DILEMMAS (Evolution)

by GateKeeper , Sunday, November 02, 2014, 16:25 (3672 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: Sorry, I obviously didn't make that part of my post clear. The context is evolution, and I'm suggesting that when the environment changes, organisms will either perish, adapt, or possibly innovate. 
> GK: I think organism will make use of all three. 
> 
> Pretty difficult for an organism to perish, adapt and innovate all at the same time. (Yeah, let's have a giggle).
> 
> dhw: I don't know your views on evolution, GK, and am beginning to wonder if I know David's, but if you believe in the theory that all living organisms except the very first descended from earlier living organisms, you are looking at examples every waking moment of your life. The question then is not whether, but how complex comes from less complex.
> GK: I think evolution seems to work just like the rock record and experiments shows it works. [...] I do not see "more complex" arising from "less complex"; anywhere. So I move on. "Old guy in the sky", well, That makes more assumptions than a star makes neutrino's. If we continue to argue these two "end points" the rift will never close in our lifetimes. 
> 
> Agreed re assumptions and end points, but I think we learn a lot from these arguments.
> 
> Under “Contingent evolution” you asked: “What “pushes” the cells in your body to do what they do?” [...] What pushes the fabric of space that is “you” to be you?” BBella replied with a single word answer: “Symbiosis”. I wouldn't dare to sum up the driving force behind identity in that manner, but it's a brilliant answer to your comments on evolutionary complexity. Once multicellularity came on the scene, every single innovation had to be the result of cells cooperating for mutual advantage, no matter whether they were divinely preprogrammed, divinely ”pushed”, or “pushed” by some intelligent mechanism within the genome.-One step closer you get. I would expect a biologist to use the word. Now address the "fact" that there is not one example of less complex forming more complex.