tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post1836365979143141976..comments2024-03-10T04:29:20.044-04:00Comments on Mad Genius Club: How Will We Know?Sarah A. Hoythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-69070332562803937222009-09-11T19:39:06.588-04:002009-09-11T19:39:06.588-04:00Dave,
I think people would PAY to see that (the d...Dave,<br /><br />I think people would PAY to see that (the dachshund and the alsatian) - I certainly would!<br /><br />The societal evolution would be fascinating. I personally suspect that has an influence on the purely genetic changes, but I don't know how strong it is. I agree they'd probably all have difficulty understanding each other - the cultural frames of reference would have shifted a lot.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-3502027977495124162009-09-11T19:27:25.915-04:002009-09-11T19:27:25.915-04:00Wolfie,
I have these geek out moments. If you clo...Wolfie,<br /><br />I have these geek out moments. If you close your eyes and wait a bit, normal insanity will resume. Eventually.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-20382713687435889362009-09-11T19:26:42.384-04:002009-09-11T19:26:42.384-04:00Chris,
I like the idea of the advanced suntanning...Chris,<br /><br />I like the idea of the advanced suntanning culture! It sounds pretty good to me.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-91857160598126524272009-09-11T05:17:04.929-04:002009-09-11T05:17:04.929-04:00Kate -the great Dane bitch lies down. No I'...Kate -the great Dane bitch lies down. No I''m not kidding (seen with daschund and alsation)<br />I'm not sure he slow large population gradual change in response to selective pressure is evolution per se, as it would seem that if the selective pressure is removed the genome gradually shifts back toward the old norm. Lot of argument about that one. Pinch-point evolution in small populations is at least more clear-cut. However, what is certain is there would be a lot of social evolution in the environments. The cultures would be very different, and probably struggle to understand each other.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12315551718688781746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-5062922494812426462009-09-11T02:39:38.151-04:002009-09-11T02:39:38.151-04:00to the whole thing..hellifino.to the whole thing..hellifino.Da Curly Wolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07631427436506831892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-39485992168319796512009-09-10T22:16:41.944-04:002009-09-10T22:16:41.944-04:00Maybe the ones in the tropical paradise will devel...Maybe the ones in the tropical paradise will develop an entirely new art form of laying around - complete with a new language that has 20 different words for suntans.<br /><br />This new art form might take the form of a religious experience, with the society driven to invent new and innovative suntan lotions - advancing chemistry and science - as they reach new heights of intellectual transformation.<br /><br />Given half a chance the South American cultures could have rivaled the northern hemisphere for sophistication - and they are tropical - so they won't be necessarily backward.Chris McMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17883058490702361466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-80987450280835727032009-09-10T20:32:06.600-04:002009-09-10T20:32:06.600-04:00Matapam,
I think we'll do what we've alwa...Matapam,<br /><br />I think we'll do what we've always done: we'll change what's there to suit us more, and change ourselves to cope better. We're remarkably adaptable when it comes down to nuts, bolts, and not stopping breathing.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-77631761422980813892009-09-10T20:30:44.464-04:002009-09-10T20:30:44.464-04:00Rowena,
Those are fascinating books. I'd also...Rowena,<br /><br />Those are fascinating books. I'd also recommend Howard Bloom's <b>The Lucifer Principle</b>, and <b>Global Brain</b>. You might not always agree, but there's plenty of food for thought there.<br /><br />Some of the other things that would influence those groups would be whether their diversity generators were favored over conformity enforcers (generally, in a thriving society this is the case - the experimenters aren't squashed before they can uncover something useful), whether the inner-judges and resource shifters were too quick to shift necessary resources (such as food) from apparently unproductive members, and how successful the inter-group tournaments are in establishing who is on top. The interplay of these elements actually fits in very well with Diamond's factors for whether a society collapses or not.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-82345183852674775462009-09-10T20:19:52.972-04:002009-09-10T20:19:52.972-04:00John,
Actually, I'd argue with you there - co...John,<br /><br />Actually, I'd argue with you there - conflict in the form of war tends not to be a constant evolutionary factor, but because it periodically eliminates large segments of a population it can have a big effect on the end result. <br /><br />As I understand it, evolutionary drivers come in two forms: the constant low-grade pressure that favors slow, incremental changes, and the occasional catastrophic event (like wars, famines, natural disasters etc.) that kill large numbers in one hit. War, at least until the last hundred years or so, tended to kill men who had less endurance and/or less agility. <br /><br />On the flip side, modern life allows a lot of people to manage just fine with what would have been a crippling disability a few hundred years back - just look at how many people wear glasses.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-22818210274003750562009-09-10T20:13:35.104-04:002009-09-10T20:13:35.104-04:00Ori,
Fighting other people is a factor, yes, alth...Ori,<br /><br />Fighting other people is a factor, yes, although that tends not to be a major factor until you have settled agriculture (i.e. are tied to a particular patch of land) and/or the population is high enough that different groups are going to be competing for a limited resource.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-76811918594531879862009-09-10T20:10:56.908-04:002009-09-10T20:10:56.908-04:00Matapam,
There's a lot of room to speculate t...Matapam,<br /><br />There's a lot of room to speculate there, especially if there's bioengineering in the mix. Even without it, apparently some Inuit can see into the infra-red spectrum - a very useful adaptation when you live somewhere that's dark for half the year.<br /><br />My guess is they'd probably still be human - but ten thousand years later or with advanced tech? Maybe not so much.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-2589135560420071532009-09-10T18:41:10.334-04:002009-09-10T18:41:10.334-04:00We so aggressively change our environment now, I w...We so aggressively change our environment now, I wonder what we'll do when we do finally get someplace not quite habitable.<br /><br />Terraforming is frequently mentioned, but how far do we dare change a working ecosystem? Just the usual marsh draining/irrigation network/forest clearing, or will we tip the whole globe's situation with the addition of large amounts of water from comets, or knock off undesirable amounts of atmosphere with some very large asteroids?<br /><br />Or will we change ourselves to fit in, instead?<br /><br />"They won't be human any more" if we can't argue over politics, exchange recipes, or cheer for the same sports teams. Gripe about our Mothers-in-law and brag about our children.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-44128264803640951102009-09-10T18:07:35.981-04:002009-09-10T18:07:35.981-04:00Kate, I'm fascatinated by how society is shape...Kate, I'm fascatinated by how society is shaped by environment and how society shapes people.<br /><br />I found Jared Diamond's books, 'Guns Germs and Steel' and 'Collapse', really interesting.<br /><br />Anyone else read them?<br /><br />As I remember he listed 5 factors which, when taken together, lead to collapse of a civilisation.<br /><br />Something like this:<br /><br />Conflict with others/supportive friends<br />Disease<br />Shift in climate<br />Inability to adapt (rigid sticking to religious and cultural beliefs)<br />mismanaged resources<br /><br />The values each of these 3 societies would hold as good would depend on what they needed to to do to survive.<br /><br />Whether they could be called 'human' after a thousand years would depend on what level of technology they went into their new society with.<br /><br />If they could manipulate their genes to create the optimum human for that environment, then they would, but once they could survive, what they did would depend on the type of society they created.Rowena Cory Daniellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08995983965583233914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-36409982466630110642009-09-10T11:15:22.167-04:002009-09-10T11:15:22.167-04:00There have been two major driving forces in human ...There have been two major driving forces in human evolution in the last ten thousand years or so.<br /><br />1. Poor food quality as a result of shifting to agriculture.<br /><br />2. Disease from living in dense cliusters as a result of agriculture and poor food.<br /><br />3. Human conflict is a trivial evolutionary force in comparison.<br /><br />JohnJohn Lambsheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04598696442104566164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-67229706702844232652009-09-10T10:22:44.316-04:002009-09-10T10:22:44.316-04:00Fighting the environment is only one factor. Anoth...Fighting the environment is only one factor. Another is fighting against other humans.Ori Pomerantzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07162568025752213764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-23759095976484130112009-09-10T09:16:12.393-04:002009-09-10T09:16:12.393-04:00Yes, they'd all be human, because all those en...Yes, they'd all be human, because all those environments are livable by humans. Pacifica, Europe, Siberia/Alaska or the Sahara/SW North America (Add in Pleistocene mega fauna if you wish). We can make it with stone spear points and clubs.<br /><br />Now, if there was some serious environmental factors, such that Andean and Himalyan populations took on a planet with a very thin atmosphere you might, eventually evolve (or quickly engineer) something seriously more efficient in the way of oxygen transport. <br /><br />Or Water World, and the Japanese Pearl Divers thought it was just right for them. A start toward Homo Sapien Aquatic?<br /><br />How about a world around a dim red star? Would we use tech, or would we engineer/evolve to use a different slice of the spectrum for sight?<br /><br />Would the eventually well adjusted populations be different, like breeds of dogs or races of human, or would they have reached the horse/donkey stage? We can only wait and see.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com