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Why does it matter if other birds can adapt? We got lots of different types of birds. It's awesome. Maybe we'll get new types of birds! Why does "this particula
by QuantumG 3y ago
Why does it matter if other birds can adapt? We got lots of different types of birds. It's awesome. Maybe we'll get new types of birds! Why does "this particular variation is going extinct" matter?
- da39a3ee 3y agoNice try but that argument doesn't work: predicted speed of change to planet under climate change is much much greater than under previously seen natural changes to habitats.
- QuantumG 3y agoYeah so? I think you're suffering from geneticism. The idea that we only change through inherited traits and mutations over geological time periods is ancient nonsense compared to what we know about epigenetics now. The irony is Jean Baptiste Lamarck had it closer than anyone. Animals genetically adapt to new environments in their own lifetimes and that includes making changes to the DNA. We can also help them to adapt. The idea that this is dismissive of the problem is nonsense. It's the solution.
- da39a3ee 3y agoActually, no, I have a PhD, and postdoc in this area. You, on the other hand, have read too much pop science about epigenetics. Surely you know that what sells pop science is novelty, so claiming that "Darwin was wrong because epigenetics" is a great commercial strategy. Sounds like it worked on you?
- QuantumG 3y agoHave you read the field lately? Just how long ago was your molecular biology degree? Mine was 7 years ago and I've been reading every week since then. You should try to keep up.
- 0xdde 3y agoThis is so bizarrely flippant. We are seeing massive declines in bird populations. It is not just a matter of a few variations going extinct and new types of birds magically appearing within our lifetimes.