Evolution and humans: big brain size uses energy (Evolution)

by David Turell , Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 15:28 (2564 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: Each econiche has is own balance and all the econiches contributed to the overall balance of total nature.

dhw: Which constantly changes. I agree. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with God’s prime purpose being to produce the brain of Homo sapiens.

It provides the food energy for evolution to reach the stage for the production of the brain.

DAVID: Left out of your hypothesis: the gap in fossil record.

Not left out. You quoted my answer in the very next exchange:

dhw: In my hypothesis, the cell communities are capable of designing saltations – as opposed to your God providing the first living cells with a programme to pass on for every saltation for every innovation throughout the history of evolution (or alternatively dabbling each one personally), just to keep life going till he can produce Homo sapiens.

DAVID: And I view it as logically impossible. All cell changes we know about are simple adaptations.

Cell communities do not have the mental capacity to cause speciation. That is the point of intelligent design.

dhw: All the major changes are cell changes! The question is how they happen. My hypothesis is based on the fact that we know there is an autonomous mechanism capable of making minor changes. Nobody knows the mechanism for major changes, but the same autonomous mechanism is at least as “logical” as a 3.8-billion-year-old divine computer programme or a divine dabble for every single major change, plus lifestyle plus natural wonder.

Answered above.

dhw: I know you are confused about whales. What is confusing about the process I have described above?
DAVID: The process is exactly what I propose. God-directed change.
dhw: Which you say leaves you confused. So what is confusing about the process I have proposed above?
DAVID: It leaves out the mental activity required.

dhw: The whole hypothesis is based on the concept of cellular intelligence, as advocated by various experts in the field. Intelligence can be equated with mental activity. You may question whether that exists, but the concept could hardly be clearer, so why do you find it “confusing”?

Cells are not intelligent enough to arrange for speciation. Your hypothesis is a minnow of an idea expanded into whale.

DAVID: I'm not confused.

You wrote: “You are just as confused as I am about whales.” So you are confused but you are not confused. Don’t you find that confusing?

DAVID: I question the need for such a design-requiring effort. I have a whale purpose theory expressed before. The whales are necessary for the ocean's balance of nature. Their decomposing dead bodies benefit ocean floor organisms. I've seen papers on the subject. Perhaps God's point is: look at what I can do with my powers, reversing the course of evolution from mammals on land to put them back in water where life came from. But that is a tongue-in-cheek view and I don't believe it.

dhw: We all know that organisms feed on other organisms. Once again, that has nothing whatsoever to do with God’s prime purpose being to create the brain of Homo sapiens!

To supply the energy for life to proceed to the achievement of the brain.