A little note on how things are at the moment.Human: 'I can't wait to go home and have dinner.'
Bacteria: 'buhahahaha, :D, Just you wait till you eat this pizza. You will be dead in another 3 days. I am gonna kill you from inside.'
3 days later-
Human: 'oh! the doc's have given up. I hope I have a peaceful death.'
Bacteria: 'I can't wait for that human to die. I need my dinner ;).'
I have a big doubt in evolution???? are we as in Homo sapiens more evolved than bacteria or in the matter viruses.
From my stand point, I fail to understand some details. What does more evolved species mean?
I would argue against humans being at the top of the evolutionary ladder. But then there are always critics around there who would think I am taking Blasphemy. But well lets argue it out, shall we? Comments are more than welcome if you want to go on about it.
I say bacteria are like an amazing and most novel of all in the evolutionary chain.
Where are they to be seen, just have a look around you where ever you might be standing, there are about at least a million of those bugs around in your vicinity. And well there might be a million times more of them inside you for all that we know.
Now let me pose a basic question; what does it mean to be evolved? Does it mean to have a very sophisticated system, or is it to have a simple system capable of everything a sophisticated system can achieve. This is exactly what the bacteria has done.
It can live and survive and propagate under any condition give a few years. It can eat and digest just about anything starting from food that the higher organisms!! consume right down to petroleum and acid and what not. One bacteria can compensate for the other making it a perfect sociable and symbiotic character; something we humans are yet to achieve.
Oh yeah one of the most fascinating things, it does not require another gender for mating and reproduction and for the continual of its linage.
So now then, what more, I need to sit and think about how many different ways can humans be highly evolved. Crap! is it annoying, for all i know, there might actually be a bacteria capable of reading letters right now, having a good laugh looking through this blog.
7 comments:
Somebody'd rather be bacteria, I see! :P Dolt, give 'a dog' a bad name, and hang the entire genus. :D
BiL of mine,
Firstly, if my understanding of biology is correct, you're comparing a whole raft of species (all kinds of bacteria) against a single species (humans). Unfair comparison, don't you think? Something like E coli versus Homo Sapiens might be a more reasonable comparison, don't you think?
Secondly, the human body has figured out a dozen different ways of fighting against different types of bacteria, not to mention a way of coexisting with some of them as well (look at how many beneficial microbes we have residing in our own body).
Thirdly, the bacterium that eats oil was actually genetically engineered in a lab, and a guy named Ananda Chakrabarty holds a patent on it, if I remember correctly.
Assuming Darwin and his followers were correct, evolution is essentially a response to a hostile environment. Different species may have evolved in different directions to cope with the environment. There would therefore be many chains of evolution. We just happen to be the last link in a particular chain.
Besides, as life evolves through various species, the environment changes as well. So, even along a particular chain of evolution, the playing field is not level. So, while human beings may be best suited to deal with the present environment, there may have been a predecessor that was best suited to an earlier environment.
I guess what differentiates us from other species is this: the ability to make tools. While other organisms have adapted to the environment by changing their physical characteristics, we have mostly adapted by making tools. Hunting equipment, clothing, shelter, air conditioning, whatever you can think of that helps us deal with our environment. iPods included. And by doing so, we may have done away with the necessity of evolution, in a sense. I guess that is what makes us qualify for the title.
What say?
~r
More than tools its our intelligence that makes us special. As far as we know, this universe knows that it exists because of the consciousness of human beings. We are the awareness of this universe. That counts for something.
tiktik,
How sure are we about the intelligence (or relative lack thereof) of other beings?
~r
now I agree with my BIL on that one Tiktik.... intelligence we agree relative to what.... bacteria... lets say.. but does that mean the bacteria does not have intelligence.. .. hmmm thats something which you should think about.. :) .. you tell this to any bacteriologist out there they will blow their tops off.
G
This ones to rams earlier comment; and i have attached Rams follow up at the end as well.
"hmm ok lets even take E.coli as such under consideration from now on:
bacteria eating oil well its just an exaxmple. and yeah it doesnt have
to be genetically modifiedd to give us the oil eating bug. You can just
leave it in that place and over tijme the bacteria will dedvelop
resistance or will develop a capability to digest stuff.
So you are taking evolution in putting us as convenient people who are
able to make tools. Now bacteria also make tools, Molecular tools to be
specific, in that they can manipulate stuff directly from within,
instead of depending on the external environment.
..."
Goutham.
--
"If we consider tools that we manufacture within ourselves, do enzymes count?
Besides, if you take an oil eating bacterium and put it in a load of,
say cheese, will it be able to eat that as well? Maybe after a number
of generations, it will evolve into something that can do that as
well, but by then it's a different species, isn't it? We on the other
hand, will use the oil to drive to a pizza place and order extra
cheese toppings, and still remain the same species :p"
~r
in·tel·li·gent /ɪnˈtɛlɪdʒənt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-tel-i-juhnt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. having good understanding or a high mental capacity; quick to comprehend, as persons or animals: an intelligent student.
2. displaying or characterized by quickness of understanding, sound thought, or good judgment: an intelligent reply.
3. having the faculty of reasoning and understanding; possessing intelligence: intelligent beings in outer space.
4. Computers. pertaining to the ability to do data processing locally; smart: An intelligent terminal can edit input before transmission to a host computer. Compare dumb (def. 8).
5. Archaic. having understanding or knowledge (usually fol. by of).
For this definition of intelligent, humans are more evolved. We know the existence of Pluto. Does a dog or even a dolphin know that? We are most likely the only intelligent in this universe that knows about Pluto or Uranus. There might be other intelligent life forms with knowledge of extra-terrestrial entities like planets and galaxies. Nevertheless our comprehension of the universe compares favorably to that of other life forms on earth.
The question is of degree and both in terms of intelligence and consciousness humans score better over other creatures.
Post a Comment