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GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
trønderen25-Jan-21 14:44
trønderen25-Jan-21 14:44 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
Gary R. Wheeler26-Jan-21 11:59
Gary R. Wheeler26-Jan-21 11:59 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
  Forogar  26-Jan-21 3:19
professional  Forogar  26-Jan-21 3:19 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
DRHuff26-Jan-21 16:07
DRHuff26-Jan-21 16:07 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
Richard Andrew x6425-Jan-21 13:25
professionalRichard Andrew x6425-Jan-21 13:25 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
Gerry Schmitz26-Jan-21 3:45
mveGerry Schmitz26-Jan-21 3:45 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
RedDk26-Jan-21 7:31
RedDk26-Jan-21 7:31 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
W Balboos, GHB26-Jan-21 2:12
W Balboos, GHB26-Jan-21 2:12 
Gerry Schmitz wrote:
Complex organisms tend to evolve over time into even more complex organisms; with even longer gestation periods.
Not really how it works.

True, complex organisms may have an upper hand it adapting to environmental changes before going extinct but they also, just as often, have many and more distinct dependencies - and can be blotted out by losing any one of them. Like crawling out of the oceans, mud, and slime created a dependency upon having water to drink (but also, the ability to find a new watering hole if the other dries up).

Evolution simply works by experimentation and lots of failures - and occasional success (variations of a species) and occasionally extreme success (domination by the new variant).

As an example of survival requiring less complexity:   the majority of human residents of the far north, such as the scandenavian regions, evolved into a simpler form in their need to produce far less melanin to survive. It has two driving forces: one, to make it easier to use available light for vitamin D production and also that producing it was no longer essential for survival (viz-a-viz, as it is in equatorial regions). In other words - they can live without it so evolution may have favored simplification.

In the case of the new COVID mutations, of particular interest is that it is more easily spread. It (or they) will eventually become the dominant strains simply based upon statistics. What's left of the orignal strains will be marginalized - possibly even disappear. Becoming more deadly, however, is not a good mutation even from the virus' point of view. Ideally, the best carriers are those without symptoms. Killing the host is counter-productive. Currently, it has a chance to spread, first, so it continues on - but if a more rapidly lethal version emerged it may well be it's own cul-de-sac.

Two of my children studied genetics - and I won't claim to have absorbed much compared to a specialist, but it was clear that it's not nearly so simple as many like to make it seem. External to the organism are, in general, a large number of factors, also evolving, favoring and disfavoring mutations.

Blue eyes - a minor handicap, in fact (reduced color vision in bright light) survives as a recessive gene but survives in that way in huge populations. What about the rules?

Ravings en masse^
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010


modified 26-Jan-21 8:22am.

GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
Gerry Schmitz26-Jan-21 3:43
mveGerry Schmitz26-Jan-21 3:43 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
W Balboos, GHB26-Jan-21 3:50
W Balboos, GHB26-Jan-21 3:50 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
Gerry Schmitz26-Jan-21 4:10
mveGerry Schmitz26-Jan-21 4:10 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
RedDk26-Jan-21 7:33
RedDk26-Jan-21 7:33 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
RedDk26-Jan-21 8:20
RedDk26-Jan-21 8:20 
GeneralRe: Devolution Pin
RedDk26-Jan-21 7:33
RedDk26-Jan-21 7:33 
GeneralThought of the Day Pin
OriginalGriff25-Jan-21 4:44
mveOriginalGriff25-Jan-21 4:44 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
  Forogar  25-Jan-21 4:59
professional  Forogar  25-Jan-21 4:59 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
Daniel Pfeffer25-Jan-21 5:19
professionalDaniel Pfeffer25-Jan-21 5:19 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
W Balboos, GHB25-Jan-21 5:19
W Balboos, GHB25-Jan-21 5:19 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
OriginalGriff25-Jan-21 5:25
mveOriginalGriff25-Jan-21 5:25 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
PIEBALDconsult25-Jan-21 5:56
mvePIEBALDconsult25-Jan-21 5:56 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
Gerry Schmitz25-Jan-21 6:30
mveGerry Schmitz25-Jan-21 6:30 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
Kris Lantz25-Jan-21 7:46
professionalKris Lantz25-Jan-21 7:46 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
Mike Hankey25-Jan-21 12:10
mveMike Hankey25-Jan-21 12:10 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
W Balboos, GHB26-Jan-21 2:23
W Balboos, GHB26-Jan-21 2:23 
GeneralRe: Thought of the Day Pin
Mike Hankey26-Jan-21 2:33
mveMike Hankey26-Jan-21 2:33 

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