| Human No More |
07-11-2012 09:04 PM |
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Originally Posted by Clarke
(Post 174651)
It adds another layer on to the "irreducible" argument; not only are all these different species sharing the same organ, which - unlike the flagella, eye, and basically every other "example" of IC - is not obviously an optimal way to do things*, but they share the same organ precisely. (Otherwise Na'vi wouldn't be able to talk to ikrans.) This isn't merely, "Oh look, the eye is too complex to have evolved!" It's more like, "Every single species that has eyes at all has precisely the same type, backwards retina and all!" When evolution converges on a solution that doesn't appear to be preferable for any reason*, you've got to either 1) find a reason why it converged on that, and it better be a good one, 2) say, "Something's messed with this!" (But without making the mistake of saying that God is that something. It's far more likely to be aliens. ;))
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Yet that's more plausible if every species quotes had a common ancestor with the feature under discussion. As long as it's beneficial or at least non-negative in its impact, it tends to be retained.
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*Tsaheylu includes a network protocol, and the possible protocols are so varied that it doesn't make sense for them to converge by evolution alone.
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Exactly. I think you just disproved the point you linked to there, not that I want to pollute my brain with anything he's written or anything by anyone else on his site.
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However, there's a very very sketchy possibility as to why pali can bond with the Na'vi without problems: they're domesticated. They've adapted to the Na'vi tsaheylu's "language" well enough to understand it, possibly by learning it from their domesticated parents, as aurora mentioned. However, this doesn't make sense for the Tree of Souls or ikrans, since respectively, why would anyone try?, and ikrans being caught wild.
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Only if it was "language" as opposed to an actual link on the neurochemical level. Think layer 2, not layer 6.
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Also, you're calling PZ Meyers an ignorant hipster? Does the concept of "expertise" mean nothing? :P
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His is mostly false. Of course, it turns out with a little research that freethoughtblogs is actually anything but. |
