Waiting for Fitzgerald

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
Gould probably looks pretty unattractive at the moment.

Yes, but he would be comforted by the fact that he is driving evolution of lower life forms like never before!

[soup sandwich]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
They are both non-testable and both solely faith based. Why should one be taught but not the other?

You mean "taught in a science class", right?

On the surface my answer is, because while I know there is no way to prove god's existence, I do not know there is no way to test theories about the jump from single-cell to multicell.

But at a deeper level, I don't think the God-stuff should be taught in a classroom because it just isn't scientifically useful. The "God just makes it happen" theory is intellectually lazy and is no use to the scientist at the lab bench.

Setting aside (here comes a theory) for a second the endosymbiotic hypothesis, and the fact that single-celled organisms do bind each other, and that such binding could result in division of labor, resulting specialization, and so on until multi-cellular organisms form and that perhaps analysis (here comes the test) of DNA sequences from well-preserved ancient eukaryotic organisms compared to DNA sequences from cells of specific tissues could yield information to help solve your problem...setting that aside...I don't think you can assume based on the discussions of this board whether your question is testable or not. It's a lawyer board.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
These simpletons say that single-celled animals evolved into everytihng. I ask, focused example now, how does a single celled animal that splits to reproduce become Sebastian Dangerfield who has a penis that ejects fertilizing sperm, usually into Kleenex, but on occasion into a mate, and someday resulting in offspring.

What possible mutation could cause that change?

Simple. First you have a mutation (or series of mutations) which create single celled organisms that instead of drifting apart stay stuck together. In the particular environment in which these cells reside, that provides an advantage in collecting resources.

A second mutation enters, which allows that later generations from that organism will differentiate depending on where they are within the structure. Improbable? Yes, but in the context of a reproductive cycle of less than a day, streched over 2-3 billion years, it becomes somewhat more likely. True organ generation is simply a refinement at this point.

Serious, Hank, this is 9th grade biology. Ever seen a coral? A sponge? A flatworm?

And how would we test?

You would test by creating a hypothesis and then observing the world to see if that hypothesis is empirically confirmed or denied. The fact that a test is not double blind does not make it scientifically invalid (nor does that fact make faith a scientifically valid test). But this is neither here nor there; there exists plenty of controlled studies demonstrating evolution.

Contrast this to the sheer offensiveness of creationism: if your body was designed intellegently, the designer wasn't very bright. Our knees are stupid. Ankles? you've got to be kidding me. Bipedal locomotion? Seriously? Five fingers seems pretty arbitrary, especially in whales. Bilateral symetry is pretty dumb for many ecological niches.

[Captain]

I have recently really enjoyed watching our aquarium, where tiny little frog eggs turned into tadpoles and some of the tadpoles grew up into frogs. We now have a couple of frogs in a separate tank. There are still some tadpoles starting to grow legs.

It is an amazing thing to watch. To think, the eggs came from just a couple of little cells and ended up as frogs. I have no idea how they got from one point to the other, but it is a true miracle.

It also was sad. Not all the tadpoles made it.

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Originally posted by soup sandwich
...I don't think you can assume based on the discussions of this board whether your question is testable or not. It's a lawyer board.

Some of us had former (professional) lives. We evolved into lawyers, driven by the selective pressure of higher paychecks.

[soup sandwich]

Originally posted by Sexual Harassment Panda
Some of us had former (professional) lives. We evolved into lawyers, driven by the selective pressure of higher paychecks.

I prefer to believe that some higher force guided you to your current profession.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by soup sandwich
I prefer to believe that some higher force guided you to your current profession.

A higher force with a sick sense of humor.

RT, who thinks it's sad that Hank never saw Fantasia, which explains all of this stuff. The god(s) part comes in towards the end, after the dancing hippos part.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by baltassoc
Simple. First you have a mutation (or series of mutations) which create single celled organisms that instead of drifting apart stay stuck together.

Okay. that's what your mutation will do. What is the mutation?

In the particular environment in which these cells reside, that provides an advantage in collecting resources.

what is the advantage?

Ever seen a coral? A sponge? A flatworm?

You've done patents. You know I'm not leeting you go on hindsight reconstruction. How did they get that way?

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally posted by soup sandwich
But at a deeper level, I don't think the God-stuff should be taught in a classroom because it just isn't scientifically useful. The "God just makes it happen" theory is intellectually lazy and is no use to the scientist at the lab bench.

Faith should be studied in some class. Its an amazing concept when you think about it, and really... what concept has had more of an effect on our history?

Faith is a brilliant lie. Its telling people to believe the opposite of everything around them, everything their senses and common ssense tell them is probably true. And then it tells them that the more they are faced with facts disproving what they believe, the more they must believe the improbable stories the Church tells them to believe.

And the kicker - and this is where the lie of faith is truly brilliant - is that it plays on man's fear of death. The religious leaders unilaterally deem themselves fiunctionaries of God and tell people that to reject them is to reject God and go to Hell. Because there's no way to disprove the fantastic story these religious leaders sell, the masses are left to choose between belief or damnation.

The world would be a lot different if 3000 years ago, a scientist started a church, claimed he knew God, and told people that if they didn't believe what science uncovered, they'd die and go to hell.

We'd all be a lot better off.

Some people are just too fucking stupiud to think for themselves and need somebody else to give them a little fantasy world of beliefs to make them feel like its all going to be ok.

It won't. The faithful, the faithless and the agnostic... we all go to the same place in the end. And we all know it.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Okay. that's what your mutation will do. What is the mutation?

A mutation is where the DNA reproduces inaccurately, producing a result that is different from the parent.

what is the advantage?

Large surface area allows for more efficient capture of nutrients as they flow by from some source, such as a mineral spring.

You've done patents.

Like hell I have. I will not stand for this libel!

You know I'm not leeting you go on hindsight reconstruction. How did they get that way?

I don't know. It's been decades since I took biology. Iam, however, prepared to discuss based on quite current information, just how fucked up our Department of Homeland Security is.

DHS sure as hell wasn't intellegently designed.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
Some people are just too fucking stupiud to think for themselves and need somebody else to give them a little fantasy world of beliefs to make them feel like its all going to be ok.

Outline a theory for how a single cell mutates into an animal having organ systems. Then sketch out a test protocal.

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Okay. that's what your mutation will do. What is the mutation?

I believe it was a G to T transversion at position 433 of the cadherin precursor.

what is the advantage?

They can intimidate the other single cells that have not banded together. "Gimme that saccharide or we'll pound ya!"

You've done patents. You know I'm not leeting you go on hindsight reconstruction. How did they get that way?

More mutations. Can I send them to you in an Excel spreadsheet?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by baltassoc

I don't know. .

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[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by soup sandwich
I prefer to believe that some higher force guided you to your current profession.

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[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Sexual Harassment Panda
If sexual selection is ongoing and if chicks like humor- I'm in trouble

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