How do Animals Evolve To Look Like Exact Replicas of Other Things in Nature?

[daze23]

what i don't get about evolution is they say humans are the long period evolution of monkeys so if we all evolved from monkeys why do they still exist shouldn't all the monkeys due to the change be all humans i know their are different types of monkeys but their are also different types of humans also

first of all, we did not evolve from "monkeys". our closest relatives are chimps, gorillas, and orangutans. we are the "great apes". long ago, we all had a common ancestor. that common ancestor went on to live in different environments. some lived in the trees, and adapted to that. we, most likely, lived in grassy plains, and adapted to that. we stood up to see over the tall grass. we learned to run to get away from predators, or to become predators ourselves. eventually we stumbled upon things like tool use and complex language. but all that time our relatives were adapting to tree life. and today, they're still better suited for that environment

it seems to be a common misunderstanding that evolution leads to 'better' forms of life. they're only 'better' at surviving in their environment. the environment we humans came up in was probably more harsh than life in the trees. therefore we had to develop things like tool use in order to survive. meanwhile the chimps were probably living a relatively 'good life' up in the trees. they never had a need to develop the traits we did

 

[Sensitive Blake Griffin]

but natural selection supposedly has nothing to do with the external environment, correct?

How could you say this shyt if you knew anything about evolution?

 

[Malta]

More interesting is how instinct works, to me it's just a word and doesn't really explain how a bird can hatch and knows how to fly within a few months without being taught how to do so. How a spider knows how to make some intricate ass web on it's first try. Hell, how do we know to stand on 2 feet once we hit 9-11 months old?

How does a behavior turn into instinct, how does a complex learned pattern of one individual get passed down like that, it really makes no sense. You can say it's a learned behavior in some cases, but in others there are offspring that are just left to fend for themselves and they know what to do from jump.

 

[daze23]

More interesting is how instinct works, to me it's just a word and doesn't really explain how a bird can hatch and knows how to fly within a few months without being taught how to do so. How a spider knows how to make some intricate ass web on it's first try. Hell, how do we know to stand on 2 feet once we hit 9-11 months old?

How does a behavior turn into instinct, how does a complex learned pattern of one individual get passed down like that, it really makes no sense. You can say it's a learned behavior in some cases, but in others there are offspring that are just left to fend for themselves and they know what to do from jump.

well the short answer is, if we didn't have those instincts we wouldn't survive

 

[Malta]

well the short answer is, if we didn't have those instincts we wouldn't survive

That's not a good answer, because it neglects the fact that at some point these animals did not have those instincts.

 

[Sensitive Blake Griffin]

That's not a good answer, because it neglects the fact that at some point these animals did not have those instincts.

I don't know shyt about this stuff, but is it possible that behavior (instincts) are programmed into the DNA and those programs are then executed depending on an environmental situation or queue? I mean, there is a reason that little kids are afraid of "monsters" and darkness. Our genetic ancestors used to get fukked up by predators in the night.

 

[humble Hermit]

 

[daze23]

That's not a good answer, because it neglects the fact that at some point these animals did not have those instincts.

I know it's not a particularly satisfying answer, but it's just another way to look at it

ultimately those 'instincts' are just like any other trait that's passed along. a spider didn't one day make a perfect web. it was a process of slow improvements, carried out over loooong period of time. but over that time, nature was constantly 'selecting' the improvements that worked

it's like the 'traits' that may make one person better at math than another. they're both people, one is just more 'inclined' to a certain way of thinking. that may seem like a slight nuanced difference, but if put into an environment where math is essential to survival, one will have a distinct advantage

 

[Type Username Here]

Aside from the Evolution aspect of this thread, I just wanted to show some of you this video. Still the greatest video I have ever seen:



It doesn't only blend in, it shapeshifts.

 

[Dark Knyght]

first of all, we did not evolve from "monkeys". our closest relatives are chimps, gorillas, and orangutans. we are the "great apes". long ago, we all had a common ancestor. that common ancestor went on to live in different environments. some lived in the trees, and adapted to that. we, most likely, lived in grassy plains, and adapted to that. we stood up to see over the tall grass. we learned to run to get away from predators, or to become predators ourselves. eventually we stumbled upon things like tool use and complex language. but all that time our relatives were adapting to tree life. and today, they're still better suited for that environment

it seems to be a common misunderstanding that evolution leads to 'better' forms of life. they're only 'better' at surviving in their environment. the environment we humans came up in was probably more harsh than life in the trees. therefore we had to develop things like tool use in order to survive. meanwhile the chimps were probably living a relatively 'good life' up in the trees. they never had a need to develop the traits we did

Somebody paid attention in evolutionary biology. I'm tired of explaining this to people on the internet and in real life.
When we use the word "evolve" nikkaz think literally the individuals evolve on some Pokemon shyt. They like if chamanders evolve to charizards than why we still charmanders type shyt.

 

[Type Username Here]

Somebody paid attention in evolutionary biology. I'm tired of explaining this to people on the internet and in real life.
When we use the word "evolve" nikkaz think literally the individuals evolve on some Pokemon shyt. They like if chamanders evolve to charizards than why we still charmanders type shyt.

 

[Malta]

I don't know shyt about this stuff, but is it possible that behavior (instincts) are programmed into the DNA and those programs are then executed depending on an environmental situation or queue? I mean, there is a reason that little kids are afraid of "monsters" and darkness. Our genetic ancestors used to get fukked up by predators in the night.

If you search for the answer on these type of things, you'll find that nobody really seems to know, it just gets thrown in the "Well that's instinct" bushes. And I'm not necessarily talking about primitive instincts like being afraid of the dark, I'm talking about nest building, web building and any other intricate thing that isn't taught but somehow inherently known by all individual of the species.

I know it's not a particularly satisfying answer, but it's just another way to look at it

ultimately those 'instincts' are just like any other trait that's passed along. a spider didn't one day make a perfect web. it was a process of slow improvements, carried out over loooong period of time. but over that time, nature was constantly 'selecting' the improvements that worked

Fam, this is an easy way out, a behavior/action is not the same as the traits you're trying to link them to. No, spiders didn't make perfect webs from the jump, but at some point 1 little intrepid spider noticed it had silk coming out it's butt and said to itself "Im gonna fukk some flies up with this shyt". Have you ever watched a spider make a web by the way? It's absolutely amazing.

it's like the 'traits' that may make one person better at math than another. they're both people, one is just more 'inclined' to a certain way of thinking. that may seem like a slight nuanced difference, but if put into an environment where math is essential to survival, one will have a distinct advantage

Nah, completely different, this is an action/behavior that you can trace back to 1 individual that had to start it off. Being better at math just shows that your brain is processing information more efficiently.

This is more like you teaching yourself how to play one or two notes on the sax, never telling your son how you did it then his son learning how to play three or four notes on the sax, then his son playing five or six notes on the sax. This would go on until you end up with someone that knows how to play a full song the first time they touch a sax.

 

[BlvdBrawler]

My point was evolution is faith based since evolution has never been observed. It's based on people making assumptions of the past and people having faith in those assumptions. Or as Richard Dawkins said Evolution has been observed. It's just that it hasn't been observed while it's happening. NOW with Bill Moyers. Transcript. December 3, 2004 | PBS

Have you ever seen a person with a birth defect?
Have you ever seen one of those nature videos where the weakest / smallest / sickest animal is killed by a predator, and the others get away?
Does time pass?

If you've answered yes to these, then you've observed evolution.

 

[daze23]

Fam, this is an easy way out, a behavior/action is not the same as the traits you're trying to link them to. No, spiders didn't make perfect webs from the jump, but at some point 1 little intrepid spider noticed it had silk coming out it's butt and said to itself "Im gonna fukk some flies up with this shyt". Have you ever watched a spider make a web by the way? It's absolutely amazing.

nah, that's way beyond the possibilities of spider intelligence. these are creatures that survive pretty much exclusively off instincts. it's only through variations of the current instincts that new instincts are found. if it's genetic, I treat it like any other trait

Nah, completely different, this is an action/behavior that you can trace back to 1 individual that had to start it off. Being better at math just shows that your brain is processing information more efficiently.

This is more like you teaching yourself how to play one or two notes on the sax, never telling your son how you did it then his son learning how to play three or four notes on the sax, then his son playing five or six notes on the sax. This would go on until you end up with someone that knows how to play a full song the first time they touch a sax.

being better at math does not show that your brain is "processing information more efficiently". I'm not even sure what that would mean

the problem with your sax example is it involves no pressures. their was no pressure for you to learn, nor for your offspring to continue. lets say all of a sudden some crazy shyt happened, and you can't get laid unless you play the sax good (that's my hypothetical, deal with it). now you've never touched a saxophone in your life, but it just happens you were born with the genetic dispositions to be a great sax player. you take that sax, and you practice and practice until you get some nice sounds coming out of it. again, you were born with an 'ear for music' and all that good stuff. sure enough, you get laid, and have a bunch of kids. now not all of your offspring inherited all your musician genes. but the ones that didn't, won't get laid. the ones that did, will get laid. and the ones that are better than others, will get laid even more. nature will keep on selecting like this, and the offspring will become more and more specialized into this quintessential saxophone player. and that offspring would pretty much be able to pick up the sax first try and play some ill shyt. it wouldn't even really think about what it's doing, it would just be what it does

it might sound crazy, but that's probably more or less how it happened with various bird songs

 

[OsO]

i think its a mistake to say, on one hand, that we have no idea what causes or influences genetic mutations, but yet on the other hand completely rule out the possibility of the external environment playing a part.

a HUGE part of our existence and evolution as an organism is based on a reciprocal relationship between our internal and external environment.

everything in our universe is cause and effect. so to say the mutations are completely "random" and that it has nothing to do with environment is 100% counterintuitive to the design of every other system in the universe.

everything effects everything, and everything is dependent on something else for its survival.