Re: Mutationism Redux

in article fo5dia$1fa8$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Tim Tyler at
seemysig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote on 2/3/08 2:00 PM:

Bill Morse wrote:
Tim Tyler wrote:
Bill Morse wrote:

A third question is the general laziness of animals. Many don't seem to
be working all that hard, at least if we think they should be so
exquisitely adapted to their environment and constantly engaged in a
struggle for existence.
E.g. the sloth. It looks like it is conserving energy to me.

The sloth at least has the decency to lower its body temperature when it is
conserving energy. I was thinking more of lions, those fierce beasts which
are the ultimate killing machine, and which spend most of their time lying
around doing nothing.

Apart from energy conservation, these guys are large animals that
live in hot countries. I imagine if they spent a lot of time
running around they would easily overheat.

Many animals also get more lethargic as they age - but that's not
laziness, that's their senescing cells closing up shop.

At any rate, I don't think many people regard animal laziness
as a particularly odd phenomenon, or one that represents much
of a challenge to explain.

Right. The notion that dissipating agents somehow owe it to the gods of
thermodynamics to process energy as fast as they can is misguided.
Opportunities for self-interested action require energy processing, but a
slower, maintenance level of metabolism is still serving thermodynamic
imperatives through dissipation. Potential is very different from mandated
action, and it is a concept I think evolutionary theory has yet to
effectively explore.

Guy


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Mutationism Redux
    ... It looks like it is conserving energy to me. ... Many animals also get more lethargic as they age - but that's not ... Opportunities for self-interested action require energy processing, ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)
  • Re: No Absolute Bible Refutation
    ... contention is that petroleum and coal deposits indicate a longer age ... That's because energy is interchangeable. ... the preflood world we could do so by the size of the fossils. ... lived in the past were large, Small animals lived at the same time larger ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: News: Giant Dinosaurs Stuck Their Necks Out, Not Up?
    ... Long-necked dinosaurs didn't graze treetops, ... Lifting long necks at steep angles would have put intense pressure on ... Since long-necked modern animals, such as giraffes, tend to browse on ... energy to keep their heads held high. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: News: Giant Dinosaurs Stuck Their Necks Out, Not Up?
    ... Long-necked dinosaurs didn't graze treetops, ... Lifting long necks at steep angles would have put intense pressure on ... Since long-necked modern animals, such as giraffes, tend to browse on ... energy to keep their heads held high. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: News: Giant Dinosaurs Stuck Their Necks Out, Not Up?
    ... Lifting long necks at steep angles would have put intense pressure on ... Sauropods were giant, long-necked, long-tailed, four-legged ... Since long-necked modern animals, such as giraffes, tend to browse on ... energy to keep their heads held high. ...
    (talk.origins)