quote:
______________________________________________________________________Species evolve by accumulation of change. There is no question of "figuring out" anything. Living creatures just do their thing. Some survive, and some don't. This is due mostly the vagaries of fortune; a predator happens by, food runs out, a tree falls in the forest and sets up a suitable environment. But there is also a contribution of how well adapted living things are to take advantage of opportunity or to surmount obstacles
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You are right that there is no "figuring out", and that is my point. Cells such as these slugs do not grow up with the ability to observe and then immitate their parents. Turning into this slug is then an obvious instinct which all of the examples I have been given show.
I hate to deviate on this, but I think you should understand what I'm saying.
My question was how did this process of turning into a slug become instinct to the cells? This slug(and also the algae fish) are quite complex little animals which require all of their parts to operate(more irreducible complexity... man, it's everywhere, isn't it?). They could not have evolved through slow changes over time. And even if one colony somehow defied Darwin's wildest dreams and accomplished it, it's an action, not a gene.
For example, if you do something, unless your kids can observe it and mimmick it, they might never know how to do it. Just becuase you did it doesn't mean it's going to become part of your DNA and your kids well naturally do it in their lifetimes. Cells like these don't have the ability to observe on that high level. They don't have the ability to LEARN.
So somehow these cells attained within their DNA the ability to naturally turn into an irreducibly complex organism. (According to evolution). And I'd like an explanation(if you aren't too busy).
Thanks for all the examples, people. But although they answered my first questions, in a way, they just raise more. Since this topic is still young I'm going to go ahead and add this question of instinct of turning into "organs" to the whole topic, seeing as they both relate very well.
I asked how cells stopped working for themselves and started working for the whole---you gave me examples---I'm asking now how the trait is passed on.
I think that somes it up pretty well.
fixed quote tags, changed parens to brackets - The Queen
This message has been edited by AdminAsgara, 02-17-2005 19:54 AM