Origin of Life: early land life in algae fossil (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, March 28, 2020, 20:15 (1702 days ago) @ dhw

QUOTE: The first green plants to find their way out of the water were not the soaring trees or even the little shrubs of our present world. They were most likely soft and mossy, with shallow roots and few of the adaptations they would later evolve to survive and thrive on dry land.

DAVID: All types of life started in the seas. When continents poked up into dry land, life got there some how. And the animals arrived and ate the plants and other animals. Life appeared 3.6-8 by ago and this development took a long time to happen.

dhw: The quote encapsulates what I see as the history of evolution – whether initiated by God or not. In terms of its advancement, it is a constant process of organisms surviving and thriving as they learn to cope with or exploit new conditions. If, very broadly speaking, we take “surviving” to mean staying the same and “exploiting” to mean making changes, we can see the logic of advancement, with each new wave of innovations building on what already existed, and expanding the range as environments change. In this context I think it’s crucial to keep in mind your comment that it took a long time. We often take for granted the figures, without considering what they entail. Not just centuries, not just thousands, not just millions, but thousands of millions of years, and millions of millions of generations of organisms. The time is so long that we can’t really imagine it, or the colossal variety of life forms which exist even now but existed up to 99% more in the course of those billions of years. I shan’t comment on its relevance to your theory, except to say that the mind boggles at the colossal range of life forms that have come and gone over this vast period of time. Thank you for yet another extremely interesting development in our understanding of life’s history.

DAVID: It is an unfolding story as science digs in. Just as I noted in the Shapiro thread, we are now just seeing the purpose for bacteria staying around. Obvious purposes can be found as we keep studying. I deeply appreciate your permission to go on with this site so we can keep learning. Our knowledge is never completed. I'm delighted your search team found me in 2008. I've sure had fun.

dhw: I don’t know how many folk have followed our discussions since 2008, but those who have will probably have formed the impression that we are deadly foes! Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite our differences, I not only have the utmost respect for your faith and your erudition, but also for the personal qualities which have resulted in a lasting friendship. I too am delighted that the search team found you, and the fact is that without your vast range of contributions, the website would almost certainly have closed down long ago. Please carry on having fun!

I still find it lots of fun and very much enjoy our close relationship.