with the environment to begin with, and adaptation that colludes with the environment on the basis of a relationship that has
    already been established (in the past). The concept is fairly simple: collusions with a state of environment that already existed in the past, will be faster (and hence more competitive).

    Do we see animals returning to old territory? Certainly they mark their territory out - but for this purpose?

    What exactly triggers a return to old territory, is unknown - but perhaps there is a way to tell precisely *when* the boundary between old and new is crossed?

    Perhaps there is a balance that can be struck, between old and new territory - to reduce the cognitive load that Evolution on its own can't balance?

    I hope this has been some food for thought: I wonder if you could comment specifically on the notion that this snapback is faster - that to me, sounds logical but I admit I have only trusted it on faith (I have not conducted an experiment that shows old
    environments establish known solutions to selection pressure faster).

    Thanks for your time.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From =?UTF-8?B?w5bDtiBUaWli?=@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Wed Oct 18 19:05:37 2023
    On Thursday, 19 October 2023 at 04:11:13 UTC+3, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Hi there,

    After thinking about Evolution for some time, I came to notice that there is a difference between adaptation that colludes with the environment to begin with, and adaptation that colludes with the environment on the basis of a relationship that has
    already been established (in the past). The concept is fairly simple: collusions with a state of environment that already existed in the past, will be faster (and hence more competitive).

    What does "adaptation that colludes with the environment" even mean?

    collude /kəˈl(j)uːd/ verb verb: collude; 3rd person present: colludes; past tense: colluded; past participle: colluded; gerund or present participle: colluding
    "cooperate in a secret or unlawful way in order to deceive or gain an advantage over others."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Lawyer Daggett@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Wed Oct 18 19:38:15 2023
    On Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 9:11:13 PM UTC-4, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Hi there,

    After thinking about Evolution for some time, I came to notice that there is a difference between adaptation that colludes with the environment to begin with, and adaptation that colludes with the environment on the basis of a relationship that has
    already been established (in the past). The concept is fairly simple: collusions with a state of environment that already existed in the past, will be faster (and hence more competitive).

    Do we see animals returning to old territory? Certainly they mark their territory out - but for this purpose?

    What exactly triggers a return to old territory, is unknown - but perhaps there is a way to tell precisely *when* the boundary between old and new is crossed?

    Perhaps there is a balance that can be struck, between old and new territory - to reduce the cognitive load that Evolution on its own can't balance?

    I hope this has been some food for thought: I wonder if you could comment specifically on the notion that this snapback is faster - that to me, sounds logical but I admit I have only trusted it on faith (I have not conducted an experiment that shows
    old environments establish known solutions to selection pressure faster).

    Thanks for your time.

    It's far from clear what you are getting at but I'll take a guess.
    I think your suggestion is that a species of rabbit whose ancestors once lived and adapted
    to snowy winters, but in more recent times adapted to climes where it rarely snows, is better
    able to subsequently migrate to higher altitudes above the winter snow line.

    A rationale for this might be that it's likely they have a suite of genes which formerly served
    them well for surviving snowy winters. Even if those genes have produced variant alleles
    which have become fixed during that species times in sunny grasslands, one might suppose
    that whatever point mutations altered the prior alleles to adapt to snowless winters, well
    they are primed and ready for a back mutation to revert to the ancestral alleles that make
    for better fitness in snowy winters.

    Possibly. But it's a "just so story" that presses an optimally convenient scheme.

    On the other hand, if you invoke that deep in our past our ancestors were fish so we as a
    species ought to be able to spawn a descendent species that is fully aquatic, you've
    gone too far. Perhaps you can think a bit more about your hypothesis and try to frame
    it more robustly.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Wed Oct 18 22:15:48 2023
    What does "adaptation that colludes with the environment" even mean?

    collude /kəˈl(j)uːd/ verb verb: collude;
    "cooperate in a [...]way in order to[...] gain an advantage[...]."

    I just mean overlap (in a Venn diagram kind of way). Collusion meaning the coming together of the shared overlap.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Wed Oct 18 22:17:53 2023
    [...]

    Possibly. But it's a "just so story" that presses an optimally convenient scheme.

    On the other hand, if you invoke that deep in our past our ancestors were fish so we as a
    species ought to be able to spawn a descendent species that is fully aquatic, you've
    gone too far. Perhaps you can think a bit more about your hypothesis and try to frame
    it more robustly.

    Yes Daggett you have it exactly. I was hoping you would further clarify. I suppose what you've hit upon is that genes unlikely to help with further evolution are weeded out. Doing more with less helps in this regard.

    What vexes me, is that it seems to me that subsequent return to past environments should accelerate those past adaptations, as they are recalled. Assuming the pressure that created them is constant. If the pressure is gone, it makes only a limited
    difference (an undifferentiated resort to past configuration).

    Understanding the speed of change resulting from pressure, would be something of a constant for a particular species, but not across all species - unless it was some thing to do with relative DNA effectiveness (counter pressure?)

    Thanks for your reply!

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Wed Oct 18 22:26:50 2023
    On Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 4:21:13 PM UTC+11, Chris Lowland wrote:
    [...]

    Possibly. But it's a "just so story" that presses an optimally convenient scheme.

    On the other hand, if you invoke that deep in our past our ancestors were fish so we as a
    species ought to be able to spawn a descendent species that is fully aquatic, you've
    gone too far. Perhaps you can think a bit more about your hypothesis and try to frame
    it more robustly.
    Yes Daggett you have it exactly.

    I suppose what you have is a choice: do you eliminate genes and roam more wildly from what you were originally adapted to, or do you hold out hope, that selection pressures as they were will be more favourable in future?

    Interestingly, mutation does nothing to make this choice easier, indeed a lot of mutations would only make it harder.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ernest Major@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Thu Oct 19 11:15:43 2023
    On 19/10/2023 02:07, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Hi there,

    After thinking about Evolution for some time, I came to notice that there is a difference between adaptation that colludes with the environment to begin with, and adaptation that colludes with the environment on the basis of a relationship that has
    already been established (in the past). The concept is fairly simple: collusions with a state of environment that already existed in the past, will be faster (and hence more competitive).

    Do we see animals returning to old territory? Certainly they mark their territory out - but for this purpose?

    What exactly triggers a return to old territory, is unknown - but perhaps there is a way to tell precisely *when* the boundary between old and new is crossed?

    Perhaps there is a balance that can be struck, between old and new territory - to reduce the cognitive load that Evolution on its own can't balance?

    I hope this has been some food for thought: I wonder if you could comment specifically on the notion that this snapback is faster - that to me, sounds logical but I admit I have only trusted it on faith (I have not conducted an experiment that shows
    old environments establish known solutions to selection pressure faster).

    Thanks for your time.


    In light of comments elsethread (you've developed your own terminology,
    which makes things unclear to others) you seem to have adopted a
    position contrary to Dollo's Law.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollo%27s_law_of_irreversibility

    In the short term much evolution involves selection among standing
    variation, as opposed to selection of novel mutations. Given that, it
    seems plausible that the alleles responsible for a past adaptive state
    could still be present in the gene pool, and if individually selectable, reversion to the prior environment could cause selection to regain the
    past phenotype. In the longer term, the arguments in favour of Dollo's
    Law apply.

    --
    alias Ernest Major

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From jillery@21:1/5 to {$to$}@meden.demon.co.uk on Thu Oct 19 10:10:48 2023
    On Thu, 19 Oct 2023 11:15:43 +0100, Ernest Major
    <{$to$}@meden.demon.co.uk> wrote:

    On 19/10/2023 02:07, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Hi there,

    After thinking about Evolution for some time, I came to notice that there is a difference between adaptation that colludes with the environment to begin with, and adaptation that colludes with the environment on the basis of a relationship that has
    already been established (in the past). The concept is fairly simple: collusions with a state of environment that already existed in the past, will be faster (and hence more competitive).

    Do we see animals returning to old territory? Certainly they mark their territory out - but for this purpose?

    What exactly triggers a return to old territory, is unknown - but perhaps there is a way to tell precisely *when* the boundary between old and new is crossed?

    Perhaps there is a balance that can be struck, between old and new territory - to reduce the cognitive load that Evolution on its own can't balance?

    I hope this has been some food for thought: I wonder if you could comment specifically on the notion that this snapback is faster - that to me, sounds logical but I admit I have only trusted it on faith (I have not conducted an experiment that shows
    old environments establish known solutions to selection pressure faster).

    Thanks for your time.


    In light of comments elsethread (you've developed your own terminology, >which makes things unclear to others) you seem to have adopted a
    position contrary to Dollo's Law.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollo%27s_law_of_irreversibility

    In the short term much evolution involves selection among standing >variation, as opposed to selection of novel mutations. Given that, it
    seems plausible that the alleles responsible for a past adaptive state
    could still be present in the gene pool, and if individually selectable, >reversion to the prior environment could cause selection to regain the
    past phenotype. In the longer term, the arguments in favour of Dollo's
    Law apply.


    A generalized, philosophical version of Dollo's Law is Heraclitus
    comment about stepping in the same river. This is not to say Lowland
    doesn't grasp a kernel of truth. There are artificial-selection
    projects which attempt to re-evolve extinct species from related
    species, ex. quagga, but their results are approximations at best.
    Results from natural selection is necessarily contingent.

    --
    To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Thu Oct 19 21:43:39 2023
    [...]
    In the short term much evolution involves selection among standing >variation, as opposed to selection of novel mutations. Given that, it >seems plausible that the alleles responsible for a past adaptive state >could still be present in the gene pool, and if individually selectable, >reversion to the prior environment could cause selection to regain the >past phenotype. In the longer term, the arguments in favour of Dollo's
    Law apply.
    A generalized, philosophical version of Dollo's Law is Heraclitus
    comment about stepping in the same river. This is not to say Lowland
    doesn't grasp a kernel of truth.
    [...]

    While I appreciate circumstances may change, even with familiar selection pressures and environments, it doesn't appear to me that just saying the river changes is enough (you are after all, suggesting that the notion of river will not evolve, because
    the pressure to adapt to it is always changing).

    If I repeatedly return to the river, I am aware that it is wet, but I am much more likely to appreciate that the current takes you somewhere at a certain speed (and further to that, at different levels in different seasons).

    The notion is simply that it is much more advantageous to remember your circumstances in relation to Evolution, than it is to assume that Evolution will take care of it (when the time is right).

    Can you detach circumstance from instance (of Evolution), is what I am asking? I believe that would make generalised adaptation more virile?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From jillery@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Fri Oct 20 12:18:52 2023
    On Thu, 19 Oct 2023 21:43:39 -0700 (PDT), Chris Lowland
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    [...]
    In the short term much evolution involves selection among standing
    variation, as opposed to selection of novel mutations. Given that, it
    seems plausible that the alleles responsible for a past adaptive state
    could still be present in the gene pool, and if individually selectable, >> >reversion to the prior environment could cause selection to regain the
    past phenotype. In the longer term, the arguments in favour of Dollo's
    Law apply.
    A generalized, philosophical version of Dollo's Law is Heraclitus
    comment about stepping in the same river. This is not to say Lowland >>doesn't grasp a kernel of truth. There are artificial-selection
    projects which attempt to re-evolve extinct species from related
    species, ex. quagga, but their results are approximations at best.
    Results from natural selection are necessarily contingent.

    While I appreciate circumstances may change, even with familiar selection pressures and environments, it doesn't appear to me that just saying the river changes is enough (you are after all, suggesting that the notion of river will not evolve, because
    the pressure to adapt to it is always changing).

    If I repeatedly return to the river, I am aware that it is wet, but I am much more likely to appreciate that the current takes you somewhere at a certain speed (and further to that, at different levels in different seasons).

    The notion is simply that it is much more advantageous to remember your circumstances in relation to Evolution, than it is to assume that Evolution will take care of it (when the time is right).

    Can you detach circumstance from instance (of Evolution), is what I am asking? I believe that would make generalised adaptation more virile?


    You missed the analogy. Both the river/environment and the
    man/species constantly change, and those changes necessarily,
    contingently, iteratively, alter successive changes, while leaving in
    their wake evidence of past changes.

    A good example is the terror birds which evolved during the Cenozoic.
    They occupied the apex predator niche. They became too large to fly,
    so their wings were useless for that function. A superficial
    understanding might suppose their wings could have devolved back into
    the forelimbs of their maniraptoran theropod ancestors. But a correct understanding is, even if that was possible, the evolution would
    necessarily have started from their existing wing morphology, and not
    from the lobed fins of ancestral tetrapods.

    --
    To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Robert Carnegie@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Fri Oct 20 15:29:39 2023
    On Friday, 20 October 2023 at 05:46:16 UTC+1, Chris Lowland wrote:
    [...]
    In the short term much evolution involves selection among standing >variation, as opposed to selection of novel mutations. Given that, it >seems plausible that the alleles responsible for a past adaptive state >could still be present in the gene pool, and if individually selectable, >reversion to the prior environment could cause selection to regain the >past phenotype. In the longer term, the arguments in favour of Dollo's >Law apply.
    A generalized, philosophical version of Dollo's Law is Heraclitus
    comment about stepping in the same river. This is not to say Lowland doesn't grasp a kernel of truth.
    [...]

    While I appreciate circumstances may change, even with familiar selection pressures and environments, it doesn't appear to me that just saying the river changes is enough (you are after all, suggesting that the notion of river will not evolve, because
    the pressure to adapt to it is always changing).

    If I repeatedly return to the river, I am aware that it is wet, but I am much more likely to appreciate that the current takes you somewhere at a certain speed (and further to that, at different levels in different seasons).

    The notion is simply that it is much more advantageous to remember your circumstances in relation to Evolution, than it is to assume that Evolution will take care of it (when the time is right).

    Can you detach circumstance from instance (of Evolution), is what I am asking? I believe that would make generalised adaptation more virile?

    Can we agree that we're not talking about
    wildlife in an actual river (particularly)?
    Unless I'm confused too.

    Anyway, a disputed and allegedly vindicated example
    of what I think you have in mind is: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution>

    This is the one with lighter moths and darker moths.
    When birds can easily see and eat the darker moths,
    lighter moths from not-eaten parents become the
    majority. When birds can more easily see the lighter
    moths, darker moths become the majority.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to jillery on Fri Oct 20 22:28:09 2023
    On Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 3:21:14 AM UTC+11, jillery wrote:
    On Thu, 19 Oct 2023 21:43:39 -0700 (PDT), Chris Lowland
    wrote:
    [...]
    You missed the analogy. Both the river/environment and the
    man/species constantly change, and those changes necessarily,
    contingently, iteratively, alter successive changes, while leaving in
    their wake evidence of past changes.

    Yes (I understand Evolution has to start somewhere) but your insistence that changes emerge from contact with the environment doesn't make sense. They may emerge from contact with a certain environment, but that doesn't mean are only stored with
    reference to the contact. I breathe in and out, but if I stop there, I don't need to breathe out first, before I start breathing in again. If I plant a tree in a garden, then uproot it and plant it somewhere else, then uproot it again to plant it back
    where it was, the plant doesn't need me to chop its roots off, before it can grow as it used to - there is something innate to the Evolution, that amplifies the role of instinct and subsequent nuance, that can't be achieved by attempting more and more
    change that way.



    A good example is the terror birds which evolved during the Cenozoic.
    They occupied the apex predator niche. They became too large to fly,
    so their wings were useless for that function. A superficial
    understanding might suppose their wings could have devolved back into
    the forelimbs of their maniraptoran theropod ancestors. But a correct understanding is, even if that was possible, the evolution would
    necessarily have started from their existing wing morphology, and not
    from the lobed fins of ancestral tetrapods.
    --

    As I said, it is a choice, whether you miminize adaptations where you are and move out of the area, or you hold out hope that future selection pressures will advance you where you are and you keep what you have. The reference point is the instinct that
    guides the adaptations, the outcrop is the ability to identify which adaptations are needed for which selection pressures. You saying that Evolution is just something you tack on to whatever is the species of the moment, denies that the marks of previous
    selection pressures, tell their tale - regardless of how developed the Evolution has blindly become.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Fri Oct 20 22:30:22 2023
    Can we agree that we're not talking about
    wildlife in an actual river (particularly)?
    Unless I'm confused too.

    The River is the environment, do you adapt to it or move on? What is your instinct?

    Anyway, a disputed and allegedly vindicated example
    of what I think you have in mind is: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution>

    This is the one with lighter moths and darker moths.
    When birds can easily see and eat the darker moths,
    lighter moths from not-eaten parents become the
    majority. When birds can more easily see the lighter
    moths, darker moths become the majority.

    Yes ok (good input). What I am asking is, if this lighter/darker dynamic continues, does Evolution do anything to improve it?

    Is there a p-factor for lighter/darker adaptations, which can navigate to a quicker transition?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From jillery@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sun Oct 22 03:55:05 2023
    On Fri, 20 Oct 2023 22:30:22 -0700 (PDT), Chris Lowland
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    Can we agree that we're not talking about
    wildlife in an actual river (particularly)?
    Unless I'm confused too.

    The River is the environment, do you adapt to it or move on? What is your instinct?


    Once again, both river/environment *and* wildlife continually change.


    Anyway, a disputed and allegedly vindicated example
    of what I think you have in mind is:
    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution>

    This is the one with lighter moths and darker moths.
    When birds can easily see and eat the darker moths,
    lighter moths from not-eaten parents become the
    majority. When birds can more easily see the lighter
    moths, darker moths become the majority.

    Yes ok (good input). What I am asking is, if this lighter/darker dynamic continues, does Evolution do anything to improve it?

    Is there a p-factor for lighter/darker adaptations, which can navigate to a quicker transition?


    Are you asking if there's something which allows moths to predict when
    to become lighter/darker? That's a "no".

    Are you asking if there's something which allows moths to more rapidly
    follow environmental changes? That's a "yes".

    It's called regulatory genes. Few peppered moths are completely white
    or completely black. Instead, regulatory genes alter the degree of lighter/darker; a biological dimmer.

    --
    To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Sun Oct 22 10:22:06 2023
    On Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 1:31:15 AM UTC-4, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Can we agree that we're not talking about
    wildlife in an actual river (particularly)?
    Unless I'm confused too.

    The River is the environment, do you adapt to it or move on? What is your instinct?
    Anyway, a disputed and allegedly vindicated example
    of what I think you have in mind is: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution>

    This is the one with lighter moths and darker moths.
    When birds can easily see and eat the darker moths,
    lighter moths from not-eaten parents become the
    majority. When birds can more easily see the lighter
    moths, darker moths become the majority.
    Yes ok (good input). What I am asking is, if this lighter/darker dynamic continues, does Evolution do anything to improve it?

    Is there a p-factor for lighter/darker adaptations, which can navigate to a quicker transition?
    It's hard for me to be sure, but I think you may be asking about environmentally determined epigenetic changes. Here's a review of the subject...
    "Epigenetics and the environment: emerging patterns and implications" https://faculty.fiu.edu/~noriegaf/Papers%20Proteomics/Epigenetics/Paper01.pdf

    The section on plants and vernalization may be the sort of thing you are asking about.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dexter@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Sun Oct 22 17:11:39 2023
    Chris Lowland wrote:

    On Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 3:21:14 AM UTC+11, jillery wrote:
    On Thu, 19 Oct 2023 21:43:39 -0700 (PDT), Chris Lowland
    wrote:
    [...]
    You missed the analogy. Both the river/environment and the
    man/species constantly change, and those changes necessarily,
    contingently, iteratively, alter successive changes, while leaving in
    their wake evidence of past changes.

    Yes (I understand Evolution has to start somewhere) but your insistence that changes emerge from contact with the environment doesn't make sense. They may emerge from contact with a certain environment, but that doesn't mean are only stored with reference to the contact. I breathe in and out, but if I stop there, I don't need to breathe out first, before I start breathing in again. If I plant a tree in a garden, then uproot it and plant it somewhere else, then uproot it again to plant it back where it was, the plant doesn't need me to chop its roots off, before it can grow as it used to - there is something innate to the Evolution, that amplifies the role of instinct and subsequent nuance, that can't be achieved by attempting more and more change that way.



    A good example is the terror birds which evolved during the Cenozoic.
    They occupied the apex predator niche. They became too large to fly,
    so their wings were useless for that function. A superficial
    understanding might suppose their wings could have devolved back into
    the forelimbs of their maniraptoran theropod ancestors. But a correct understanding is, even if that was possible, the evolution would necessarily have started from their existing wing morphology, and not
    from the lobed fins of ancestral tetrapods.
    --

    As I said, it is a choice, whether you miminize adaptations where you are and move out of the area, or you hold out hope that future selection pressures will advance you where you are and you keep what you have. The reference point is the instinct that guides the adaptations, the outcrop is the ability to identify which adaptations are needed for which selection pressures. You saying that Evolution is just something you tack on to whatever is the species of the moment, denies that the marks of previous selection pressures, tell their tale - regardless of how developed the Evolution has blindly become.
    -------------------------------------

    You've made a very basic error in this analogy. Organisms don't evolve. Populations evolve. Your transplanted tree has is part of a population
    already adapted to its environment. Moving it does not change its
    morphology except to the extent that its new environment effects its
    ability to survive to produce offspring, some of which manage to survive
    to procreate in that new environment. Moving it back to its original
    site is an option if it fares poorly in the new site. But it's still the same individual organism.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mark Isaak@21:1/5 to Dexter on Sun Oct 22 20:39:50 2023
    On 10/22/23 10:11 AM, Dexter wrote:
    [...]
    You've made a very basic error in this analogy. Organisms don't evolve. Populations evolve.

    I shudder to think of what influence Pokemon will have on the biological sciences.

    --
    Mark Isaak
    "Wisdom begins when you discover the difference between 'That
    doesn't make sense' and 'I don't understand.'" - Mary Doria Russell

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Robert Carnegie@21:1/5 to Dexter on Mon Oct 23 01:13:22 2023
    On Sunday, 22 October 2023 at 18:16:16 UTC+1, Dexter wrote:
    Chris Lowland wrote:

    On Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 3:21:14 AM UTC+11, jillery wrote:
    On Thu, 19 Oct 2023 21:43:39 -0700 (PDT), Chris Lowland
    wrote:
    [...]
    You missed the analogy. Both the river/environment and the
    man/species constantly change, and those changes necessarily, contingently, iteratively, alter successive changes, while leaving in their wake evidence of past changes.

    Yes (I understand Evolution has to start somewhere) but your insistence that
    changes emerge from contact with the environment doesn't make sense. They may
    emerge from contact with a certain environment, but that doesn't mean are only stored with reference to the contact. I breathe in and out, but if I stop there, I don't need to breathe out first, before I start breathing in again. If I plant a tree in a garden, then uproot it and plant it somewhere
    else, then uproot it again to plant it back where it was, the plant doesn't
    need me to chop its roots off, before it can grow as it used to - there is something innate to the Evolution, that amplifies the role of instinct and subsequent nuance, that can't be achieved by attempting more and more change
    that way.



    A good example is the terror birds which evolved during the Cenozoic. They occupied the apex predator niche. They became too large to fly,
    so their wings were useless for that function. A superficial understanding might suppose their wings could have devolved back into the forelimbs of their maniraptoran theropod ancestors. But a correct understanding is, even if that was possible, the evolution would necessarily have started from their existing wing morphology, and not from the lobed fins of ancestral tetrapods.
    --

    As I said, it is a choice, whether you miminize adaptations where you are and
    move out of the area, or you hold out hope that future selection pressures will advance you where you are and you keep what you have. The reference point is the instinct that guides the adaptations, the outcrop is the ability
    to identify which adaptations are needed for which selection pressures. You
    saying that Evolution is just something you tack on to whatever is the species of the moment, denies that the marks of previous selection pressures,
    tell their tale - regardless of how developed the Evolution has blindly become.
    -------------------------------------

    You've made a very basic error in this analogy. Organisms don't evolve. Populations evolve. Your transplanted tree has is part of a population already adapted to its environment. Moving it does not change its
    morphology except to the extent that its new environment effects its
    ability to survive to produce offspring, some of which manage to survive
    to procreate in that new environment. Moving it back to its original
    site is an option if it fares poorly in the new site. But it's still the same
    individual organism.

    "Choice" isn't a good choice of word, also.

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  • From David Canzi@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Mon Oct 23 16:26:53 2023
    On 10/19/23 01:15, Chris Lowland wrote:

    What does "adaptation that colludes with the environment" even mean?

    collude /kəˈl(j)uːd/ verb verb: collude;
    "cooperate in a [...]way in order to[...] gain an advantage[...]."

    I just mean overlap (in a Venn diagram kind of way). Collusion meaning the coming together of the shared overlap.


    Collusion involves entities cooperating to achieve a shared
    purpose. Who are the entities and what is the purpose?

    --
    David Canzi

    "In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the
    last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened
    but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit it is the first."
    Ambrose Bierce, _The Devil's Dictionary_

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  • From Lawyer Daggett@21:1/5 to Mark Isaak on Mon Oct 23 14:05:57 2023
    On Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 11:41:16 PM UTC-4, Mark Isaak wrote:
    On 10/22/23 10:11 AM, Dexter wrote:
    [...]
    You've made a very basic error in this analogy. Organisms don't evolve. Populations evolve.
    .
    I shudder to think of what influence Pokemon will have on the biological sciences.
    .
    I understand but hold out some hope. I recall my 4 year old grandson trying
    to explain to me about the 'evolutions' of Pokemon characters. He had
    mastered so many "facts". Being more pedestrian, I used his and his older brother's enthusiasm in more treacherous ways, buying a few hundred cards
    and then finding matching pairs.

    I'd use sets of pairs to play The Memory Game, we used to call it Concentration
    and play it with a deck of playing cards. Mix up a set of pair, lay them out face
    down on a grid and you take turns turning over two cards to see if you can turn over a pair. If you make a pair, you remove them and get another turn. Otherwise, you flip them back to face down and the turn moves on. The point
    is to remember what is where from other people's failed turns. My belief is that
    memory is skill to be trained. (I also used it to introduce multiplication concepts,
    we have 24 pairs, or 48 cards, how do we lay out the grid?) Grandkids loved it, used it as a reward when they finished other tasks when homeschooling them during the first year of covid.

    But then the game "evolved". They allowed matches to characters in the "evolution"
    sequence for a Pokemon character, but 3 points for an exact match and only 1 point for an evolution sequence match. I could no longer play with them as I didn't
    understand the Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard type sequences. But they knew them all.

    Anyway, my point is that perhaps developing those memory skills are more important than having to unlearn the Pokemon meaning of 'evolution' when it's time to think about biology. They'll have their Stamp Collection mastered and available for when they get around to organizing it according to actual scientific
    principles. So much of education is about constructively unlearning some things anyway, but the basic skills of having a good memory is more of a practiced thing.

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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Mon Oct 23 16:01:31 2023
    "Choice" isn't a good choice of word, also.

    If I stay or go, that is a choice.

    If I always try to go, when I have the choice to go, that is a choice.

    You can either commit to choose or commit to go, but that is still a choice.

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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Mon Oct 23 16:05:55 2023
    Is there a p-factor for lighter/darker adaptations, which can navigate to a quicker transition?
    It's hard for me to be sure, but I think you may be asking about environmentally determined epigenetic changes. Here's a review of the subject...
    "Epigenetics and the environment: emerging patterns and implications" https://faculty.fiu.edu/~noriegaf/Papers%20Proteomics/Epigenetics/Paper01.pdf

    The section on plants and vernalization may be the sort of thing you are asking about.

    The Link you gave said "genome-wide patterns of DNA and chromatin modifications (‘epigenomes’) do not persist throughout life,
    but undergo precise, coordinated changes at defined stages of development, particularly in mammals. These transitions contribute to the lineage- and tissue-specific expression of genes"

    That's basically what I am asking, as far as change is concerned - now all we need to answer is "does this speed up, if you switch between common environments at different stages of transition?"

    If there is an epigenomic shift in life, that shift can be accelerated?

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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Mon Oct 23 16:11:47 2023
    You've made a very basic error in this analogy. Organisms don't evolve.

    Organisms attenuate to selection pressures in ways that advantage their young. Subsequent generations express that evolution, while attenuating to selection pressures that *their* young will express.

    Populations evolve.
    Populations with inherited instinct, have a greater chance at survival if nuance (of heritable attenuation) is at least partially personal. In other words, the way that the population relates to future Evolution, determines that Evolution for that
    population.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Mon Oct 23 16:14:22 2023
    Are you asking if there's something which allows moths to predict when
    to become lighter/darker? That's a "no".

    But they may have an instinct, that one environment is better for them than another?

    Are you asking if there's something which allows moths to more rapidly
    follow environmental changes? That's a "yes".

    I take your point, that there is something that helps - but I am asking "does that help itself, speed up?"

    It's called regulatory genes. Few peppered moths are completely white
    or completely black. Instead, regulatory genes alter the degree of lighter/darker; a biological dimmer.
    --
    To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

    Fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Mon Oct 23 17:01:49 2023
    On Monday, October 23, 2023 at 7:06:17 PM UTC-4, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Is there a p-factor for lighter/darker adaptations, which can navigate to a quicker transition?
    It's hard for me to be sure, but I think you may be asking about environmentally determined epigenetic changes. Here's a review of the subject...
    "Epigenetics and the environment: emerging patterns and implications" https://faculty.fiu.edu/~noriegaf/Papers%20Proteomics/Epigenetics/Paper01.pdf

    The section on plants and vernalization may be the sort of thing you are asking about.
    The Link you gave said "genome-wide patterns of DNA and chromatin modifications (‘epigenomes’) do not persist throughout life,
    but undergo precise, coordinated changes at defined stages of development, particularly in mammals. These transitions contribute to the lineage- and tissue-specific expression of genes"

    That's basically what I am asking, as far as change is concerned - now all we need to answer is "does this speed up, if you switch between common environments at different stages of transition?"

    It's less clear in mammals, but it seems quite possible in plants that epigenetic effects allow quick transitions between heat resistance and cold resistance in response to environmental change, as a result of transgenerational persistence of epigenetic
    changes in, for example, methylation patterns. I don't know much about this, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what you are asking, since your language seems a bit idiosyncratic. I get the feeling you are asking about things that have already
    been studied, but I'm not sure.

    If there is an epigenomic shift in life, that shift can be accelerated?

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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Mon Oct 23 17:22:57 2023
    It's less clear in mammals, but it seems quite possible in plants that epigenetic effects allow quick transitions between heat resistance and cold resistance in response to environmental change, as a result of transgenerational persistence of
    epigenetic changes in, for example, methylation patterns. I don't know much about this, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what you are asking, since your language seems a bit idiosyncratic. I get the feeling you are asking about things that have
    already been studied, but I'm not sure.

    Yes that makes sense

    "transgenerational persistence" is exactly what I was asking for.

    It would make even more sense, if that "persistence" could be accelerated - say a beaver makes a home in a number of rivers, eventually he will get faster at making homes? Whereas, if he (the beaver) attempts to make a home inland, he will not have the
    instinct for it and it will take a long time.

    I don't know what it is I am asking for specifically, but the notion is simply "I wish I understood how to operate in faith, in Evolution?" "would Evolution work faster, if I was aware of the environmental pressure I was persisting in?" "Would being able
    to attenuate faster to Evolution than the next guy, make me more attractive (as a mate)?"

    At some point, there is a transcendental state, that has a bearing on what burdens are carried forth, for the next generation (I know that instinctively, from past experience with meditation). If we could connect the "persistence" with the "
    transcendental", the burden of change would not be so confused.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Mon Oct 23 17:32:36 2023
    On Monday, October 23, 2023 at 8:26:17 PM UTC-4, Chris Lowland wrote:
    It's less clear in mammals, but it seems quite possible in plants that epigenetic effects allow quick transitions between heat resistance and cold resistance in response to environmental change, as a result of transgenerational persistence of
    epigenetic changes in, for example, methylation patterns. I don't know much about this, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what you are asking, since your language seems a bit idiosyncratic. I get the feeling you are asking about things that have
    already been studied, but I'm not sure.
    Yes that makes sense

    "transgenerational persistence" is exactly what I was asking for.

    It would make even more sense, if that "persistence" could be accelerated - say a beaver makes a home in a number of rivers, eventually he will get faster at making homes? Whereas, if he (the beaver) attempts to make a home inland, he will not have the
    instinct for it and it will take a long time.

    I don't know what it is I am asking for specifically, but the notion is simply "I wish I understood how to operate in faith, in Evolution?" "would Evolution work faster, if I was aware of the environmental pressure I was persisting in?" "Would being
    able to attenuate faster to Evolution than the next guy, make me more attractive (as a mate)?"

    At some point, there is a transcendental state, that has a bearing on what burdens are carried forth, for the next generation (I know that instinctively, from past experience with meditation). If we could connect the "persistence" with the "
    transcendental", the burden of change would not be so confused.
    The sort of thing I mean by your idiosyncratic language is this....

    I have no idea what you mean by "if that persistence could be accelerated." Persistence means staying the same - how can you get faster at staying the same??

    What does it mean to "attenuate..to Evolution"?

    What does it mean to "operate in faith, in Evolution"?

    Your questions seems to skirt around things like adaptive changes in mutation rates and epigenetics, but I may just be projecting things that make sense to me onto very vague strings of words in your posts.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Mon Oct 23 18:56:29 2023
    What does it mean to "operate in faith, in Evolution"?

    Coming back to this question in particular: the question is "if a species evolves, what would it take to make that species 'resilient'?"

    Part of the answer, is just encouraging the species to adapt *more*, since over time the species will develop a p-factor, in which all adaptations shine better.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Oct 23 18:53:34 2023
    On Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 11:36:17 AM UTC+11, [email protected] wrote:

    The sort of thing I mean by your idiosyncratic language is this....

    I have no idea what you mean by "if that persistence could be accelerated." Persistence means staying the same - how can you get faster at staying the same??

    You move to areas with similar selective power. Like sheep moving between pastures. They don't need to change species, to reach new pastures. And if they identify pastures correctly, then they can adapt to all pastures, without having to be present in
    all of them.


    What does it mean to "attenuate..to Evolution"?

    It means to become familiar with how striving to survive shapes your focus on Evolution, under different selection pressures. The peppered moth that finds camouflage being white, does better in terms of Evolution, if he takes note of where the camouflage
    can be found, such that his young have an instinct for that kind of camouflage. I'm appealing to the notion of relevance, becoming guidance.


    What does it mean to "operate in faith, in Evolution"?

    There is a sense in which, multiple attempts at Evolution, contribute to a p-factor, where the more adaptations you have, the more likely all of them will succeed. Simple really. (What I want to do is take advantage of that!)


    Your questions seems to skirt around things like adaptive changes in mutation rates and epigenetics, but I may just be projecting things that make sense to me onto very vague strings of words in your posts.

    I write in a way that welcomes imagination. If you are confused, but you still think maybe you know something that would help - that is precisely the point at which I am paying most attention. Sadly, it is a lazy habit at times, as I can not always
    guarantee that my attention will be sustained, particularly if the conversation revolves around the pedantic or self-strident.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Mon Oct 23 19:02:04 2023
    What does it mean to "operate in faith, in Evolution"?

    To return to your question a third time: take for example power: "Power to purpose, recollection grows! (selah)"

    If Evolution had purpose, and you added power to it (if you discussed it or wrote about it or built something about it), recollection would grow with it - the survival advantages of "recollection" would be harnessed (to varying degrees).

    Surviving might help, but knowing you are surviving would help more!

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From jillery@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Tue Oct 24 00:01:15 2023
    On Mon, 23 Oct 2023 16:14:22 -0700 (PDT), Chris Lowland
    <[email protected]> wrote:


    Are you asking if there's something which allows moths to predict when
    to become lighter/darker? That's a "no".

    But they may have an instinct, that one environment is better for them than another?


    There's an "instinct" to survive and reproduce. To the degree
    organisms can sense and respond to extant conditions, they do or die.
    Most organisms don't get to choose their environment.


    Are you asking if there's something which allows moths to more rapidly
    follow environmental changes? That's a "yes".

    I take your point, that there is something that helps - but I am asking "does that help itself, speed up?"


    I have no idea what you mean by "help itself speed up".


    It's called regulatory genes. Few peppered moths are completely white
    or completely black. Instead, regulatory genes alter the degree of
    lighter/darker; a biological dimmer.

    Fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

    --
    To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From jillery@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Tue Oct 24 00:01:57 2023
    On Sun, 22 Oct 2023 20:39:50 -0700, Mark Isaak <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 10/22/23 10:11 AM, Dexter wrote:
    [...]
    You've made a very basic error in this analogy. Organisms don't evolve.
    Populations evolve.

    I shudder to think of what influence Pokemon will have on the biological >sciences.


    It can't be worse than what the MCU has done.

    --
    To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ernest Major@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Tue Oct 24 09:22:42 2023
    On 24/10/2023 00:11, Chris Lowland wrote:

    You've made a very basic error in this analogy. Organisms don't evolve.

    Organisms attenuate to selection pressures in ways that advantage their young. Subsequent generations express that evolution, while attenuating to selection pressures that *their* young will express.

    Populations evolve.
    Populations with inherited instinct, have a greater chance at survival if nuance (of heritable attenuation) is at least partially personal. In other words, the way that the population relates to future Evolution, determines that Evolution for that
    population.


    Another pair of search terms for you - "Baldwin Effect", also referred
    to as "genetic assimilation".

    --
    alias Ernest Major

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  • From Ernest Major@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Tue Oct 24 09:21:12 2023
    On 24/10/2023 03:02, Chris Lowland wrote:

    What does it mean to "operate in faith, in Evolution"?

    To return to your question a third time: take for example power: "Power to purpose, recollection grows! (selah)"

    If Evolution had purpose, and you added power to it (if you discussed it or wrote about it or built something about it), recollection would grow with it - the survival advantages of "recollection" would be harnessed (to varying degrees).

    Surviving might help, but knowing you are surviving would help more!

    The consensus on mutation is that, while mutations are biased in many
    ways, for each individual class of mutations there's no bias towards
    beneficial mutations. (This is what is meant when it is said that
    mutation is random.) It's not clear whether you are trying to disagree
    with that consensus.

    You might benefit from investigating the topic of "the evolution of evolvability".

    --
    alias Ernest Major

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  • From Dexter@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Sat Oct 28 04:15:07 2023
    Chris Lowland wrote:


    You've made a very basic error in this analogy. Organisms don't evolve.

    Organisms attenuate to selection pressures in ways that advantage their young. Subsequent generations express that evolution, while attenuating to selection pressures that their young will express.

    Populations evolve.
    Populations with inherited instinct, have a greater chance at survival if nuance (of heritable attenuation) is at least partially personal. In other words, the way that the population relates to future Evolution, determines that Evolution for that population.
    -------------------------------------

    You are talking in circles.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Wed Nov 1 17:33:51 2023
    On Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 12:11:13 PM UTC+11, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Hi there,


    Thanks for your time.

    I just can't get past the idea, that if you are familiar with a selection pressure, that *familiarity* gives a selection advantage. The idea that "relevance" (of a specific adaptation to a specific environment) increases that familiarity, through
    guidance (from one generation to the next) is like that advantage. In other words, the more you can call familiarity relevant, the faster appropriate adaptations will develop. I am not twisting words, I am just saying "doesn't 'familiarity' and '
    relevance' add to Evolution in a way that is constructive?"

    Isn't this why creatures develop memory and instinct?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Lawyer Daggett@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Wed Nov 1 21:17:10 2023
    On Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 8:36:26 PM UTC-4, Chris Lowland wrote:
    On Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 12:11:13 PM UTC+11, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Hi there,


    Thanks for your time.

    I just can't get past the idea, that if you are familiar with a selection pressure,
    that *familiarity* gives a selection advantage. The idea that "relevance" (of a
    specific adaptation to a specific environment) increases that familiarity, through
    guidance (from one generation to the next) is like that advantage. In other words,
    the more you can call familiarity relevant, the faster appropriate adaptations
    will develop. I am not twisting words, I am just saying "doesn't 'familiarity' and
    'relevance' add to Evolution in a way that is constructive?"

    Isn't this why creatures develop memory and instinct?

    There are a significant number of words up there doing a great deal of work in an almost magical way. A challenge you might set for yourself is to test yourself
    to see if you can convert these ideas into a more mundanely expressed ones.
    In particular, while it is all to common to refer to 'selection pressure', what does
    that really translate to in less poetic terms? Similarly, what does 'familiarity'
    translate to?

    My concern is that when we use these sorts of labels to characterize some underlying reality, there's a danger of falsely introducing extra connotative baggage that is just a phantom of colorful language.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Burkhard@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Thu Nov 2 01:13:08 2023
    On Thursday, November 2, 2023 at 1:36:26 AM UTC+1, Chris Lowland wrote:
    On Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 12:11:13 PM UTC+11, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Hi there,


    Thanks for your time.

    I just can't get past the idea, that if you are familiar with a selection pressure, that *familiarity* gives a selection advantage. The idea that "relevance" (of a specific adaptation to a specific environment) increases that familiarity, through
    guidance (from one generation to the next) is like that advantage. In other words, the more you can call familiarity relevant, the faster appropriate adaptations will develop. I am not twisting words, I am just saying "doesn't 'familiarity' and '
    relevance' add to Evolution in a way that is constructive?"

    Isn't this why creatures develop memory and instinct?

    Like some of the others, I struggle to interpret what you mean. But under
    at least one reading, it's the other way round I'd say. Consider two species of
    herbivores in an environment that has nutritious yet poisonous berries.

    One of the species has learned that the berries are poisonous, and parents teach their
    offspring to avoid it a avoid it - literally "religiously", it becomes a tabu.

    The other does not have that capacity - maybe they lack the cognitive ability to understand the pressure, or they don't brig up their young etc, In any case, there is no guidance, and members of that species keep
    eating these berries and often die from them.

    Now assume that a simple mutation provides immunity from the
    poison. In which of the two species would that mutation be more
    likely to get fixed?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From jillery@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Thu Nov 2 10:54:28 2023
    On Fri, 20 Oct 2023 22:28:09 -0700 (PDT), Chris Lowland
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 3:21:14?AM UTC+11, jillery wrote:
    On Thu, 19 Oct 2023 21:43:39 -0700 (PDT), Chris Lowland
    wrote:
    [...]
    You missed the analogy. Both the river/environment and the
    man/species constantly change, and those changes necessarily,
    contingently, iteratively, alter successive changes, while leaving in
    their wake evidence of past changes.

    Yes (I understand Evolution has to start somewhere) but your insistence that changes emerge from contact with the environment doesn't make sense. They may emerge from contact with a certain environment, but that doesn't mean are only stored with
    reference to the contact. I breathe in and out, but if I stop there, I don't need to breathe out first, before I start breathing in again. If I plant a tree in a garden, then uproot it and plant it somewhere else, then uproot it again to plant it back
    where it was, the plant doesn't need me to chop its roots off, before it can grow as it used to - there is something innate to the Evolution, that amplifies the role of instinct and subsequent nuance, that can't be achieved by attempting more and more
    change that way.


    Your misreading makes no sense. Your examples above are of transient
    changes to which organisms have no opportunity to adapt, nevermind
    allow for genetic changes spanning generations. Organisms adapt,
    populations evolve. There's a difference.


    A good example is the terror birds which evolved during the Cenozoic.
    They occupied the apex predator niche. They became too large to fly,
    so their wings were useless for that function. A superficial
    understanding might suppose their wings could have devolved back into
    the forelimbs of their maniraptoran theropod ancestors. But a correct
    understanding is, even if that was possible, the evolution would
    necessarily have started from their existing wing morphology, and not
    from the lobed fins of ancestral tetrapods.
    --

    As I said, it is a choice, whether you miminize adaptations where you are and move out of the area, or you hold out hope that future selection pressures will advance you where you are and you keep what you have. The reference point is the instinct that
    guides the adaptations, the outcrop is the ability to identify which adaptations are needed for which selection pressures. You saying that Evolution is just something you tack on to whatever is the species of the moment, denies that the marks of previous
    selection pressures, tell their tale - regardless of how developed the Evolution has blindly become.


    Again you read without comprehension. The extant forelimbs of
    tetrapods do bear the marks of previous selections pressures. That's
    why most follow the same pattern inherited from their lobed-fin
    ancestor, of one bone (humerus), followed by two bones (radius and
    ulna), followed by multiple wrist bones, followed by digits. However,
    the selection pressures of flight modified that pattern in birds, to
    fuse the digits and eliminate the wrist bones. That's the legacy from
    which terror birds necessarily evolved. They could no more revert to
    the forelimbs of their dinosaur ancestors than horses could revert to
    five toes, no matter how much they "chose" to modify their behavior.

    --
    To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ernest Major@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Thu Nov 2 15:23:41 2023
    On 02/11/2023 00:33, Chris Lowland wrote:
    On Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 12:11:13 PM UTC+11, Chris Lowland wrote:
    Hi there,


    Thanks for your time.

    I just can't get past the idea, that if you are familiar with a selection pressure, that *familiarity* gives a selection advantage. The idea that "relevance" (of a specific adaptation to a specific environment) increases that familiarity, through
    guidance (from one generation to the next) is like that advantage. In other words, the more you can call familiarity relevant, the faster appropriate adaptations will develop. I am not twisting words, I am just saying "doesn't 'familiarity' and '
    relevance' add to Evolution in a way that is constructive?"

    Isn't this why creatures develop memory and instinct?


    You're not intentionally twisting words, but you're using them in a
    context where people are struggling to understand what you mean. For all
    I can tell you could be postulating something well within the scientific consensus (such as the evolution of evolvability), something well
    outside it (morphic resonance), or something novel.

    You appear to be not well informed about evolutionary biology, and not
    able to use the vocabulary of the field. Elsethread I've referred to
    some concepts which if you were to investigate them might help you to
    present your ideas in a more comprehensible form. Have you looked any of
    them up?

    A hypothetical example. Antibiotic resistance normally comes at a cost,
    so in the absence of exposure to the antibiotic the resistance tends to
    be lost. If antibiotic resistance depended on a potentiating neutral or
    near neutral mutation then this neutral mutation is likely to be
    retained when antibiotic resistance is selected out of the population.
    On reexposure to the antibiotic the population doesn't have to wait for
    the occurrence of the potentiating neutral mutation, so antibiotic
    resistance can be expected to arise more rapidly on the second exposure
    to the antibiotic. How do you abstract this to a general principle?

    A different variant - antibiotic resistance persists at a low level in a population, so that when the antibiotic is reintroduced resistance comes roaring back. How do you abstract this to a general principle?

    Another example - disease resistance genes. When a disease comes round particular resistant alleles are selected. This reduces the population's susceptibility to the disease, and transmission drops removing the
    selection pressure against the original alleles. Add several rounds of different strains of the pathogen, and when the original strain comes
    round again, the resistance alleles for that particular strain are still present in the population. How do you abstract this to a general principle?

    Bottom line - it's possible to imagine circumstances ("just so stories")
    in which past exposure to a selective pressure leaves the population pre-adapted to respond to a future exposure. But I'm not sure that this
    is what you trying to get across, and even if it is you may be
    overestimating it's prevalence. Tetrachromacy (4 different types of
    colour receptors in the retina) is widespread among tetrapods other than mammals. The ancestors of modern mammals seem to have passed through a nocturnal phase, and lost two of the receptor types. Some groups,
    including us, are back up to three types, but it took tens of millions
    of years. A group of primates lost the ability to synthesise vitamin C
    as it was presence in abundance in their diet. We haven't regained it,
    even though our diet has changed to the point where scurvy is possible.

    --
    alias Ernest Major

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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Sun Nov 12 21:27:20 2023
    Recent posts have been interesting.

    I need to collect my thoughts.

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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Wed Nov 15 17:05:00 2023
    My concern is that when we use these sorts of labels to characterize some underlying reality, there's a danger of falsely introducing extra connotative baggage that is just a phantom of colorful language.

    What I say makes sense at the level of suggestion. It's not meant to push an idea on people, but to elucidate a nuanced interpretation of an existing theory.

    By contrast, you seem to want the core theory to remain the core, without any branches to other aspects of life - as I said here were "instinct" and "memory" but which could expand to agency and responsibility.

    Somewhere between the two, we should be able to stretch the theory, to give a more consistent response to what is believed ongoing.

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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Wed Nov 15 17:51:48 2023
    Now assume that a simple mutation provides immunity from the
    poison. In which of the two species would that mutation be more
    likely to get fixed?

    I loved this answer so much. How did you arrive at the idea that the poison could be defeated with immunity? Was the mutation immunal? How did selection pressure change such that immunity was attempted?

    One can assume being in proximity to the berries is relevant and that the intensity of the berries' flavour is familiar. Instinct regarding the berries is that the poison can be eliminated; memory of the berries is that they are like certain other
    berries, with less of a toxic profile. These factors shape the adaptation.

    The point is the group that developed immunity had to keep dying, whereas the religious group had the choice of attempting to share immunity after the fact.

    The question I want to keep asking is "did immunity to the berries have a flow on effect to other poisonous berries?" Or simply put "if the religious group married the immune group, would immunity carry?" Or indeed "if the immune group left the poison
    berry area, adapted to other poisons and then came back, would the immunity come back more quickly?" I think the answer is that it depends entirely on whether a p-factor has been developed.

    A p-factor is where various attempts at a skill lead to better control of that skill (the example I originally saw was that learning a number of ways to use your intelligence leads to more intelligence over all). To use the example of the berries, if the
    immune group attempted to become immune to a wide variety of berries, there would be a chance that they develop a p-factor for poisonousness in general. Then if they left an area and neglected immunity, then returned, that immunity would be aided by the
    p-factor for poisonousness in general. The key is that the potential for a response (to poisonousness) is something that you have to exercise. I think that answers the question of whether adaptations come back more quickly - if the adaptation or
    something related to it is exercised, there is reason to believe that adaptation will be above standard.

    Does that make exercising Evolution, a needed development of Evolution?

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Wed Nov 15 19:08:19 2023
    On Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 8:56:40 PM UTC-5, Chris Lowland wrote:

    Now assume that a simple mutation provides immunity from the
    poison. In which of the two species would that mutation be more
    likely to get fixed?

    I loved this answer so much. How did you arrive at the idea that the poison could be defeated with immunity? Was the mutation immunal? How did selection pressure change such that immunity was attempted?

    One can assume being in proximity to the berries is relevant and that the intensity of the berries' flavour is familiar. Instinct regarding the berries is that the poison can be eliminated; memory of the berries is that they are like certain other
    berries, with less of a toxic profile. These factors shape the adaptation.

    The point is the group that developed immunity had to keep dying, whereas the religious group had the choice of attempting to share immunity after the fact.

    The question I want to keep asking is "did immunity to the berries have a flow on effect to other poisonous berries?" Or simply put "if the religious group married the immune group, would immunity carry?" Or indeed "if the immune group left the poison
    berry area, adapted to other poisons and then came back, would the immunity come back more quickly?" I think the answer is that it depends entirely on whether a p-factor has been developed.

    A p-factor is where various attempts at a skill lead to better control of that skill (the example I originally saw was that learning a number of ways to use your intelligence leads to more intelligence over all). To use the example of the berries, if
    the immune group attempted to become immune to a wide variety of berries, there would be a chance that they develop a p-factor for poisonousness in general. Then if they left an area and neglected immunity, then returned, that immunity would be aided by
    the p-factor for poisonousness in general.

    Immunity to all poisons is a pipe dream. The variety of poisons is so great, that it is hopeless to develop an immunity
    to all but a tiny handful. Some of the individual ones are so potent, that I don't expect anything except
    bacteria to develop immunity to them.

    For instance: so far, I know of no species of vertebrate that is immune to cane toad poison.
    Not even the cane toads themselves, who keep the poison in a few places in their bodies.
    Some bandicoots have learned to avoid those places, and have become a significant
    natural enemy of them..

    Puffer fish, the source of the Japanese delicacy fugu, are similar. Japanese chefs who prepare it
    know exactly what organs (especially the liver) to avoid.They do allow the tiniest bit of poison
    to linger on the ornate dish that is served, to give it a tingling flavor. Botox, a minute amount
    of one of the deadiiest poisons in the world, has become similarly popular for removing
    wrinkles [and also a lot of character that goes with them.]


    The key is that the potential for a response (to poisonousness) is something that you have to exercise.

    One can exercise tolerance to minute amounts of the worst, and full immunity to some of the
    less potent . Some humans develop immunity to poison ivy rash, initiated by eating some.
    Many wild animals (deer, for instance) eat it avidly. But poison ivy is one of the milder
    of the common poisons.


    I think that answers the question of whether adaptations come back more quickly -
    if the adaptation or something related to it is exercised, there is reason to believe
    that adaptation will be above standard.

    Does that make exercising Evolution, a needed development of Evolution?

    This seems to be an area where Lamarckism lurks in the background. Tread carefully.


    Peter Nyikos
    Professor, Dept. of Mathematics -- standard disclaimer--
    University of South Carolina
    https://people.math.sc.edu/nyikos

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  • From Mark Isaak@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Thu Nov 16 07:15:08 2023
    On 11/15/23 7:08 PM, [email protected] wrote:

    [snip to one point]
    The key is that the potential for a response (to poisonousness) is something that you have to exercise.

    One can exercise tolerance to minute amounts of the worst, and full immunity to some of the
    less potent . Some humans develop immunity to poison ivy rash, initiated by eating some.
    Many wild animals (deer, for instance) eat it avidly. But poison ivy is one of the milder
    of the common poisons.

    Technically, urushiol, the active ingredient in poison oak and poison
    ivy, is an allergen, not a poison. To the best of my knowledge, only
    humans and chimpanzees are allergic to it. And people wishing to
    acquire immunity by eating it should keep in mind that doing so can also
    result in dermatitis at both ends of the digestive system.

    --
    Mark Isaak
    "Wisdom begins when you discover the difference between 'That
    doesn't make sense' and 'I don't understand.'" - Mary Doria Russell

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Mark Isaak on Thu Nov 16 10:24:14 2023
    On Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 10:16:41 AM UTC-5, Mark Isaak wrote:
    On 11/15/23 7:08 PM, [email protected] wrote:

    [snip to one point]
    The key is that the potential for a response (to poisonousness) is something that you have to exercise.

    One can exercise tolerance to minute amounts of the worst, and full immunity to some of the
    less potent . Some humans develop immunity to poison ivy rash, initiated by eating some.
    Many wild animals (deer, for instance) eat it avidly. But poison ivy is one of the milder
    of the common poisons.

    Technically, urushiol, the active ingredient in poison oak and poison
    ivy, is an allergen, not a poison. To the best of my knowledge, only
    humans and chimpanzees are allergic to it. And people wishing to
    acquire immunity by eating it should keep in mind that doing so can also result in dermatitis at both ends of the digestive system.

    Thanks for the correction, and all the helpful information.
    When I have more time, I'll try and look up details.
    Meanwhile, I am curious to see what Chris Lowland,
    to whom I was replying, has to say about the rest of what I wrote.
    And, for that matter, what others have said to him that he may
    not have fully assimilated yet.

    Peter Nyikos

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  • From Ernest Major@21:1/5 to Chris Lowland on Thu Nov 16 19:34:54 2023
    On 16/11/2023 01:51, Chris Lowland wrote:

    Now assume that a simple mutation provides immunity from the
    poison. In which of the two species would that mutation be more
    likely to get fixed?

    I loved this answer so much. How did you arrive at the idea that the poison could be defeated with immunity? Was the mutation immunal? How did selection pressure change such that immunity was attempted?

    The idea that poison can be defeated by immunity is obtained from
    observation. There are plants which are toxic to most insects, but which
    are eaten by specialist insects which are immune that those plants'
    specific toxins.

    The idea that immunity can be achieved through mutation is obtained from observation - the development of resistance (immunity) to antibiotics
    has been observed several times.

    The particular model offered didn't proffer any change in selection
    pressure. "Attempted" is also a strange choice of verb; immunity isn't attempted - it just occurs. The difference is that in a population that
    eschews that particular type of berry there's no selection pressure in
    favour of a mutation that provides immunity, and it's likely to be lost
    again by chance; but in a population that doesn't discriminate a
    mutation that confers immunity is under positive selection pressure, and
    has a better chance of spreading through the population.

    One can assume being in proximity to the berries is relevant and that the intensity of the berries' flavour is familiar. Instinct regarding the berries is that the poison can be eliminated; memory of the berries is that they are like certain other
    berries, with less of a toxic profile. These factors shape the adaptation.

    The point is the group that developed immunity had to keep dying, whereas the religious group had the choice of attempting to share immunity after the fact.

    You seem to have misunderstood the model. Two species were specified.
    Since species rather than populations were specified, one can infer that reproductive isolation was intended, i.e. that the two species were too distantly related to interbreed (and the "religious" group lacks the opportunity of borrowing immunity after the fact).

    The question I want to keep asking is "did immunity to the berries have a flow on effect to other poisonous berries?" Or simply put "if the religious group married the immune group, would immunity carry?" Or indeed "if the immune group left the poison
    berry area, adapted to other poisons and then came back, would the immunity come back more quickly?" I think the answer is that it depends entirely on whether a p-factor has been developed.

    Those are 3 very different questions.

    A p-factor is where various attempts at a skill lead to better control of that skill (the example I originally saw was that learning a number of ways to use your intelligence leads to more intelligence over all). To use the example of the berries, if
    the immune group attempted to become immune to a wide variety of berries, there would be a chance that they develop a p-factor for poisonousness in general. Then if they left an area and neglected immunity, then returned, that immunity would be aided by
    the p-factor for poisonousness in general. The key is that the potential for a response (to poisonousness) is something that you have to exercise. I think that answers the question of whether adaptations come back more quickly - if the adaptation or
    something related to it is exercised, there is reason to believe that adaptation will be above standard.

    In mammals one way of dealing with toxins is detoxification by liver
    enzymes. That is there is a battery of enzymes that catalyse the
    degradation of molecules in the blood stream passing through the liver
    which has the effect of detoxification. A herbivore is exposed to more
    toxins than a carnivore, and over evolutionary time duplication and subfunctionalisation of these enzymes is likely to occur in a herbivore lineage; thus a herbivore is likely to have a bigger battery of such
    enzymes, so on exposure to a novel toxin it's got a better chance of
    having an enzyme that has an effect, or is capable of mutating to have
    an effect.

    But as a warning against hasty generalisation, the toxic effect of
    canavanine is due to canavanine being incorporated in proteins in the
    place of arginine, with the effect of breaking protein function. In
    insects this is achieved by improving the specificity of arginine tRNA
    ligase. This is not help immunity against other toxins (with the narrow exception of other arginine-mimicking non-protein amino acids).

    Does that make exercising Evolution, a needed development of Evolution?


    --
    alias Ernest Major

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  • From Chris Lowland@21:1/5 to All on Mon Nov 20 17:24:47 2023
    I think I have my answer:

    The best approach, is to take a vaccine approach.

    Expecting pressure to come, but with the right anti-bodies, you no longer need to anticipate your current design being outdated.

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  • From Robert Carnegie@21:1/5 to All on Fri Dec 15 07:05:07 2023
    Your latest post breaks my newsreader program.

    Consider these facts. Human heads are too big.
    Women and offspring die during the birth
    process. The human skull has evolved to be
    squashed during birth to get out without too
    much damage, but that isn't enough.

    Our heads are too big, and evolution knows it,
    but evolution can't fix it.

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  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Fri Dec 15 21:11:13 2023
    On Fri, 15 Dec 2023 18:29:07 -0800 (PST), the following
    appeared in talk.origins, posted by Chris Lowland
    <[email protected]>:

    On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 2:07:09?AM UTC+11, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Your latest post breaks my newsreader program.

    Consider these facts. Human heads are too big.
    Women and offspring die during the birth
    process. The human skull has evolved to be
    squashed during birth to get out without too
    much damage, but that isn't enough.

    Our heads are too big, and evolution knows it,
    but evolution can't fix it.

    The whole premise is that you are pumping enough variation in, to catch the necessary difference (for some of the species).

    The problem is that you need to define some of that variation as "relevant" (or instinct will fail to nurture adaptations enough).

    Perhaps a clear translation of that, and a clear explanation
    of its relevance to Robert's post, would be appropriate,

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

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  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Mon Dec 18 09:03:37 2023
    On Fri, 15 Dec 2023 21:11:13 -0700, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by Bob Casanova <[email protected]>:

    On Fri, 15 Dec 2023 18:29:07 -0800 (PST), the following
    appeared in talk.origins, posted by Chris Lowland
    <[email protected]>:

    On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 2:07:09?AM UTC+11, Robert Carnegie wrote: >>> Your latest post breaks my newsreader program.

    Consider these facts. Human heads are too big.
    Women and offspring die during the birth
    process. The human skull has evolved to be
    squashed during birth to get out without too
    much damage, but that isn't enough.

    Our heads are too big, and evolution knows it,
    but evolution can't fix it.

    The whole premise is that you are pumping enough variation in, to catch the necessary difference (for some of the species).

    The problem is that you need to define some of that variation as "relevant" (or instinct will fail to nurture adaptations enough).

    Perhaps a clear translation of that, and a clear explanation
    of its relevance to Robert's post, would be appropriate,

    ...or not.

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

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  • From Robert Carnegie@21:1/5 to All on Wed Dec 20 12:14:03 2023
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts. I am on
    Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself.

    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle. Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless. And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same. A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

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  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Wed Dec 20 16:27:02 2023
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:19:38 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 12:14 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts. I am on
    Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself.

    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle. Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless. And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same. A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

    It would have to be a big snake that would have ideas about eating you.
    Many snake bites are defensive (rattlers actually are trying to warn
    you). Non-poisonous snakes are good to have around for rodent control,
    and they're all beautiful animals. I live in a high desert environment
    and I'm surrounded by reptiles and rodents.

    And if you're anywhere near the Four Corners area, you're
    arguably in more danger from the rodents than from the
    reptiles, even including the rattlers. Rattlers will
    generally try to avoid you; Arsenia pestis, not so much.

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

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  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Wed Dec 20 18:10:27 2023
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:42:09 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 3:27 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:19:38 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 12:14 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts. I am on
    Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself.

    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle. Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless. And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same. A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

    It would have to be a big snake that would have ideas about eating you.
    Many snake bites are defensive (rattlers actually are trying to warn
    you). Non-poisonous snakes are good to have around for rodent control,
    and they're all beautiful animals. I live in a high desert environment
    and I'm surrounded by reptiles and rodents.

    And if you're anywhere near the Four Corners area, you're
    arguably in more danger from the rodents than from the
    reptiles, even including the rattlers. Rattlers will
    generally try to avoid you; Arsenia pestis, not so much.

    I've been in the Four Corners several times, even sneaking up Shiprock >without official permission. (It turns out the local Indians don't
    actually care that much.) No problems with snakes, but there were
    packrat middens in some crevices in the rock.

    Be *damned* careful; you can contract Hantavirus from
    droppings, and bubonic plague from fleas on the rodents.
    Neither is pleasant.

    I'm near Phoenix, with no problems from either (for the
    moment, anyway), but both are well-known issues.

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

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  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Wed Dec 20 22:05:13 2023
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:17:50 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 5:10 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:42:09 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 3:27 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:19:38 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 12:14 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts. I am on
    Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself.

    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle. Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless. And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same. A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

    It would have to be a big snake that would have ideas about eating you. >>>>> Many snake bites are defensive (rattlers actually are trying to warn >>>>> you). Non-poisonous snakes are good to have around for rodent control, >>>>> and they're all beautiful animals. I live in a high desert environment >>>>> and I'm surrounded by reptiles and rodents.

    And if you're anywhere near the Four Corners area, you're
    arguably in more danger from the rodents than from the
    reptiles, even including the rattlers. Rattlers will
    generally try to avoid you; Arsenia pestis, not so much.

    I've been in the Four Corners several times, even sneaking up Shiprock
    without official permission. (It turns out the local Indians don't
    actually care that much.) No problems with snakes, but there were
    packrat middens in some crevices in the rock.

    Be *damned* careful; you can contract Hantavirus from
    droppings, and bubonic plague from fleas on the rodents.
    Neither is pleasant.

    I'm near Phoenix, with no problems from either (for the
    moment, anyway), but both are well-known issues.

    Deer mice spread hantavirus, but packrats don't. We've goth bott, too.
    Every other year or some local dies of it.

    "bott"?

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

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  • From Athel Cornish-Bowden@21:1/5 to erik simpson on Thu Dec 21 09:38:43 2023
    On 2023-12-21 05:49:22 +0000, erik simpson said:

    On 12/20/23 9:05 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:17:50 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 5:10 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:42:09 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 3:27 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:19:38 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 12:14 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts. I am on
    Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself.

    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle. Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless. And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same. A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

    It would have to be a big snake that would have ideas about eating you. >>>>>>> Many snake bites are defensive (rattlers actually are trying to warn >>>>>>> you). Non-poisonous snakes are good to have around for rodent control, >>>>>>> and they're all beautiful animals. I live in a high desert environment >>>>>>> and I'm surrounded by reptiles and rodents.

    And if you're anywhere near the Four Corners area, you're
    arguably in more danger from the rodents than from the
    reptiles, even including the rattlers. Rattlers will
    generally try to avoid you; Arsenia pestis, not so much.

    I've been in the Four Corners several times, even sneaking up Shiprock >>>>> without official permission. (It turns out the local Indians don't
    actually care that much.) No problems with snakes, but there were
    packrat middens in some crevices in the rock.

    Be *damned* careful; you can contract Hantavirus from
    droppings, and bubonic plague from fleas on the rodents.
    Neither is pleasant.

    I'm near Phoenix, with no problems from either (for the
    moment, anyway), but both are well-known issues.

    Deer mice spread hantavirus, but packrats don't. We've goth bott, too.
    Every other year or some local dies of it.

    "bott"?

    No, I've just got lousy typing skills. It's "both", and every other
    year or so some local... Oh, and we've got lions and tigers and bears,
    oh my. Well, not tigers.

    You live in exciting places. We don't have any of those around here
    (south of France). Tiger mosquitoes, yes (though I've never seen one),
    but tigers, no. We do have wild boar in the city, but they don't
    usually attack people.

    --
    athel cb : Biochemical Evolution, Garland Science, 2016

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  • From Athel Cornish-Bowden@21:1/5 to erik simpson on Thu Dec 21 09:29:19 2023
    On 2023-12-20 23:19:38 +0000, erik simpson said:

    On 12/20/23 12:14 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts. I am on
    Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself.

    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle. Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless. And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same. A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

    It would have to be a big snake that would have ideas about eating you.

    Yes, but it's not wise to keep a python as a pet, non-poisonous though
    it be. I heard of someone once who took her python to a vet as it had
    stopped eating. The vet said "that's quite normal; he's waiting until
    he's hungry enough to eat you".

    Many snake bites are defensive (rattlers actually are trying to warn
    you). Non-poisonous snakes are good to have around for rodent control,
    and they're all beautiful animals. I live in a high desert environment
    and I'm surrounded by reptiles and rodents.


    --
    Athel -- French and British, living in Marseilles for 36 years; mainly
    in England until 1987.

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  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Thu Dec 21 08:19:14 2023
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 21:49:22 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 9:05 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:17:50 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 5:10 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:42:09 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 3:27 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:19:38 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 12:14 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts. I am on
    Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself.

    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle. Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless. And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same. A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

    It would have to be a big snake that would have ideas about eating you. >>>>>>> Many snake bites are defensive (rattlers actually are trying to warn >>>>>>> you). Non-poisonous snakes are good to have around for rodent control, >>>>>>> and they're all beautiful animals. I live in a high desert environment >>>>>>> and I'm surrounded by reptiles and rodents.

    And if you're anywhere near the Four Corners area, you're
    arguably in more danger from the rodents than from the
    reptiles, even including the rattlers. Rattlers will
    generally try to avoid you; Arsenia pestis, not so much.

    I've been in the Four Corners several times, even sneaking up Shiprock >>>>> without official permission. (It turns out the local Indians don't
    actually care that much.) No problems with snakes, but there were
    packrat middens in some crevices in the rock.

    Be *damned* careful; you can contract Hantavirus from
    droppings, and bubonic plague from fleas on the rodents.
    Neither is pleasant.

    I'm near Phoenix, with no problems from either (for the
    moment, anyway), but both are well-known issues.

    Deer mice spread hantavirus, but packrats don't. We've goth bott, too.
    Every other year or some local dies of it.

    "bott"?

    No, I've just got lousy typing skills. It's "both", and every other
    year or so some local... Oh, and we've got lions and tigers and bears,
    oh my. Well, not tigers.

    :-)

    OK, goth it.

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

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  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Thu Dec 21 10:37:47 2023
    On Thu, 21 Dec 2023 08:59:31 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/21/23 12:38 AM, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
    On 2023-12-21 05:49:22 +0000, erik simpson said:

    On 12/20/23 9:05 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:17:50 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 5:10 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:42:09 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 3:27 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:19:38 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 12:14 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts.� I am on
    Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself.

    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle.� Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless.� And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same.� A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

    It would have to be a big snake that would have ideas about
    eating you.
    Many snake bites are defensive (rattlers actually are trying to >>>>>>>>> warn
    you). Non-poisonous snakes are good to have around for rodent >>>>>>>>> control,
    and they're all beautiful animals. I live in a high desert
    environment
    and I'm surrounded by reptiles and rodents.

    And if you're anywhere near the Four Corners area, you're
    arguably in more danger from the rodents than from the
    reptiles, even including the rattlers. Rattlers will
    generally try to avoid you; Arsenia pestis, not so much.

    I've been in the Four Corners several times, even sneaking up
    Shiprock
    without official permission. (It turns out the local Indians don't >>>>>>> actually care that much.) No problems with snakes, but there were >>>>>>> packrat middens in some crevices in the rock.

    Be *damned* careful; you can contract Hantavirus from
    droppings, and bubonic plague from fleas on the rodents.
    Neither is pleasant.

    I'm near Phoenix, with no problems from either (for the
    moment, anyway), but both are well-known issues.

    Deer mice spread hantavirus, but packrats don't. We've goth bott, too. >>>>> Every other year or some local dies of it.

    "bott"?

    No, I've just got lousy typing skills.� It's "both", and every other
    year or so some local... Oh, and we've got lions and tigers and bears,
    oh my.� Well, not tigers.

    You live in exciting places. We don't have any of those around here
    (south of France). Tiger mosquitoes, yes (though I've never seen one),
    but tigers, no. We do have wild boar in the city, but they don't usually
    attack people.

    The lions and bears don't normally attack people either.

    You might want to clarify that the lions aren't 500 lb with
    a mane, living in prides, but 200 lb with none, living
    solitary. Similar color, though... :-)

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

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    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bob Casanova@21:1/5 to All on Thu Dec 21 14:13:18 2023
    On Thu, 21 Dec 2023 12:59:46 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/21/23 9:37 AM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Thu, 21 Dec 2023 08:59:31 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/21/23 12:38 AM, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
    On 2023-12-21 05:49:22 +0000, erik simpson said:

    On 12/20/23 9:05 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:17:50 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 5:10 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:42:09 -0800, the following appeared
    in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 3:27 PM, Bob Casanova wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:19:38 -0800, the following appeared >>>>>>>>>> in talk.origins, posted by erik simpson
    <[email protected]>:

    On 12/20/23 12:14 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts.� I am on >>>>>>>>>>>> Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself. >>>>>>>>>>>>
    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle.� Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless.� And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same.� A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

    It would have to be a big snake that would have ideas about >>>>>>>>>>> eating you.
    Many snake bites are defensive (rattlers actually are trying to >>>>>>>>>>> warn
    you). Non-poisonous snakes are good to have around for rodent >>>>>>>>>>> control,
    and they're all beautiful animals. I live in a high desert >>>>>>>>>>> environment
    and I'm surrounded by reptiles and rodents.

    And if you're anywhere near the Four Corners area, you're
    arguably in more danger from the rodents than from the
    reptiles, even including the rattlers. Rattlers will
    generally try to avoid you; Arsenia pestis, not so much.

    I've been in the Four Corners several times, even sneaking up >>>>>>>>> Shiprock
    without official permission. (It turns out the local Indians don't >>>>>>>>> actually care that much.) No problems with snakes, but there were >>>>>>>>> packrat middens in some crevices in the rock.

    Be *damned* careful; you can contract Hantavirus from
    droppings, and bubonic plague from fleas on the rodents.
    Neither is pleasant.

    I'm near Phoenix, with no problems from either (for the
    moment, anyway), but both are well-known issues.

    Deer mice spread hantavirus, but packrats don't. We've goth bott, too. >>>>>>> Every other year or some local dies of it.

    "bott"?

    No, I've just got lousy typing skills.� It's "both", and every other >>>>> year or so some local... Oh, and we've got lions and tigers and bears, >>>>> oh my.� Well, not tigers.

    You live in exciting places. We don't have any of those around here
    (south of France). Tiger mosquitoes, yes (though I've never seen one), >>>> but tigers, no. We do have wild boar in the city, but they don't usually >>>> attack people.

    The lions and bears don't normally attack people either.

    You might want to clarify that the lions aren't 500 lb with
    a mane, living in prides, but 200 lb with none, living
    solitary. Similar color, though... :-)

    All true. Our lions are mountain lions, and our bears North American
    black bears (200-500 lbs). Not very scary unless they come in the
    automatic doors in the market.

    ...or break into a delivery truck and eat every donut they
    can reach (Krispy Kremes, IIRC; no accounting for taste...).
    And then there's the black(?) bear that ate several pounds
    of cocaine; the comment I saw was that "for about 5 minutes,
    until it killed him, he was the most lethal apex predator on
    the planet".

    A-a-a-nd I think we've beaten this OT subthread to death;
    enjoy the holidays! :-)

    --

    Bob C.

    "The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
    the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
    'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

    - Isaac Asimov

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Robert Carnegie@21:1/5 to Athel Cornish-Bowden on Sat Dec 23 06:22:50 2023
    On Thursday 21 December 2023 at 08:32:15 UTC, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
    On 2023-12-20 23:19:38 +0000, erik simpson said:

    On 12/20/23 12:14 PM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    Again I have trouble replying to Chris's posts. I am on
    Google Groups which is soon going to be disconnected,
    but for now, I'd ask for wrapped lines, at around 70
    characters, or whatever it is thst I'm doing here myself.

    To put it wrongly, many poisonous plants want you
    to know that they're poisonous, and their signals
    are not subtle. Children keep eating them,
    nevertheless. And as for snakes, most of us
    don't like them - either venomous or not, it's
    the same. A difference is that you would eat
    the plant and kill it, whereas the snake wants
    to eat you - whether that's practical or not.

    It would have to be a big snake that would have ideas about eating you.
    Yes, but it's not wise to keep a python as a pet, non-poisonous though
    it be. I heard of someone once who took her python to a vet as it had
    stopped eating. The vet said "that's quite normal; he's waiting until
    he's hungry enough to eat you".

    Eek. Hilaire Belloc mentioned drawbacks
    (doubtful) of keeping a python, but
    not that one - not in so many words.
    <https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27176>
    Perhaps it's implied. (This is volume two
    of alarming verses for children, about animals.)

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