3 ms·

I wasn't aware of that some time ago, it's a fascinating insight. I got a lightbulb (going wtf/dark actually!) when watching cartoon or something with tricerat

I wasn't aware of that some time ago, it's a fascinating insight. I got a lightbulb (going wtf/dark actually!) when watching cartoon or something with triceratops. They looked so much like rhinos. But had eggs. I had trouble reconciling it with evolution. They were so far ancestor-wise but so close physically-looking wise. Convergent evolution is very interesting. It suggests aliens may not be that different from us after all, if exist.

ativzzz 4y ago
> It suggests aliens may not be that different from us after all, if exist. Alternatively, they are the more evolutionally convergent species and we will evolve towards something inhuman
- zdragnar 4y ago
  All of this has happened before before.
  - namaria 4y ago
    I often wonder if we see time as linear just because we're falling through it in a forced direction. Maybe there is no before or after. Just everything possible existing all at the same time. Like, would a conscious falling star think there is only one direction in space?
    - zdragnar 4y ago
      It was a Battlestar Galactica reference. Characters in the show are frequently forced to confront situations in terms of either coincidence, synchronicity or divine intervention. The quote underlines a recurring theme in the show and how people adapt to it (though later on gets rather heavy handed).
- crooked-v 4y ago
  This has me thinking of some surrealistic scifi with a Space Crab Parliament that only allows species that have sufficiently carcinized so as to be indistinguishable from the existing members.
graycat 4y ago
My understanding is that eggs and no-eggs are not as different as might be expected. After all, the no-eggs still have eggs but, just, don't lay the eggs or let us make French toast, custards, or omelets! Maybe a key issue would be the amazing placenta. But maybe the egg animals are not so far from having a placenta because they still DO have to be willing to accept the male sperm without killing it, and part of what is amazing about a placenta is that it lets the foreign tissue of the baby exist and thrive in the womb of the mother without destroying it as foreign tissue -- in part, tolerating the sperm, the egg animals already have to do that. These are some details the hookup culture will want to use as sources of conversation? Maybe?
- selimthegrim 4y ago
  Hookup culture and milt are probably not a match waiting to be made in (seven minute underwater) heaven.
- mirekrusin 4y ago
  Yes, that's different subject on how egg, roe and womb is really the same kind of thing. What was striking to me was how far in ancestry chain you have to go back with rhinos to meet common ancestor with egg-lying triceratops - this ancestor will not look like any of them, however they did meet from completely divergent dna to be so look alike, crazy.
  - graycat 4y ago
    Yup, maybe that looking alike is called convergence. Apparently a big instance is eyes, apparently developed several times with surprisingly close to the same design. Pigs, rhinos, hippos, ..., triceratops all look much the same to me! Hmm ...? Would the real test of sameness be to see if they make similar BBQ???
Tagbert 4y ago
If you look at dolphins, ichthyosaurs, and sharks you will see another strong example of convergent evolution from very different ancestries. You have to to go back to the first fishes with jaws to find a common ancestor. Edit: dropped word
namaria 4y ago
Considering how little time humans (or any kind of primates) have had on this planet, our overall design doesn't seem super stable. I would bet on crab-like aliens.
- mirekrusin 4y ago
  Didn't we have monkey- vs octopus- vs rat- like game where monkey- won the race?
  - dredmorbius 4y ago
    Corvids have entered the chat. I'd argue that rats are exceptionally close to humans (both are mammals). Similarly other potential candidates: raccoons, bear, possibly dolphins or other cetaceans. Insect, plant, or colonial intelligences would be interesting.

ativzzz 4y ago

> It suggests aliens may not be that different from us after all, if exist. Alternatively, they are the more evolutionally convergent species and we will evolve towards something inhuman

zdragnar 4y ago
All of this has happened before before.
- namaria 4y ago
  I often wonder if we see time as linear just because we're falling through it in a forced direction. Maybe there is no before or after. Just everything possible existing all at the same time. Like, would a conscious falling star think there is only one direction in space?
  - zdragnar 4y ago
    It was a Battlestar Galactica reference. Characters in the show are frequently forced to confront situations in terms of either coincidence, synchronicity or divine intervention. The quote underlines a recurring theme in the show and how people adapt to it (though later on gets rather heavy handed).
crooked-v 4y ago
This has me thinking of some surrealistic scifi with a Space Crab Parliament that only allows species that have sufficiently carcinized so as to be indistinguishable from the existing members.

graycat 4y ago

My understanding is that eggs and no-eggs are not as different as might be expected. After all, the no-eggs still have eggs but, just, don't lay the eggs or let us make French toast, custards, or omelets! Maybe a key issue would be the amazing placenta. But maybe the egg animals are not so far from having a placenta because they still DO have to be willing to accept the male sperm without killing it, and part of what is amazing about a placenta is that it lets the foreign tissue of the baby exist and thrive in the womb of the mother without destroying it as foreign tissue -- in part, tolerating the sperm, the egg animals already have to do that. These are some details the hookup culture will want to use as sources of conversation? Maybe?

selimthegrim 4y ago
Hookup culture and milt are probably not a match waiting to be made in (seven minute underwater) heaven.
mirekrusin 4y ago
Yes, that's different subject on how egg, roe and womb is really the same kind of thing. What was striking to me was how far in ancestry chain you have to go back with rhinos to meet common ancestor with egg-lying triceratops - this ancestor will not look like any of them, however they did meet from completely divergent dna to be so look alike, crazy.
- graycat 4y ago
  Yup, maybe that looking alike is called convergence. Apparently a big instance is eyes, apparently developed several times with surprisingly close to the same design. Pigs, rhinos, hippos, ..., triceratops all look much the same to me! Hmm ...? Would the real test of sameness be to see if they make similar BBQ???

Tagbert 4y ago

If you look at dolphins, ichthyosaurs, and sharks you will see another strong example of convergent evolution from very different ancestries. You have to to go back to the first fishes with jaws to find a common ancestor. Edit: dropped word

namaria 4y ago

Considering how little time humans (or any kind of primates) have had on this planet, our overall design doesn't seem super stable. I would bet on crab-like aliens.

mirekrusin 4y ago
Didn't we have monkey- vs octopus- vs rat- like game where monkey- won the race?
- dredmorbius 4y ago
  Corvids have entered the chat. I'd argue that rats are exceptionally close to humans (both are mammals). Similarly other potential candidates: raccoons, bear, possibly dolphins or other cetaceans. Insect, plant, or colonial intelligences would be interesting.