14
Feb
2012
Checkmate, Landsburg
Bob Wenzel passes along this video, which I think we can all agree ends the debate. I can’t even wait till Sunday.
Bob Wenzel passes along this video, which I think we can all agree ends the debate. I can’t even wait till Sunday.
Hahaha, oh wow. She sure got a Peace of his mind!
Hahaha, I’m going home now.
ah the classic argument from baby teeth. for some reason aquinas’ 6th way got edited out of the summa theologica
I think what he actually meant to say was:
Thank Jesus that I lost my mind when I was a baby instead for like 20 or today. Cause that would look pretty bad
… And indeed, it does.
“What if I lost my teeth at 32?”
Q: “What if humans were of a species that had baby teeth well into adulthood, after which at some point they lose all their teeth, looking “all ugly”, awaiting new teeth?]
A: Natural selection allows for the propagation of successful traits. It’s not a “perfect” process of course, since evolution is passive. Some humans today are born with no ability to grow any teeth, and one family in the US even has an unfortunate affliction where they don’t grow out of their baby teeth at all. Some animals like sharks regrow their teeth constantly, most likely because they have no arms and so sharks that could regrow teeth were naturally favored to pass that gene on, while other animals like rats have one set of teeth their whole lives. The environment in which man evolved, selected for the genes that would see humans lose their baby teeth early to make way for larger teeth that would enable eating nutritious foods like meats and hard vegetables, and selected against the gene that would see humans not lose their baby teeth early, most likely because humans have superior dexterous and intellectual ability that made the gene for continuously regrowing teeth not favored at all. Those humans with very durable teeth but poor vision, tended to not pass on their genes. Recall that evolution is not perfect. Just consider human “wisdom teeth.” There are conflicting views among evolutionary biologists, but the most accepted explanation is that human jaw underwent a fairly rapid shortening from our ancestors, and so the teeth at the back of the jaw haven’t yet “caught up” to the newer smaller jaw. Hence most humans have teeth at the back of their jaw that are crammed and held below the gum line.
Some interesting links:
http://www.manticmoo.com/articles/jeff/scholarly/an-evolving-human-dentition.php
http://www.livescience.com/7497-teeth-offer-clues-human-diet-evolution.html
Major_Freedom wrote:
“Some animals like sharks regrow their teeth constantly, most likely because they have no arms and so sharks that could regrow teeth were naturally favored to pass that gene on….”
I’m genuinely curious: what does not having arms have to do with the regrowth of teeth?
Ask yourself this:
Suppose the ONLY bodily tool you had to hunt and gather food was dismembered for some reason. If your species contained the gene that prevents you from regrowing it, what are the chances of you passing on your genes to subsequent generations? Would it be high or low?
Then ask yourself if your species had the gene mutation such that the only tool you had to hunt and gather food, was regrown if it ever becomes dismembered for whatever reason. What would be your chances of passing this gene inside you to subsequent generations? Would it be higher or lower compared to the first scenario above?
I think sharks become an apex predator in the oceans in large part because of the gene that enables spontaneous regrowth of razor sharp teeth if they ever get dislodged. Imagine you having an unlimited supply of razor sharp biological tools. You’d probably be able to win a battle against a lion one on one. But evolution didn’t result in you having these biological tools because your natural advantage is your mind. You can construct metal tools that propel super fast projectiles that can enable you to take down entire elephants. That’s why humans are relatively physically weak, but the most powerful animal on the planet, and why humans tend to be the apex predators wherever they go.
Or we can just say God did it, and be done thinking about these things.
Well if the sharks are so smart how come god gave the bible to us humans? Answer me that, MR SCIENTIST!
dude, this whole thing is a joke. no need to write a research paper here complete with bibliography.
I know.
But Poindexter seemed interested. That’s enough for me.
The Lord works in mysterious ways, no doubt about it.
Smarter than Santorum.
Murphy: pwned.
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/02/does-jesus-hate-me.html
Yes, I didn’t realize people had suffered problems in their lives, until reading that. I will reconsider my position.
Imagine all the stupid questions athletes receive on a daily basis. Artest has clearly decided to answer stupid questions in advance of their asking to move the process along. Very civic minded of him.