Re: Lizard engines and rat engines


"William Morse" <wdmorse@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dalr4f$13kn$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> dkomo <dkomo871@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
> news:dak4st$eco$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
> I don't think that is necessarily true. First, the question of whether
> dinosaurs were warm-blooded is, AFAIK, still a matter of considerable
> debate. And even if they were not true homeotherms, their great size could
> still make heat dissipation a problem, especially if temperatures in the
> Cretaceous were higher than today. One possibility is that while average
> temperatures were higher than today, they were much more uniform so that
> high temperatures were lower. Also, a number of dinosaur features may in
> fact have been cooling mechanisms.
>
> Yours,
>
> Bill Morse

Regarding dkomo's characterization of something I tried to point out as
"bordering on ignorance," please allow me to any Autobahners in present
company to reflect on whether, and what, might be a difference in
applicability in the real world of each of the following two statements:

1. The reason (why) African elephants have big ears is because they live in
a
very hot temperature and their large bodies must dispose of heat that
way;
as over against,

2. Large ears on African elephants today serve not only the function of
being a
part of their specialized auditory perception system but, also, have
been evolved
by the African elephant into a successful utility for dissipating
excess heat
from their large bodies in a very hot climate.

Statement number one strongly suggests a cause and effect relationship
between
two sets of things: a. the necessity of large-bodied animals to deal with
the
propensity of metabolically and externally induced heat to exceed the
animal's
heat tolerance; and, b. big ears.

Since there is no generalized correlation between body size in a hot climate
and
large ears, I am convinced that statement two is better, by virtue of
avoiding any
erroneous suggestion that there is.

Many individuals -- preponderant among them I sincerely hope, those not
privy
to the fundamental exigencies of scientific literacy, nor the varieties of
logical
fallacies -- do not see any distinctions between two such statements or,
seeing
them, do not deem them significant.

A few of you informed me, in connection with another string, that you
grasped and appreciated my metaphor citing the greater likelihood of
collision
damage when driving on Interstate Highway 59 in Houston, Texas than when
driving at much higher speed on the Autobahn. The exaggerated disparity in
relative velocities is key. The metaphor was compared to certain forums, as
you will recall.

I do not fault nature for dealing various ones of us different hands. In
fact
I admire any player who plays his hand optimally. What I do not respect,
however, is the attitude of a player who would judge another for playing
his own hand the best he knows how.

I have a friend who has an IQ over 160, whom some public school teachers
accused of bordering upon being ignorant because he was unable to roll over
and play dead when they made statements which to him were not quite right.
He and I have had many conversations about the frustrations of trying to
explain red to a person who is color blind for red. He dropped out of high
school, to escape the angst and abuse of teachers, and learned a business
which gave him respite from it. That business now derives a profit from
providing its services to several universities who do not seem to think him
ignorant.

If it does, indeed, border on ignorance to discern certain distinctions some
others do not discern, then mia culpa. My attitude is one of enjoying
others
who play their hands as best they can and do not fault me for doing
likewise.

I will not fault the one who does not see it. But, concomitantly, I do not
wish to be branded as "bordering on ignorance," simply because I do.

g



.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Lizard engines and rat engines
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