What does Evolution Mean to you?

John Deere · Post by **John Deere** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:27 pm

Straight from Wikipedia:
Evolutionary ideas such as common descent and the transmutation of species have existed since at least the 6th century BC, when they were expounded by the Greek philosopher Anaximander. Others who considered such ideas included the Greek philosopher Empedocles, the Roman philosopher-poet Lucretius, the Arab biologist Al-Jahiz, the Persian philosopher Ibn Miskawayh, the Brethren of Purity, and the Eastern philosopher Zhuangzi. As biological knowledge grew in the 18th century, evolutionary ideas were set out by a few natural philosophers including Pierre Maupertuis in 1745 and Erasmus Darwin in 1796. The ideas of the biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck about transmutation of species had wide influence. Charles Darwin formulated his idea of natural selection in 1838 and was still developing his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him a similar theory, and both were presented to the Linnean Society of London in separate papers. At the end of 1859 Darwin's publication of On the Origin of Species explained natural selection in detail and presented evidence leading to increasingly wide acceptance of the occurrence of evolution.

But if we think about it there are many things that we can associate with Evolution. With that being said, what does it mean to you? Can we associate technology with Evolution? Or is that just advancements in life?

Gage · Post by **Gage** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 11:22 pm

John Deere wrote:Straight from Wikipedia:
Evolutionary ideas such as common descent and the transmutation of species have existed since at least the 6th century BC, when they were expounded by the Greek philosopher Anaximander. Others who considered such ideas included the Greek philosopher Empedocles, the Roman philosopher-poet Lucretius, the Arab biologist Al-Jahiz, the Persian philosopher Ibn Miskawayh, the Brethren of Purity, and the Eastern philosopher Zhuangzi. As biological knowledge grew in the 18th century, evolutionary ideas were set out by a few natural philosophers including Pierre Maupertuis in 1745 and Erasmus Darwin in 1796. The ideas of the biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck about transmutation of species had wide influence. Charles Darwin formulated his idea of natural selection in 1838 and was still developing his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him a similar theory, and both were presented to the Linnean Society of London in separate papers. At the end of 1859 Darwin's publication of On the Origin of Species explained natural selection in detail and presented evidence leading to increasingly wide acceptance of the occurrence of evolution.

But if we think about it there are many things that we can associate with Evolution. With that being said, what does it mean to you? Can we associate technology with Evolution? Or is that just advancements in life?

A wise man once said â€œBut this is not a reason. This is not a "why". He himself - his very nature is a means. It is not an end. And so to look for him is to be looking for a means to do... what? What is the reason? Soon the why and the reason are gone and all that matters is the feeling. This is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it, we fight to deny it; but it is of course a lie. Beneath our poised appearance we are completely out of control.â€

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 7:13 am

have you?

are you a BioMechanical Being yet?

Have you integrated electronics into your Person?

soon we will all be Steve Fucking Austin.

this will be the case with 90% of the "First World" within 5 years.

i'm not kidding. The "wet-ware" and implants that are being tested and will very soon be available to the mainstream are astounding and frightening as they are enticing. Who doesnt want a cornea that can zoom, see in the dark and store images on a teeny tiny flash drive inside your head?(available and being tested now as well)

how about just thinking, and your "Instant thought message" is translated and transferred to your friend who is also part of the "Network"..(see 60 minutes, story on brain controlled computing, 2 weeks ago, and actually they have been fucking with this shit for YEARS!)

cell phones, ubiquitous as they are now will be replaced by implants, and prosthetics and Tissue Farming will be able to fix, or replace broken parts

we will soon be living well past our 150th birthday as the Singularity of Scientific discovery approaches. This is especially noticeable when it involves computing, AI, and integration into our genetic make-up of new and possibly altered gene maps thru "gene therapy".

lets not forget the nanobots, which have ALREADY successfully cured cancer in rats.

i'm just not digging the USB port they installed in my nose though.

Zulegoona · Post by **Zulegoona** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:32 am

Oh thatâ€™s what it is I thought it was just a weird booger.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:35 am

Simon of the Playa wrote:are you a BioMechanical Being yet?

Have you integrated electronics into your Person?

I'm working on it.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:08 am

A friend of mine has an insulin pump-- that is electronic, and he wears it pretty much all the time as far as I know. Some people have pace-makers, which are integrated electronic devices. So, yes, we are already at the bio-mechanical phase as a species. (Heck, even some of our PETS have computer chips mounted in them! It helps identify who their owners are should they get lost.)

Anyways, as said above, everything is just a step to something else. Or, at least, that is one way of looking at things.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:23 am

Simon of the Playa wrote:have you?

i'm just not digging the USB port they installed in my nose though.

Simon,
you sure you've got that right? your nose may be ok, I'm told the memory sticks are suppositories.......you may have things backwards.......

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:25 am

theCryptofishist wrote:
Simon of the Playa wrote:are you a BioMechanical Being yet?

Have you integrated electronics into your Person?
I'm working on it.

The first Biomechanical FISH!

chiefdanfox · Post by **chiefdanfox** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:51 pm

ygmir wrote:
Simon of the Playa wrote:have you?

i'm just not digging the USB port they installed in my nose though.
Simon,
you sure you've got that right? your nose may be ok, I'm told the memory sticks are suppositories.......you may have things backwards.......

And I hope you are not digging around anywhere for any implants, but if so, for chrissake, check yer nose first!

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:53 pm

Adapt or die, Coelacanth!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:45 pm

It's the cockroach, nuclear bomb, foot game.

motskyroonmatick · Post by **motskyroonmatick** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:13 pm

Dammed if you do. Dammed if you don't.

issimo · Post by **issimo** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:11 pm

Without my heart stents I'd be really sleepy...

Really.

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 6:08 am

i have come to terms with MyNanobots(tm) and have learned to love the little purring sound they make at night.

not to mention when i cut myself, i heal really really quickly.

there are benefits to being a first waver...

Welcome to BurningMan, DARPA testing ground for unwitting subject research.

insert super duper evil laugh

*here*

lurker · Post by **lurker** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:59 am

Somebody said somewhere that we'd become the Borg much more easily than getting all that other Star Trek stuff....and it looks like it might be true

Still, we'd be virtually immortal, we'd have our own user driven multi person matrices--which we could use at any time--even at work(program in your work routine and do it on autopilot)

And I've always been a fan of slick black rubber....

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:05 am

pinemom wrote:
theCryptofishist wrote:
Simon of the Playa wrote:are you a BioMechanical Being yet?

Have you integrated electronics into your Person?
I'm working on it.

The first Biomechanical FISH!

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 10:00 am

No pissing in the gene pool:
http://www.darwinawards.com/

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:31 pm

Pangenesis was Charles Darwin's hypothetical mechanism for heredity. He presented this 'provisional hypothesis' in his 1868 work The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication and felt that it brought 'together a multitude of facts which are at present left disconnected by any efficient cause'. The etymology of the word comes from the Greek words pan (a prefix meaning "whole", "encompassing") and genesis (birth) or genos (origin).

Pangenesis holds that body cells shed gemmules, which collect in the reproductive organs prior to fertilization. Thus every cell in the body has a 'vote' in the constitution of the offspring. Atavisms arise due to the awaking of long-dormant gemmules, while limbs regenerate due to the activation of gemmules from the missing limb.

Pangenesis itself is now seen as deeply flawed and not supported by observation, yet it represents Darwin's attempt to explain such diverse phenomena as:

atavisms,
the intermediate nature of hybrids (blending inheritance),
Lamarckian use and disuse, and
limb regeneration.

Post by **Elderberry** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 10:12 pm

I love reading those Darwin Awards!

JK

penguin · Post by **penguin** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:00 pm

Evolution = change.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 9:50 pm

I am reading this great book Your Inner Fish and it's about how we can see much of our evolutionary history in human embrionic development and in the fossil record.
I do know that there is another sense of "evolution" than strict neo-Darwinism, and that it is in fact the older sense of the word. But after sitting through eight years of scientific know-nothingism I am so happy to embrace the more common sense of the term.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:50 am

Linearity in evolution is currently thought to be mostly an illusion. In reality, changing enviromental conditions select random mutations to survive based on their adaptations.

ZeroSky · Post by **ZeroSky** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:53 am

Zulegoona wrote:Oh thatâ€™s what it is I thought it was just a weird booger.

What a Godly answer

scotto · Post by **scotto** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:11 pm

Evolution is not just about the Survival of the Fittest...It is about embracing or trying something you have previously resisted.

a sea of dirac · Post by **a sea of dirac** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:21 am

all i have to say is that evolution did not stop at man, shit look at the bacteria that has evolved to live in jet fuel, or the fungus they found on earth returned satalites.......
the universe is an ever growning and evolving place. and it is beautiful in such!

klondike_bar · Post by **klondike_bar** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:49 am

Evolution according to South Park:

â€œYouâ€™re the retarded offspring of 5 monkies having butt sex with a fish squirrel.â€

a sea of dirac · Post by **a sea of dirac** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:08 pm

[quote="klondike_bar"]Evolution according to South Park:

â€œYouâ€™re the retarded offspring of 5 monkies having butt sex with a fish squirrel.â€

3walls · Post by **3walls** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 5:27 pm

I can read EVOLUTION in a physical way, but I think that the most important face of IT is the growing soul

klondike_bar · Post by **klondike_bar** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:16 pm

[quote="a sea of dirac"][quote="klondike_bar"]Evolution according to South Park:

â€œYouâ€™re the retarded offspring of 5 monkies having butt sex with a fish squirrel.â€

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 6:35 am

bad teeth, big boobs, and not too smart...

but polite, terribly polite....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/ ... reationism