Cambrian Explosion: afterthought (Introduction)

by dhw, Monday, September 30, 2013, 14:24 (4072 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Bluntly cells do not exchange information, only chemical reactions.-dhw: The Evolution of Cell-to-Cell Communication in...
www.scoop.it/t/social-foraging/p/3867153222/the-evolution-of-cell...-QUOTE: "Traditionally microorganisms were considered to be autonomous organisms that could be studied in isolation. However, over the last decades cell-to-cell communication has been found to be ubiquitous. By secreting molecular signals in the extracellular environment microorganisms can indirectly assess the cell density and respond in accordance." (David's bold)-DAVID: There is certainly an exchange of information. My bolding shows it is biochemical reactions. b bella's lecture supports me, not dhw. 'nuff said.-It is certainly not "'nuff said". Your bold explains how information is collected (much as we collect information through our senses), but it does not explain the process of responding: for example, why a cell decides to sporulate at a particular moment; you ignore the fact that "cell-to-cell communication is a strategy to cope with environmental variation, by allowing cells to predict future environmental conditions," and to anticipate environmental stress (according to you, cells cannot plan). Perhaps for you communication and cooperation can only take place if cells speak English. Just like other animals, birds and insects, cells clearly have their own methods of communicating, and the fact that biochemical reactions are involved (as they are with us too) does not mean there is no intelligence ...the "Construction Planner"? ... to coordinate reactions, communication and decision-making. -BBella's lecture was entitled "How do cells talk to each other and what do they say?" and she quoted p. 31: "Cells make different decisions depending on the input". So do humans. Guenter Albrecht-Buehler, a retired professor of cell biology, writes: "The cell as a whole is capable of immensely complex migration patterns for which their genome cannot contain a detailed program as they are responses to unforeseeable encounters." He goes on to talk of a "very sophisticated signal processing system ('cell brain') that is linked to the movement control of the cell." (my bold) You always prefer to focus on the signals and not on the processing.-DAVID: You cannot seem to understand the use of information by cells and want to call it intelligence. We are not discussing M1 or CIA intelligence. That is only information.-That is precisely the point I am trying to get across: it is the USE of information that constitutes intelligence, and cells/cell communities USE information. Yet again ... since you continue to ignore this repeated request! ... let me ask you what attributes you require in addition to the gathering, processing and exchange of information, communicating, decision-making, problem-solving (without self-awareness) before you will acknowledge intelligence.