Miscellany (General)

by David Turell , Friday, October 08, 2021, 23:52 (1140 days ago) @ dhw

Survival

DAVID: It is your circles. I've agreed survival is required.

dhw: So why do you keep telling us that survival has nothing to do with the appearance of new species?

Because God speciates, and in one case from no survivors (precursors) in the Cambrian

Mediocrity theory not reasonable
QUOTE: A planet may have the right properties for harboring life — the right chemical composition, distance to the main star, atmosphere, magnetic field, etc. — and there would still be no guarantee that life would exist there.

Sheer common sense. Who on earth came up with the “mediocrity theory”?!

Brain cells
QUOTE: “We’re going to have to learn what all these cell types are and try to figure out how they all work together.”

dhw: This statement typifies what for me is becoming more and more obvious: we are a community of cell communities, and as in all communities, individuals and groups must work together if they are to function properly. This observation can be extended from the cells of the brain to ants in their colonies and to whole nations of humans. Without efficient cooperation you have illness in the body and war between nations. Our cell communities provide an admirable example of how well things CAN work, but also of how any breakdown in cooperation, or any interference from outside, can result in catastrophe. I would also apply these observations to the problem of theodicy which is so troubling to believers. From cells to nations, your God has provided the same formula: “I’ve given you the means. Now it’s up to you how you use them.”

And we've done that, and cells carefully follow His instructions