Re: Jurassic intelligence (time-scale for evolution of alie

["Terry Colvin" <colvint@CC.IMS.DISA.MIL>]

Forwarded by Terry W. Colvin <colvint@cc.ims.disa.mil>, 1050MST/1750GMT/10MAY95.

>Almost all of our evolution-time was spent getting to a point from which
>we took off, tried various complex patterns such as fish, octopi, birds,
>dinosaurs, mammals...and we achieved intelligence, and radios, quite quickly
>in stellar-age terms. I don't think Diamond's chapter is really on-target:
>the evolutionary precursors of radios (or other complex technology) are
>indeed indicated by Jurassic fossils, we call them "brains" and "eyes" and
>stuff like that.
>  I won't be surprised if we go out into space and find lots of planets in
>which the Cambrian explosion never happened, because I haven't the slightest
>idea why it happened here or why it took billions of years for bacteria to
>get together. I will be surprised if we find multicellular life with
>organized nervous systems which is more than a billion years old and yet has
>not developed intelligence. It seems to me that we came close lots of times,
>and if we hadn't hit it with people we would have hit it sooner or later
>anyhow.
>  thoughts?
I happen to be in the group that doesn't believe that evolution is progressing
toward anything specific (including complex vertebrates with intelligence).
Rather we happen to be at the tip of of one the branches of the "Bush of Life"
(Gould's metaphor?).  I've heard it argued that intelligence is not really much
of an advantage in the evoluntionary long-run.  Intelligent creatures may become
too specialized.  I once heard Louis Leaky state his opinion that most species
of Homo became extinct because they became over-specialized.  We certainly have
long developmental time which requires significant nurturing.  The most
successful creatures appear to rather simple with the ability to easily adapt to
a variety of environmental opportunities.  I have this view of evolution taking
a pool of generalists, and evolving a set of specialists which are highly tuned
to a particular niche.  While that niche is stable, the specialists thrive and
keep getting more finely tuned.  Once established, the specialists are very hard
to displace and elaborate relationships develop which help them maintain their
place, but creates a system vunerable to collapse.  Once that niche changes or
disappears, the specialists are history and the generalists are the ones that
survive.
My $0.02,
Art