Comments on: the myth of innovative progress?

By: good enough « Evolving Economic Entities « Innovation Leadership Network

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:09:13 +0000

[...] things always get better as they evolve? I touched on this idea recently, and I think the answer is definitely ‘No’. Now Wired has made the point for me again [...]

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:57:50 +0000

I’ve run across a few things – they inevitably get written up and discussed as Lamarckian evolution. One book on this that I’ve been meaning to read is called ‘Lamarck’s Signature’ by Steele, Lindley and Blanden.

By: Amber

Amber — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:50:52 +0000

Question, Tim: In your study of theories surrounding evolution, has there been any credence given to the idea of genetic memory as memory that passes experiences on to the next generation, rather than just an identical imprint of the DNA? I was having a discussion about this with my husband on our vacation we just returned from, and told him that I considered complementary to the statement that “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” that nothing in evolution makes sense without genetic memory, however slight its influence. This was after a hike in which the guide informed us that a “stinging nettle” which is like no nettle I had ever seen (it had a red stem and no defensive spikes on the leaves, the stem, or the fruit-ish clusters hanging from it like the sharp-all-over nettles I’m used to), and seemed to deliberately sting only when brushed against. How else could a plant develop such precise reactions without memories that are passed to the next generation? How could relationships of mutualism develop without them? I feel that natural selection can’t completely explain evolution without an element of memory in DNA.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:00:48 +0000

I’ve always found evolutionary research fascinating Amber – which is probably a good part of why I ended up being an evolutionary economist!

By: Amber

Amber — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:13:59 +0000

All right, well, I didn’t make it through all (linked) words, but I did try – and that’s because this is something I’ve thought about a lot when thinking about evolution. I saw a lot of “this is our misunderstanding of evolution” but I’m trying to get a grasp of what we – that is, our current scientific community – think evolution really is. 99.9999% – that was an actual figure given in The 11th Hour, which I recently watched – of all species who have ever lived on Earth have died out. That leaves us with a lot of confusion over how our species actually progressed! I really wish we had our relatives who died out 20,000 years ago still around. We could, like, hang with them and stuff.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:00:10 +0000

You’re dedicated Amber! (and, it is pretty funny!)

By: Amber

Amber — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:59:11 +0000

Okay, that “Ascent of Toxoplasma” graphic is downright hilarious. And now back to reading the rest of the words..

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:50:57 +0000

Actually, the extremely well-adapted design that I had in my head while I was writing this was the nautilus, not the shark. But it would be cool to have a nautilus with frickin’ laser beams!

By: Sam MacAulay

Sam MacAulay — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:26:30 +0000

sounds like you just want a shark. Not a shark with frickin laser beams!