Evolution

[Nietzsche]

Birds never learned to build nests, just like lions never learned to eat humans. God put them on earth with these abilities already in place because god saw that building nests was good and lions eating humans was good.

I find that the latter doesn't happen near often enough lately.

 

[Riverwolf]

Birds evolved from dinosaurs, dinosaur made nest ...

"Evolved-from" nothing. Birds ARE dinosaurs.

And you beat me to the fact that non-avian dinosaurs made nests. So the nesting instinct likely started WAY back.

 

[psychoslice]

Just like all animals make their home in some form, what's so difficult about birds making nest, I can't see why the question is important.

 

[Oldsoul]

How do they know how to do this? To make a single strand of web from a ceiling of a cave, or branch of tree, then create a single strand of web covered in the pheromone and then swing it in a circle in the air and wait for a moth to arrive? How do they "know". The only explanation is that their brain contains these activities inherently, they are informed by instinct.

I thought science proved DNA is responsible for hereditary behavior in animals?

 

[Riverwolf]

I thought science proved DNA is responsible for hereditary behavior in animals?

DNA contains the "instructions" for the particular neural developments that happen in particular species.

 

[rocala]

Birds nests? You couldn't think of an evolutionary advantage to taking care of helpless young?

Of course I can. What I have thus far been unable to do is explain how we go from a bundle of twigs to the intricacies of the birds nest in x amount of generations. Judging from the responses I am far from alone in this.

 

[rocala]

Basically, there's tons of primary literature on this stuff. Go to your local university and start reading it.

1/ I have neither the time or energy to read tons of stuff. Especially when a quick polite post to a forum may do the job.
2/ It may be different where you are, but here people cannot just walk off the street into universities.
3/ Your response could apply to a vast amount of posts here - should we scrap the forum to satisfy you.
*edit*

 

[rocala]

Just like all animals make their home in some form, what's so difficult about birds making nest, I can't see why the question is important.

"Yet despite their variety, we know very little about the forces that shaped their evolution." from Nature World News May 2015

 

[Valjean]

Why is selection for behavior harder to comprehend than selection for morphology?

 

[rocala]

I'm not sure why birds' nests in particular stumped you.

As stated it was a conversation, I did not control the input.

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

1/ I have neither the time or energy to read tons of stuff. Especially when a quick polite post to a forum may do the job.
2/ It may be different where you are, but here people cannot just walk off the street into universities.
3/ Your response could apply to a vast amount of posts here - should we scrap the forum to satisfy you.
4/ If you have nothing but insolence to offer I suggest you keep away. I would have expected something better from a staff member.

Unfortunately (unfortunate because you apparently don't even realize it) you're the one being harsh here. @Quintessence was seriously trying to help - posting 2 things to help support/back your needs, and then turning to the idea of checking out even more yourself if you were interested. That's really all that happened.

 

[rocala]

Unfortunately (unfortunate because you apparently don't even realize it) you're the one being harsh here. @Quintessence was seriously trying to help - posting 2 things to help support/back your needs, and then turning to the idea of checking out even more yourself if you were interested. That's really all that happened.

You may be right but post 17 comes across as patronizing. I can think of better ways to be helpful.

 

[Quintessence]

Unfortunately (unfortunate because you apparently don't even realize it) you're the one being harsh here. @Quintessence was seriously trying to help - posting 2 things to help support/back your needs, and then turning to the idea of checking out even more yourself if you were interested. That's really all that happened.

Er... yeah, that's... pretty much what happened. I have to say I am very perplexed by the reaction.

This is what I get for actually taking the time to do a bit of a literature dig for someone. A slap in the face. Gee, thanks, buddy. It won't happen again.

 

[rocala]

I have to say I am very perplexed by the reaction.

Perplexed? which of the four points I raised puzzles you?

 

[Quintessence]

Perplexed? which of the four points I raised puzzles you?

What puzzles me is interpreting helpful gestures as something mean-spirited. I take time out of my day to dig up a few articles of relevance from the primary literature, skim them over, manually type out (yes, that's right... I couldn't copy-paste from the PDFs) some short relevant experts that directly pertain to answering your question, then point out there are lots of other works you could review and where you might find them, and you respond like that? Really? If this is how you are going to respond to people who care to help answer your question... well... really?

 

[Twilight Hue]

This does not explain how a genegic mutation resulted in building fortifications however. That is the kind of question that the theory tends to gloss over. I'm not trying to refute evolution BTW, but sometimes the explanations given for examples like this are somewhat glib, and tend to have a subtext that evolution is teleological. The theory is not a theory of innate teleology.

Well brains evolve. ;0)

 

[psychoslice]

"Yet despite their variety, we know very little about the forces that shaped their evolution." from Nature World News May 2015

That force is the life force, it has nothing to do with a god in the sky controling everything, its sad that so many reduce this force down to a mere being called god.

 

[rocala]

That force is the life force, it has nothing to do with a god in the sky controling everything, its sad that so many reduce this force down to a mere being called god.

I do not have a clue what you are talking about.

 

[rocala]

Go to your local university and start reading it.

Thanks but I do not have to be told to read a book.

What puzzles me is interpreting helpful gestures

Helpful.... like the above. My comments were specifically about that post, not your 'helpful gestures which I would have expressed gratitude for but for your patronizing remarks about my locality etc.

 

[psychoslice]

I do not have a clue what you are talking about.

That's fine, one day you might understand.