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Author Topic:   How come evolution never developed the wheel?
Tangle
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Message 3 of 37 (846024)
12-26-2018 6:12 PM


Two reasons
1. Not all possible variants will necessarily evolve - there aren't any tripods either as far as I know.
2. The wheel and axle is can't be innervated or supplied with blood because the 'cable' would twist around the axle.

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.

  
Tangle
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Posts: 9489
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
Member Rating: 4.9


Message 8 of 37 (846078)
12-27-2018 3:08 PM
Reply to: Message 7 by coffee_addict
12-27-2018 10:25 AM


Lammy writes:
Are you talking about the flagella? If so, that's microscopic. I'm talking about animals we can pet and cuddle with.
There aren't any.
Rolling and wheels in the natural world - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The nearest I know about would be the ratchet in a grasshoppers leg
Why insects are marvels of engineering - BBC News

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.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 7 by coffee_addict, posted 12-27-2018 10:25 AM coffee_addict has not replied

  
Tangle
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Posts: 9489
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
Member Rating: 4.9


Message 22 of 37 (846301)
01-03-2019 7:17 AM


Wheels aren't just used for locomotion. We use them in gear boxes - effectively as levers. We use them in pulleys and as rotation devices. But the owl can't do a full 360 degree rotation for a reason - a wheel-like device can't be innervated or be supplied with blood without wrapping the pipes around the axle.

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.

Replies to this message:
 Message 23 by AnswersInGenitals, posted 01-03-2019 2:49 PM Tangle has not replied

  
Tangle
Member
Posts: 9489
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
Member Rating: 4.9


Message 33 of 37 (847362)
01-21-2019 3:24 PM
Reply to: Message 30 by mike the wiz
01-21-2019 9:33 AM


Mike writes:
It seems to me a fair apriori prediction would be that we should find a wheel in many species because it's a relatively simple design............ahh but they would object, "no we shouldn't, because we don't find it and evolution doesn't have to take that path". But how convenient.
Didn't you read the answers given?
Firstly there are some examples in the bacteria flagella and partial ones in the grasshopper's leg. (Also ball and socket joints in mammalian hips).
But there are real reasons why wheels aren't generally used.
They're only really useful on roadways - evolution didn't have roads to work with. You can't climb with wheels and you can't deal easily with broken territory.
Then the wheel needs an axel and a rotating wheel prevents easy inervation and blood supply in the usual way - because cords wind around the axel. A totally different mechanism would need to have evolved. Not impossible, just unecessary and unlikely because it's not a useful feature - because there are no roads.
Now, what's wrong with that?
I'm interested in why there are no tripods - now why do you think that is?

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.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 30 by mike the wiz, posted 01-21-2019 9:33 AM mike the wiz has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 34 by caffeine, posted 01-21-2019 3:46 PM Tangle has replied

  
Tangle
Member
Posts: 9489
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
Member Rating: 4.9


Message 35 of 37 (847367)
01-21-2019 4:18 PM
Reply to: Message 34 by caffeine
01-21-2019 3:46 PM


caffeine writes:
Maybe I'm misunderstanding your meaning here.
Apart from the parrot conjecture, there are no known species where three legs are standard, although the movement of some macropods such as kangaroos, which can alternate between resting their weight on their muscular tails and their two hind legs, may be an example of tripedal locomotion in animals. There are also the tripod fish. Several species of these fish rest on the ocean bottom on two rays from its two pelvic fins and one ray from its caudal fin.[3][/qs]
Tripedalism - Wikipedia
I mean true tripedalism. But that fish is interesting and I had never heard of the parrot conjecture - still haven't.

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.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 34 by caffeine, posted 01-21-2019 3:46 PM caffeine has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
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