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Author Topic:   Why Did Homo Erectus Not Retain a Tail?
ringo
Member (Idle past 411 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


Message 11 of 68 (734255)
07-27-2014 3:05 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by mram10
07-26-2014 11:45 AM


mram10 writes:
What is the best current explanation? (other than natural selection/god just did it)
That's like asking for the current best answer to 1 + 1 (other than 2).
The current best explanation is natural selection.
mram10 writes:
A tail would be incredibly helpful for balance (tripod example), productivity, etc.
Indeed it would. I've often thought that two little arms coming out of my temples would be incredibly helpful because they could hold things where I could see them.
But evolution doesn't work that way. Changes happen randomly and the environment selects the ones that work best.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by mram10, posted 07-26-2014 11:45 AM mram10 has not replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 411 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


(4)
Message 37 of 68 (735538)
08-17-2014 2:31 PM
Reply to: Message 28 by mram10
08-16-2014 5:40 PM


mram10 writes:
As for a tail not being useful, that is a ridiculous statement. Balance, open doors, scratch your back. There are plenty of advantages to having a tail.
That isn't how evolution works. It doesn't anticipate what "might" be useful.
If an organism born without a tail survives to reproduce, the "tail gene" may be missing in its offspring. Eventually, a tailless population may evolve.
You should be thinking about why the tail wasn't useful - i.e. why the ones without tails survived - instead of telling evolution what it "should have done".

This message is a reply to:
 Message 28 by mram10, posted 08-16-2014 5:40 PM mram10 has not replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 411 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


Message 40 of 68 (737998)
10-03-2014 11:55 AM
Reply to: Message 38 by djufo
10-02-2014 8:26 PM


djufo writes:
Otherwise, prove it.
In a court of law, the prosecution has to "prove" its case to the jury, not the spectators.
Similarly, science aims to make its case to people who have actually looked at the evidence. No offense, but nobody's interested in "proving" anything to you.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 38 by djufo, posted 10-02-2014 8:26 PM djufo has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 41 by djufo, posted 10-04-2014 12:53 PM ringo has replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 411 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


Message 43 of 68 (738056)
10-04-2014 3:18 PM
Reply to: Message 41 by djufo
10-04-2014 12:53 PM


djufo writes:
Blah blah blah....
You didn't repond at all to the post you were replying to.
Here it is again:
quote:
In a court of law, the prosecution has to "prove" its case to the jury, not the spectators.
Similarly, science aims to make its case to people who have actually looked at the evidence. No offense, but nobody's interested in "proving" anything to you.
If you want to demostrate that you have an average IQ, try addressing the topic instead of blathering inane platitudes.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 41 by djufo, posted 10-04-2014 12:53 PM djufo has not replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 411 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


Message 65 of 68 (738768)
10-15-2014 12:07 PM
Reply to: Message 59 by Ed Conrad
10-15-2014 9:41 AM


Re: TOO BAD ALL OF OUR PRISONS ARE FILLED
Ed Conrad writes:
The humans and animals
that existed on earth eons ago were destroyed in an
earth-shattering catastrophe.
Did they lose their tails in the same catastrophe?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 59 by Ed Conrad, posted 10-15-2014 9:41 AM Ed Conrad has seen this message but not replied

  
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