Hi Peter, the following quote caught my attention.
quote:
The preexisting traits that led to us were evolving for
millions of years prior to the 65million referred to as the
time to produce humans.
Actually I do not think that is 100% true. Yes, we and every other organism currently on the earth are the result of 3.5 to 3.8 By of evolution but that is not the same as specific traits being the result of the same time period of evolution. Substantial morphological or biochemical changes can lead to new traits which then lead to a whole new series of adaptations, and they may be fairly recent. A backbone for example, a closed circulatory system for another. Sex is one which has evolved several times. In my opinion, conciousness is likely to be one of those although I do think that it is part of a gradient and is therefor older than we are.
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"Chance favors the prepared mind." L. Pasteur
Taz