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Author Topic:   Trilobite, Eyewitness to Evolution
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4597
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 9.1


(3)
Message 1 of 25 (826137)
12-22-2017 11:35 PM


I recently read Trilobite, Eyewitness to Evolution by Richard Fortey, 2001. I found it to be a delightful read and I learned all sorts of new things about these fascinating fossil creatures and the worlds they inhabited for 300 million years. Many thousands of species have been described and more are being discovered every year.
Trilobites have played a major role in paleontology and have been used as index fossils correlating the ages of geological layers around the globe.
They range in size from larger than lobsters to only a couple millimeters in length. As would be expected in a group that lasted that long the amount of variation is staggering; all the way from blind to calcium carbonate crystal for lenses in the faceted eyes, from plain and unadorned to covered with all sorts and shapes of spines.
Fortey writes as much about the world they live in as about the trilobites themselves, the other sorts of life they shared the seas with. He uses his own experiences on expeditions of discovery around the world to tell the stories of the fossils and the types and locations of geological formations they are found in today and what those habitats were like when these creatures lived.
He was a contemporary with Gould and Eldredge and describes how Eldredge's study of trilobites led him to the concept of Punctuated Equilibrium. He also explains Gould's errors in Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History in a way I had never understood before.
Fortey tells an engrossing tale and describes the same excitement of discovery that I have experienced and observed in my colleagues in the study of dragonflies.
I can recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting read this winter.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy
The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq

Replies to this message:
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kjsimons
Member
Posts: 829
From: Orlando,FL
Joined: 06-17-2003


(2)
Message 2 of 25 (826148)
12-23-2017 9:38 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Tanypteryx
12-22-2017 11:35 PM


Thanks for the review. I just looked and my public library has a copy of this book and so I'll mosey on down there today and check it out.

This message is a reply to:
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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1663 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


(2)
Message 3 of 25 (826159)
12-23-2017 11:15 AM
Reply to: Message 2 by kjsimons
12-23-2017 9:38 AM


Intentional?
... so I'll mosey on down there today and check it out.
good one.
Libraries ... another socialist ploy designed to undermine capitalism and educate poor people ...
Enjoy

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmerican☆Zen☯Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


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jar
Member (Idle past 97 days)
Posts: 34140
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


(3)
Message 4 of 25 (826184)
12-24-2017 8:09 AM
Reply to: Message 3 by RAZD
12-23-2017 11:15 AM


Re: Intentional?
RAZD writes:
Libraries ... another socialist ploy designed to undermine capitalism and educate poor people ...
Often funded by notable socialists like George Peabody, Enoch Pratt and Andrew Carnegie.

My Sister's Website: Rose Hill Studios My Website: My Website

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kjsimons
Member
Posts: 829
From: Orlando,FL
Joined: 06-17-2003


(1)
Message 5 of 25 (828090)
02-09-2018 3:33 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Tanypteryx
12-22-2017 11:35 PM


Very enlightening!
Thank you for recommending this book! I actually have a trilobite fossil that I bought years ago as well and I kept pulling it out as I read this book.
What cool creatures they are with crystal eyes (calcite). I was absolutely amazed that they had found trilobite larvae fossils and enough of them to actually map their development to adulthood and also use the larval stage to show how some trilobites were closely related even though their adult bodies were markedly different.
It was a very interesting walk back in time.

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AlexCaledin
Member (Idle past 671 days)
Posts: 64
From: Samara, Russia
Joined: 10-22-2016


Message 6 of 25 (828414)
02-17-2018 1:16 PM


Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world

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Phat
Member
Posts: 18651
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 4.2


Message 7 of 25 (828416)
02-17-2018 1:19 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by AlexCaledin
02-17-2018 1:16 PM


Bonfire Of The Vanities
Well well well...hello Alex. I agree with you that humans can be vain at times...they want to try and do everything themselves and think they will succeed without God...which I agree is vain. In science, however, they must have a go of it alone. It is not as if they can simply pray before conducting each experiment now is it?

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. —RC Sproul
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain "
~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith
Paul was probably SO soaked in prayer nobody else has ever equaled him.~Faith

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Replies to this message:
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Tangle
Member
Posts: 9583
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
Member Rating: 6.5


Message 8 of 25 (828420)
02-17-2018 2:31 PM
Reply to: Message 7 by Phat
02-17-2018 1:19 PM


Re: Bonfire Of The Vanities
Phat writes:
I agree with you that humans can be vain at times...they want to try and do everything themselves and think they will succeed without God...which I agree is vain.
I've tried many times to get you to understand things from an atheist's veiwpoint, but it seems that you simply can't. I'm not trying to change your mind about what you believe, just understand things from a non-believer's point of view.
For atheists this god thing of yours is a pure invention; like fairies. Exactly like fairies. It's not vain to think you can manage without fairies now is it?

Je suis Charlie. Je suis Ahmed. Je suis Juif. Je suis Parisien. I am Mancunian. I am Brum. I am London.I am Finland. Soy Barcelona
"Life, don't talk to me about life" - Marvin the Paranoid Android
"Science adjusts it's views based on what's observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved."
- Tim Minchin, in his beat poem, Storm.

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Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4597
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 9.1


(3)
Message 9 of 25 (828429)
02-17-2018 4:46 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by AlexCaledin
02-17-2018 1:16 PM


Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit
Thanks for the warning. I will never let you spoil me through your philosophy or your vain deceit. Now piss off.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy
The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq

This message is a reply to:
 Message 6 by AlexCaledin, posted 02-17-2018 1:16 PM AlexCaledin has not replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 97 days)
Posts: 34140
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 10 of 25 (828431)
02-17-2018 5:35 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by AlexCaledin
02-17-2018 1:16 PM


The pathetic cry of the Christian Cult of Ignorance.

My Sister's Website: Rose Hill Studios My Website: My Website

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1703 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 11 of 25 (828432)
02-17-2018 5:46 PM
Reply to: Message 7 by Phat
02-17-2018 1:19 PM


Re: Bonfire Of The Vanities
Well well well...hello Alex. I agree with you that humans can be vain at times...they want to try and do everything themselves and think they will succeed without God...which I agree is vain. In science, however, they must have a go of it alone. It is not as if they can simply pray before conducting each experiment now is it?
Why not? There is no success without God, what a strange idea. God rules science just as He rules the whole universe and every thing science studies. He knows the answers to all the questions, and if fallen humanity comes up with answers that disagree with Him, He's not the one who is wrong. Prayer for understanding of whatever science project you are engaged in would save you a lot of mistakes.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

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Replies to this message:
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Coragyps
Member (Idle past 993 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


Message 12 of 25 (828436)
02-17-2018 7:19 PM
Reply to: Message 11 by Faith
02-17-2018 5:46 PM


Re: Bonfire Of The Vanities
I’ll bet that studying the actual science connected to yout science project will lead to a much better understanding than prayer will. I’ll go so far as to propose that you could pray until October for understanding of anti-Markanikov additions to cyclic alkenes, and that if you never cracked a book on it, you would still be looking through the weeds for understanding in November.

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1703 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 13 of 25 (828438)
02-17-2018 7:41 PM
Reply to: Message 12 by Coragyps
02-17-2018 7:19 PM


Re: Bonfire Of The Vanities
Oh come on. Of course you study, the prayer simply guides and refines your study. I'm not talking about prayer for some kind of arcane knowledge out of the blue, I'm talking about studying with God's guidance.

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
 Message 14 by jar, posted 02-17-2018 7:54 PM Faith has replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 97 days)
Posts: 34140
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 14 of 25 (828441)
02-17-2018 7:54 PM
Reply to: Message 13 by Faith
02-17-2018 7:41 PM


Re: Bonfire Of The Vanities
Science does study with God's guidance unlike the Biblical worshipers. Science uses what God created not the Bible that fallen man made up and wrote.

My Sister's Website: Rose Hill Studios My Website: My Website

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Replies to this message:
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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1703 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 15 of 25 (828442)
02-17-2018 7:59 PM
Reply to: Message 14 by jar
02-17-2018 7:54 PM


Re: Bonfire Of The Vanities
Since God created everything, by your reasoning nobody should ever get any of it wrong, but we get things wrong all the time and the history of science certainly shows that. No, I'm talking about literally asking God to guide our understanding. In my experience it makes a big difference.

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Replies to this message:
 Message 16 by jar, posted 02-17-2018 8:30 PM Faith has not replied
 Message 17 by Tanypteryx, posted 02-17-2018 9:04 PM Faith has replied

  
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