Posts Tagged ‘Darwin’

The Gnonion

Bryce found this superb thing. A sample (but don’t miss out on the rest):

EARTH — In a seemingly unstoppable cycle of carnage that has become tragically commonplace throughout the biosphere, sources confirmed this morning that natural selection has killed an estimated 38 quadrillion organisms in its bloodiest day yet. […] “What we’re seeing here is the work of a hardened, practiced killer,” said Yale University evolutionary biologist Richard Prum … “It is painfully clear this slaughter was perpetrated by a force that holds zero regard for the value of life” …

In what many are calling its most grotesque tactic, the killer appeared to single out the most vulnerable organisms — particularly the young and the physically weak — for its murderous rampage, slaughtering them without mercy as other members of their species fled in panic. Reports indicated those who escaped the carnage were left with no choice but to try to move on with their lives and survive even as the ruthless killer continued stalking them. […] Virtually no species was unaffected by yesterday’s killing spree, experts stated. […] “This is the work of a killer without empathy, without conscience,” said Jyotsna Ramjee, a University of Calcutta zoologist who confirmed that the day’s death toll was the largest on official records dating back to 1859, when the perpetrator was first identified.

January 30, 2015admin 12 Comments »
FILED UNDER :Humor
TAGGED WITH : , , , ,

Quote notes (#82)

Scharlach has an innocent question for Jerry Coyne:

What is the current understanding of animal behavior? Is animal behavior generally understood as a collection of phenotypes that emerge at least partially from their genes? All the work on animal domestication, in particular, seems to point toward that conclusion. But I could be wrong. What’s your sense of it? 

If behavior of animals — and I don’t just mean mammals, of course — is believed to have not much to do with genes, then clearly, I see no reason to connect the two in humans.

Continue Reading

May 15, 2014admin 18 Comments »
FILED UNDER :Discriminations
TAGGED WITH : ,