3 ms·

"And if the meteorite had arrived ten minutes earlier, or ten minutes later, it would still no doubt have inflicted devastation, but the dinosaurs would still b

"And if the meteorite had arrived ten minutes earlier, or ten minutes later, it would still no doubt have inflicted devastation, but the dinosaurs would still be here and you wouldn't." What does the author mean by we wouldn't be here? Were there no other animals during the Jurassic age? Won't humans be living just like other animals? Maybe be not as advanced but nevertheless be around hiding etc. What am I missing?

jandrese 9y ago
When the dinosaurs are around the small mammals can't break out of their niche and evolve into the forms we see today. The dinosaurs have too much of a head start on them. They were stuck for millions of years as mice and rats, and it wasn't until there was a sudden vacuum in the ecosystem that they were able to evolve into larger animals. The mammals were more adaptable, but in a stable environment that isn't a big advantage. They can't compete against the highly specialized dinosaurs. Interestingly enough, you see this effect with genetic algorithms today. They're very prone to getting hung up on local maxima and never finding the best solution.