From: Grant Callaghan (grantc4@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun 08 Dec 2002 - 15:02:00 GMT
The problem of talking about evolution as you guys are is that you seem to
assume it is a single thing that applies to all of life on earth when in
fact it is billions of things taking place over eons as individual animals
fight for existence in a niche of their own. The crocks in Australia seem
to have found one they can exploit forever.
Most of the rest of the animals on earth are not so lucky. But "evolution"
only describes the general process of change that shapes the animal to its
environment or lets it die if it can't change fast enough. Most species
don't really die, though. They just become something unlike what their
ancesters were. The 'junk' DNA we carry in our genome contains the ghosts
of our ancestors back to the bacterial stage of our climb to our present
stage of existence.
They are not gone. They were carried forward but burried in a complex set
of code that reflects where we came from and what we went through to get
here. And although we don't know exactly where we're going, like the man
driving down the road to no specific destination, we can see a short way
through the darkness ahead using the headlights of science and logic.
Grant
>At 01:23 AM 8/12/02 +0000, you wrote:
> >
> >> Date: Sat, 07 Dec 2002 21:46:02 +1100
> >> From: Jeremy Bradley <jeremyb@nor.com.au>
> >> Subject:
> >>
> >> SNIP.......Steve:
> >>> Also,implicit in your statement seems to be the idea that social
>evolution
> >> has a
> >>> destination? Society changes, and good or ill are relative to the
>society of
> >>> the observer.
> >>>
> >>> Regards
> >>>
> >>> Steve.
> >>>
> >> Jeremy:......... Hi Steve
> >> In my study of narrative form I developed a theory that the linear
> >> rhetorical form of outcome based narratives, such as we all grew up
>with,
> >> normalise the notion that outcomes and destinations are the inevitable
> >> result of existence.
> >
>Steve:
> >The notion you talk about would appear to be correct for any society
> >
>Jeremy's reply:
>The 'goal' of many pre-colonisation peoples was to maintain a status-quo.
>This is discernible in their narrative patterning. Australian narratives
>were cyclical, like their notion of time. A story typically starts with
>locating the story in the land, language and the people, thereby
>establishing the status-quo. It then moves to the problem. A solution is
>found with the assistance of nature, magic or a 'spirit' intervention. And
>the status-quo is thus restored (apologies for the simplification).
>As you can see this is significantly different to our traditional narrative
>structure.
>
> >> Jeremy........cont.:
>In my memetics, subtle cultural notions such as these are part of a coded
> >> sets of information ( culture memes which form a complete 'strand', or
> >> cneme, for want of a better word) which constrains the production of
> >> culture so that evolution can't happen outside of previously set
>perameters.
> >> It is the 'cenemes', of which I have only mentioned one, which make
>memes
> >> appear to be good or bad to different peoples (as our current
>case-study
> >> clearly shows).
> >> Like the mapping of the human genome, the mapping of a cultural cneme
>is
> >> possible through the analysis of the most enduring elements of that
>culture
> >> - - its narratives and their form.
> >> 'owzat Steve?
> >> Jeremy
>
>
>Steve:
> >I don't have any qualms as such, I just tend to note when people tend to
> >ascribe a direction to evolution. It occurs (evolution), and only humans
> >ascribe good or ill (and a direction) to it.
> >
> >Not a cricket fan thank god:-) and I hope I've faired better!
> >
> >Regards
> >
> >Steve
> >
>Jeremy:
>The Australian Estuarine Crocodile has existed, in its present form for at
>least 50,000,000 years. The toxic ticks that I catch for anti-vemom are the
>most dangerous animal in Australia and have been unchanged for longer. Both
>of these animals are perfectly adapted for what they do. I therefore
>suggest to you that the process of evolution is not ongoing. IMO it stops
>at some stage, perfect adaptation.
>In the case of pre-invasion indigenous Australian societies, that stage of
>cultural evolution arguably arrived many millennia before our forebears
>emerged from their caves; let alone before they ceased to be ruled by
>inbred, syphilitic, drunken, war-lords with a desire to consume the
>possessions of others. IMO colonising Europeans were the true uncivilised
>savages. The very fact that our linear cultures are still evolving is
>evidence of their inferiority. (controversial stuff eh Steve)
>I'm not a great cricket fan either and I didn't mean to rub any salt into
>the wounds caused by the unmerciful flogging of your National team in its
>latest foray to the antipodes.
>;~)
>Jeremy
> >
>
>
>===============================================================
>This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
>Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
>For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
>see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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