Compound Eyes, Evolutionary Ties

University of California, San Diego ^ | 02 October 2006 | Kim McDonald

[Dimensio]

Creation predicts that the human condition will devolve.

Why? What will cause this "devolution"?

Have you noticed how many people around you are fat, ugly, wear glasses, are in wheelchairs, can't reproduce, have heart desease, have extreme allergies, etc etc etc.

Are you saying that people who you consider unattractive did not exist until recently, or that there has been a marked increase in the number of overweight people in recent times? What evidence do you have for this assertion?

[KarinG1]

Evolution has to be the wackiest fairy tale around. How does this junk keep getting passed off as science? Not only is there no proof of it, it doesn't even make sense.

[Dimensio]

Do you have an argument of substance to offer, or are you under the mistaken impression that referring to evolution as a "fairy tale" falsifies the theory and negates the extensive evidence for its validity?

[DungeonMaster]

Why? What will cause this "devolution"?

Newtons 2nd law of thermodynamics.

[Quark2005]

Not intended to be a complete list, I take it...

[Quark2005]

Newtons 2nd law of thermodynamics.

That's classic.

[Dimensio]

Newtons 2nd law of thermodynamics.

I was unaware that Issac Newton authored any laws relating to thermodynamics. Could you state Newton's 2nd law of thermodynamics and explain how it predicts that humans will 'devolve'?

[Quark2005]

How does this junk keep getting passed off as science?

Has it occurred to you that maybe it's because you're wrong about it?

Not only is there no proof of it, it doesn't even make sense.

Does relativity 'make sense'?

[DungeonMaster]

I was unaware that Issac Newton authored any laws relating to thermodynamics. Could you state Newton's 2nd law of thermodynamics and explain how it predicts that humans will 'devolve'?

Strike "Newton" insert "the".

[Dimensio]

Strike "Newton" insert "the".

As you wish. Could you state the's 2nd law of thermodynamics and explain how it predicts that humans will 'devolve'?

[dread78645]

Hot people devolve placemark

[PatrickHenry]

The 2nd law of thermodynamics, so beloved (and poorly understood) by creationists.
Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics. Please note the Evolution link.

[js1138]

I do not believe it possible to derive a score for God. It can be stated that the score for creationists is 0, but I have yet to see demonstrated that -- despite their assertions -- they actually speak on behalf of any real deities.

None worthy of interest.

[js1138]

Newtons 2nd law of thermodynamics.

Hey, that's my line.

[DungeonMaster]

Very interesting. Point taken from both of you.

My embarassing mistake was to try to combine lessons from science classes learned a long time ago with more recent creationist teachings and the bible.

The "law" I was trying to use was one that said, roughly, "Any organized body tends to become disorganized". I've often wondered how such a law can be proven and quantified.

Will you allow me to start over or am I doomed to being called an idiot for the rest of this thread?

[DungeonMaster]

#35

[PatrickHenry]

Will you allow me to start over or am I doomed to being called an idiot for the rest of this thread?

We're all here to learn. Or we should be. Your attitude is admirable.

[VadeRetro]

The article isn't explaining the "closed" versus "open" distinction very well. Fruit flies and bees both have big compound eyes taking up much of the external area of the head. They superficially look similar, at least to me. But this article says fruit flies have the optically superior "open" configuration and bees don't. Just what is open and how is it better?

Feynman's Lectures on Physics has an interesting examination of the optics of bees eyes and how they're about as high-resolution as you can get due to the limitations of refraction, the tendency of light to bend around corners. (Even the sharpest-edged shadows are slightly blurred by this effect.) The insect compound eye is actually a big external retina with no lens at all.

[Dimensio]

The "law" I was trying to use was one that said, roughly, "Any organized body tends to become disorganized".

The only 'second law of thermodynamics" of which I am aware states that the total entropy (heat energy unavailable for work) in a closed system never decreases. This has no implications for biological systems existing in a relatively open system.

I've often wondered how such a law can be proven and quantified.

Laws are not proven.

[VadeRetro]

Newtons 2nd law of thermodynamics.

Surely you mean Newton's Second Law of Thermal Documents.