ARCHIVE - Visualizing Ecology - Week 3: Darwin and Evolution http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/taxonomy/term/9/0 en ARCHIVE - Stephanie Scott http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/stephanie-scott-0 <p style="text-align: right" class="MsoNormal" align="right">Stephanie Scott</p><p style="text-align: right" class="MsoNormal" align="right">01/22/07</p><p style="text-align: right" class="MsoNormal" align="right">Commentary: Worster</p><p style="text-align: right" class="MsoNormal" align="right"><span style="font-weight: bold" class="Apple-style-span"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-weight: bold" class="Apple-style-span">Realizing Our Mistakes Through Rediscovery</span></p><p style="text-align: right" class="MsoNormal" align="right"> </p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/stephanie-scott-0">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/stephanie-scott-0#comment Week 3: Darwin and Evolution Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:56:17 -0800 scoste05 169 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - shaun libman http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/shaun-libman <p><span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;,&#39;serif&#39;"><font size="3">   “The framework of bones being the same in the hand of a man, wing of a bat, fin of the porpoise, and leg of the horse, -- the same number of vertebrae forming the neck of the giraffe and of the elephant, -- and innumerable other such facts, at once explain themselves on the theory of descent with slow and slight successive modifications.”</font></span></p><p><span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;,&#39;serif&#39;"><font size="3">Charles Darwin presents some of his most easily identified with evidence in this passage. <span> </span>This would have been able to immediately bring more understanding to an early reader of this document. While Darwin’s ideas are vastly complicated, what I find most intriguing is that they are also organized and exemplified in some simple facts, which draw one easily to Darwin’s same conclusion and allow someone who may have been a skeptic to begin to believe in Darwin’s ideas. </font></span></p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/shaun-libman">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/shaun-libman#comment Week 3: Darwin and Evolution Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:26:08 -0800 libsha19 164 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Ari Sigglin http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-0 “Man does not actually produce variability; he only unintentionally exposes organic beings to new conditions of life, and then nature acts of the organization, and causes variability.”<br /> - Charles Darwin, Origin of Species, First Edition, 1859<br /> <br /> Darwin plainly states the fact that we, as humans, who are simultaneously the most stupid and intelligent beings, disregard the vulnerability we expose when setting up these “organic beings” to reproduce. Dogs, for instance, have been domesticated and bred into hundreds of breeds, often times reflecting the use in which they were intended for, as well as the climate in which they were bred. The dogs were born to the liking of the keeper, but again, as much as humans were the dominant species, subtle characteristics were passed down through each generation. Consider the Great Dane, or any other large breed canine, and their likeliness to take on a short life. Man did not intend on producing an animal with such a short life span, nor did he intend on having hound dogs equipped with such a poor circulation system in comparison to working class dogs, such as the Siberian Husky. The cross-breeding of the Siberian Husky and various hound breeds to create the Alaskan Husky has caused a life-threatening fault in certain lines of the Alaskan Husky. It is designed for strenuous endurance and speed, a trait which makes a healthy circulation system necessary; but when combined with traits of a breed not designed for such activity, the animal then, in some circumstances, suffers from a stroke -- a situation unfamiliar to either the Siberian Husky or the hound. The hound had exceptional speed, so man was convinced to mix blood lines with that of the Husky, an animal imbedded with an instinct to run. The Alaskan Husky was bred for man’s recreation and sport, and as Darwin explains, man “unintentionally exposes organic beings to new conditions.” The context could be taken in either aspect -- good or bad -- but it is in our error and ignorance, do we overlook the subtle traits that cause harm the organic being we‘ve come to “produce.” Is it plausible to consider that we treat ourselves the same way we treat the animals we select for breeding? Do we condition ourselves in our habitat and pass down harmful genetic traits? In some circumstances, we do pass on these traits, but are we beyond the rest of the other species to succeed, despite the presence of life-threatening diseases?  We’ve come to adapt to all sorts of conditions, with help of the creation of our own tools, and adaptation is the key for survival. How we ensure our survival, with disease and adaptation -- two contrasting traits conflicting with each other? <p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-0">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-0#comment Week 3: Darwin and Evolution Sun, 21 Jan 2007 23:15:19 -0800 sigari25 146 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Cody Cohan http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-0 <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">“Only by the threat of hunger has he been stimulated to exert his full capabilities and to advance towards civilization.” <span>  </span>-Worster: Page151-<br /> <br /> <span>            </span>This quote really reminds me why the human race started to dominate the natural world. When we first evolved into homo-sapiens, there were no houses or stores or even water fountains. We are, without a doubt, the most adaptable species on this planet. For whatever reason, man was given the incredible gifts of speech and thought. To be able to communicate ideas and expand through generations is something most animals aren’t blessed with. For whatever reason, we were able to grasp the agricultural process. This was a huge milestone in for the civilized world. No longer would man have to spend his days hunting and gathering for sustenance. For whatever reason, the cognitive abilities that our species has are the greatest trait that could be passed on to the next generation. Who knows what we would have evolved into if we had no such abilities? Perhaps we would have elongated necks or gills or wings. Natural selection has chosen mankind to be the dominant species for the past few centuries and who know when that could end. Our species has only been around for a fraction of the time this world has and we hardly hold the longest title for dominant species. If dinosaurs were still as common as they once used to be, do you think mankind would have been able to survive? This just goes to show you how complex nature really is. In order to maintain or current “dominion” over this world, we must start learning to co-exist with nature. If things do not start to change for the better, mankind could easily run our natural resources or usable land. The number of epically tragic events that could stem from our continued abuse of the natural world is something that should not be overlooked.</span></p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-0">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-0#comment Week 3: Darwin and Evolution Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:54:58 -0800 cohcod02 123 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter