Explaining natural wonders: bacterial intelligence (2) (Animals)

by David Turell , Sunday, May 28, 2017, 02:47 (2735 days ago) @ David Turell

This is an addendum to my last thought. You have equated our concepts of the process of the advancement of evolution. You see improvement and I see complexity. They have vastly different imports in the understanding of evolution. The subject arises because of the study of a spinal change which occurred, but the animal retained the same species form and function. It was a minor initial adaptation. A bit of complexity, no real improvement.

Complexity for complexity's sake does not imply that improvement has to take place. Obviously, in general, complexity will result in improvement, but not necessarily. My problem with the whale series is a case in point. I see it as an enormous physiological and phenotypical complexity inducing branch of evolution for no obvious good reason.

On the other hand I see the current end of evolution resulting in the most complex invention of all from evolution, the human brain. Viewed this way, as evolution driven by a complexification drive, makes the whole of evolution understandably logical. The whales are simply a complexification branch of the bush gone wild. Improvement not always needed.

Improvement harks back to Darwin's concept of competition for survival. I'm not sure that applies at all. Survival of the fittest is a tautology, as we both know. Natural selection is a passive process. The initial life form is still here, conquering every weird area of the world. They are perfect survivors. They obviously started that way with the full capability to survive anything. They make the point that improvement was never needed! But it happened. Another point for a drive to complexity. I'll leave it at that.