Survival of the Fittest

[The Hammer]

I was raised on a farm, preparing a chicken for Sunday dinner was one of my pocket money jobs

What's the quickest way to dispatch?

 

[ChristineM]

What's the quickest way to dispatch?

FedEx or DHL ;-)

Really, I think breaking the neck if you do it right, an axe if you're not confident.

 

[Kathryn]

I was raised on a farm, preparing a chicken for Sunday dinner was one of my pocket money jobs

Blech! I wouldn't care for that but I get it.

 

[Audie]

I was raised on a farm, preparing a chicken for Sunday dinner was one of my pocket money jobs

I'm such a city girl

 

[Balthazzar]

Darwin was not advocate of survival of the fittest.He said it was the one best adapted to changing conditions that survived.So if I have my third ice cream and weigh 150 kg while you tuck into a salad at 70 kg.In an ice age guess who will survive.

Isn't adaptation part of the survival equation? I agree with your last statement, but I was considered obese several years ago and I vaguely remember the difficulty I had walking up to a mile. It was no picnic. I've since dropped over 100lbs and average in at around 150 lbs, so I'm feeling better than I once did. I walk easier and breathe easier, but my fat reserve is lacking. Cold temps suck and I don't have a whole lot to work with if we ever have anything severe of a food supply shortage. Adaptation I guess would play a major role in extreme changes of lifestyle.

 

[Audie]

Isn't adaptation part of the survival equation? I agree with your last statement, but I was considered obese several years ago and I vaguely remember the difficulty I had walking up to a mile. It was no picnic. I've since dropped over 100lbs and average in at around 150 lbs, so I'm feeling better than I once did. I walk easier and breathe easier, but my fat reserve is lacking. Cold temps suck and I don't have a whole lot to work with if we ever have anything severe of a food supply shortage. Adaptation I guess would play a major role in extreme changes of lifestyle.

Thats not genetics.
No genetics involved, no evolution.

You are talking like survivalist stuff.

 

[Balthazzar]

Thats not genetics.
No genetics involved, no evolution.

You are talking like survivalist stuff.

I'm sure evolution involves genes and adaptation involves survival and part of survival of the fittest involves adaptation, and likewise evolution. It's not isolated to genomes only. It's simply part of life.

Yes, in part.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Isn't adaptation part of the survival equation? I agree with your last statement, but I was considered obese several years ago and I vaguely remember the difficulty I had walking up to a mile. It was no picnic. I've since dropped over 100lbs and average in at around 150 lbs, so I'm feeling better than I once did. I walk easier and breathe easier, but my fat reserve is lacking. Cold temps suck and I don't have a whole lot to work with if we ever have anything severe of a food supply shortage. Adaptation I guess would play a major role in extreme changes of lifestyle.

People often refer to personal changes as adaptation, but these are physiological or developmental changes that don't arise from a change in the genes. A flatfish changing color to match it's background is physiological and the ability already exists in the fish. Callouses are developmental and will not be inherited by offspring. A genetic change that results in a heritable phenotype is the adaptation that evolves in a population gradually over time.

The adaptation you are talking about falls within the scope of the first two I mention. Losing a large quantity of weight will not mean that the offspring will be born skinny, since there is no change in your genes. Acclimatizing yourself is not a heritable trait resulting in offspring that are born cold-adapted.

 

[Balthazzar]

People often refer to personal changes as adaptation, but these are physiological or developmental changes that don't arise from a change in the genes. A flatfish changing color to match it's background is physiological and the ability already exists in the fish. Callouses are developmental and will not be inherited by offspring. A genetic change that results in a heritable phenotype is the adaptation that evolves in a population gradually over time.

The adaptation you are talking about falls within the scope of the first two I mention. Losing a large quantity of weight will not mean that the offspring will be born skinny, since there is no change in your genes. Acclimatizing yourself is not a heritable trait resulting in offspring that are born cold-adapted.

Anyway, I think I'm going hunting sometime soon, fishing too. Maybe increase exercise a little. I had thought about archery. Archery sounds like something possibly beneficial enough to practice for the skill set. Blond hair blue eyes are what they are. I learned to throw knives a few years ago. I could get within an inch of my target at about 10-15 ft from. Beyond that was iffy. That ability went away after I quit practicing. I can still ride a bike though. I was a little shaky getting back on one after 35 years but I do ok. None of this is adaptation, but it is skill development that can be useful. I worked a factory once. 12 hour shifts...same motor functions 12 hours a day, day in day out. I was still working in my sleep at home in bed. Repetition, I guess, builds or develops something that becomes like second nature after so long. My son wouldn't have the ability, but he could develop the ability if he chose to. I'm less insulated than I once was due to the weight loss. I feel better but the winters are cooler. I like green tea.

 

[Balthazzar]

It's better with a little mint and sweetened a little.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Anyway, I think I'm going hunting sometime soon, fishing too. Maybe increase exercise a little. I had thought about archery. Archery sounds like something possibly beneficial enough to practice for the skill set. Blond hair blue eyes are what they are. I learned to throw knives a few years ago. I could get within an inch of my target at about 10-15 ft from. Beyond that was iffy. That ability went away after I quit practicing. I can still ride a bike though. I was a little shaky getting back on one after 35 years but I do ok. None of this is adaptation, but it is skill development that can be useful. I worked a factory once. 12 hour shifts...same motor functions 12 hours a day, day in day out. I was still working in my sleep at home in bed. Repetition, I guess, builds or develops something that becomes like second nature after so long. My son wouldn't have the ability, but he could develop the ability if he chose to. I'm less insulated than I once was due to the weight loss. I feel better but the winters are cooler. I like green tea.

I've found that just getting out and hiking through the woods is healthy for both mind and body. The exercise and the peaceful enjoyment of nature has had and still has very profound effects on my outlook and peace of mind.

Sounds like you have learned some impressive skills over the years and exploited an adaptable intellect and body coordination in those achievements. The basis for that should be heritable, even if the particular application is not.

I'm too well insulated these days, but I can do something about that. It seems to be largely a matter of will and less about resource allocation needed to achieve that will.

I like green tea as well.

Good hunting.

 

[icehorse]

Where does hunting fit into this paradigm? In modern society, we really have no need to hunt or fish or anything like this. Also, what about dietary needs and capabilities? The future is uncertain, and from what I gather we developed an ability to eat both meat and vegetation. Some swear by a no meat diet, and others swear by an omnivorous one. I'm in the latter group and I've added to this diet spicy peppers and dairy. I think it broadens my chances of survival as well as those who develop from this type of food intake. Anyway, I haven't been hunting since I was twenty something. I'm thinking about reintroducing myself to the more primal basics of survival.

Do you think these capabilities are important enough to pursue?

Seems to me that if the goal is to be prepared in case society goes sideways (which is a distinct possibility), gardening skills will be more valuable than hunting skills. In most parts of the world, there isn't much wild game left to hunt, and the demand will be high.