Both, Darwinism and Lamarckism support the currently held belief that pan-global mass extinction of Dinosaurs was due to environmental change towards the end of Cretaceous era about 65.5 million years back. But the view about specific climatic change accounting for mass extinction of Dinosaurs has been changing from time to time. The earliest view was that ice age caused mass extinction of Dinosaurs. This view was followed by Asteroid attack on earth. Subsequently a volcanic eruption in India was believed to be the cause of pan-global mass extinction of Dinosaurs that materialized over a period of about one million years. A later view emerged that egg- shell thinning led to Dinosaur extinction. The latest view is that Methane gas emission by Dinosaurs led to global warming. A view has been advanced by Fox News that this global warming is to account for mass extinction of Dinosaurs. So we have moved full circle from ice age to global warming.
Dinosaur extinction was accompanied by extinction of Ammonites (Mollusks), Mesosaurs, Plesiosaurs, and many Mammalian groups. No theory of relationship has been advanced to explain this association of facts. No theory has been advanced to explain as to why not the entire global flora and fauna became extinct due to alleged climate change but only selected groups of animals. There is evidence that birds survived extinction events affecting Dinosaurs. Flowering plants were making their early appearance at the time of Dinosaur extinction.
Dinosaurs first appeared about 230 million years back and were dominant life forms on earth from 200 million years BC (Jurassic era) to 65.5 million years BC (end of Cretaceous). Therefore Dinosaurs had been dominant life forms on earth for 135 million years from beginning of Jurassic era to end of Cretaceous.
Dinosaurs had been present on each and every continent and occupied all habitats. 500 genera and 1000 species of Non-avian Dinosaurs are known as extant species on the basis of fossil remains. Non-avian Dinosaurs ranged in size from present-day birds (e.g. Pigeon) to the size of Sauropods i.e. 60 meters in length and several stories high. Anchiomis is the smallest known Dinosaur with skeletal length of 35 cm and weight of 110 gms.
Dinosaurs shared several traits with birds such as egg-laying, nest-building and inhabiting all available habitats.
The following excerpt from Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur ) shows that Dinosaur extinction was not a sudden event lasting only a few hours, days or years. Rather it was spread over a period of at least one million years.
Possible Paleocene survivors
Main article:
Paleocene dinosaurs
Non-avian dinosaur remains are occasionally found above the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. In 2001, paleontologists Zielinski and Budahn reported the discovery of a single hadrosaur leg-bone fossil in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and described it as evidence of Paleocene Dinosaurs. The formation in which the bone was discovered has been dated to the early Paleocene epoch, approximately 64.5 million years ago. If the bone was not re-deposited into that stratum by weathering action, it would provide evidence that some dinosaur populations may have survived at least a half million years into the Cenozoic Era. Other evidence includes the finding of dinosaur remains in the Hell Creek Formation up to 1.3 meters (51 in) above (40000 years later than) the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Similar reports have come from other parts of the world, including China. Many scientists, however, dismissed the supposed Paleocene dinosaurs as re-worked, that is, washed out of their original locations and then re-buried in much later sediments. However, direct dating of the bones themselves has supported the later date, with U-Pb dating methods resulting in a precise age of 64.8 ± 0.9 million years ago. If correct, the presence of a handful of dinosaurs in the early Paleocene would not change the underlying facts of the extinction.
Any climate change causing pan-global mass extinction of Dinosaurs along with a few other animal groups namely, Ammonites, Mesosaurs, Plesiosaurs and a few Mammalian groups over a period of one million years should have, rationally speaking, resulted in near extinction of the entire flora and fauna on earth. But to the contrary there is evidence that birds survived extinction event. Flowering plants (Angiosperms) made their early appearance during this period.
There are known other mass extinction events affecting other groups of organisms, for example planktonic forms Globigerinidae suffered mass extinction at the end of Eocene only to reappear later (Cifelli 1969: Radiation of Cenozoic foraminifera, System. Zool., 18, 154 - 168).
Similarly Lazarus taxons are well known which suffered extinction at some point in time only to reappear later. One such taxon is Coelocanthus fish which reappeared in 1938 after extinction for nearly 65 million years (Wikipedia: search Lazarus taxons).
From the above account, it is self-evident that no theory explaining mass extinction of Dinosaurs due to climate change of any kind can ever be consistent with known facts.
Therefore, only two possibilities remain, either Dinosaurs suffered pan-global mass extinction as biologically timed out group of organisms or they evolved into some other group of organisms with which no ancestor - descendent relationship can be established, presently. Regarding the former possibility, Gryphaea mollusks are known to have evolved to their extinction.
The later possibility can't be dismissed outrightly because saltatory evolution is known to occur. This has led to Punctuated Equilibrium Hypothesis of Eldredge and Gould ( Eldredge N. and Gould S.J. 1972, 'Punctuated Equilibrium an Alternative to Phyletic Gradualism', in Schopf T.J.M.(ed.), Models in Paleobiology, Freeman, Cooper, San Francisco).
Darwin in 1859 in his book Origin of Species by Means of Natural selection page 298 observed:-
That the periods during which species have been undergoing modification though very long as measured by years, have probably been short in comparison with the periods during which these species remained without undergoing any change
Summing up, pan-global mass extinction of Dinosaurs could not have been due to climatic change. It was essentially not the question of struggle for survival and survival of the fittest or imperfect forms struggling to perfect themselves. Therefore neither Darwinism nor Lamarckism can explain Dinosaur extinction. There are only two possibilities. Dinosaurs either evolved to other phyletic lines or organisms, with which no ancestor - descendent relationship can be presently demonstrated or Dinosaurs evolved to their extinction, alternative speaking were biologically timed out. What really happened is a matter of further investigations.
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Are You Really Hearing Voices Or Is Your Mind Trying to Find Patterns in the White Noise?
It is fairly well known by neurologists and neuroscientists that the human eye uses the brain and memory to fill in the blanks as the eye focuses. This allows you to turn your head very quickly and not see a blur, or to look at an object and quickly recognize and discern what it is. You may see a small truck in the distance, and your mind goes through its memory of what a pickup truck looks like, and as your eye starts to focus it does what they call "frame bursting" and it starts to fill in all the blanks, and as you focus more and more your brain is refining what it is seeing.
This works quite well, but I'd like to discuss with you a potential similar theory with regard to the sense of hearing. Have you ever heard the sound of a fan motor in a room and the moving blades and perhaps other noises in other rooms, and your mind is trying to figure out the patterns of how these noises are interacting. Sometimes it seems as if there is a similar background noise to a group of people chattering away in a coffee shop or at a party. All the while, you realize that there are no people talking, but your mind is trying to make sense of the patterns in the white noise.
Have you ever looked at a ceiling, tiles, or the grain in wood - you look at these things long enough your mind thinks it sees a picture of a face, the shape of a dog, or some other similar shape. What your mind is doing is what I discussed above - it is trying to makes sense of the patterns, even though they may be random. Your mind is frame bursting its visual memory. I would submit to you that your mind does the same thing with noise, and that your mind is working very diligently to try to make sense of the sounds. Why does it do this?
Well, your mind doesn't turn off, even when you are sleeping it seems to be defragging so to speak. Your sense of hearing never turns off, and this is probably an evolutionary throwback because humans to stay safe had to be able to hear sounds, perhaps footsteps, or animals which might be a threat, therefore alerting the brain to wake up the human to defend itself or to run. Perhaps when you dream and you may have experience with this, something is going on in the background while you are sleeping it will affect the way in which your dream evolves at a subconscious level.
Whether you are lucid dreaming, in REM, or just sitting silently listening to the noise, no matter how slight - It could be cicadas outside, wind in the trees, it might be a buzzing sound of electricity in the air, or it might be nearly undetectable ultrasound interacting with the other noise - but your mind is trying to make sense of it all, it's trying to discern patterns, and is matching that to your memory of sounds, spoken language, and everything else that you've ever heard. In that case it can't match what isn't there, but it tries to discern a possible pattern. You aren't hearing things, it's your mind trying to bring it into focus, just as it does with visual images in frame bursting.
Now then in this theory of mine there are some brains that are quite active, and memories which are quite adapted. It's hard to say if this is another form of intelligence, or a process that all humans are capable of, if they would only listen to the vibrational noise and sounds around them. I'd like to leave you with all these thoughts, and I hope you will please consider all this and think on it. If you have any additional comments or questions I hope you will shoot me an e-mail.
This works quite well, but I'd like to discuss with you a potential similar theory with regard to the sense of hearing. Have you ever heard the sound of a fan motor in a room and the moving blades and perhaps other noises in other rooms, and your mind is trying to figure out the patterns of how these noises are interacting. Sometimes it seems as if there is a similar background noise to a group of people chattering away in a coffee shop or at a party. All the while, you realize that there are no people talking, but your mind is trying to make sense of the patterns in the white noise.
Have you ever looked at a ceiling, tiles, or the grain in wood - you look at these things long enough your mind thinks it sees a picture of a face, the shape of a dog, or some other similar shape. What your mind is doing is what I discussed above - it is trying to makes sense of the patterns, even though they may be random. Your mind is frame bursting its visual memory. I would submit to you that your mind does the same thing with noise, and that your mind is working very diligently to try to make sense of the sounds. Why does it do this?
Well, your mind doesn't turn off, even when you are sleeping it seems to be defragging so to speak. Your sense of hearing never turns off, and this is probably an evolutionary throwback because humans to stay safe had to be able to hear sounds, perhaps footsteps, or animals which might be a threat, therefore alerting the brain to wake up the human to defend itself or to run. Perhaps when you dream and you may have experience with this, something is going on in the background while you are sleeping it will affect the way in which your dream evolves at a subconscious level.
Whether you are lucid dreaming, in REM, or just sitting silently listening to the noise, no matter how slight - It could be cicadas outside, wind in the trees, it might be a buzzing sound of electricity in the air, or it might be nearly undetectable ultrasound interacting with the other noise - but your mind is trying to make sense of it all, it's trying to discern patterns, and is matching that to your memory of sounds, spoken language, and everything else that you've ever heard. In that case it can't match what isn't there, but it tries to discern a possible pattern. You aren't hearing things, it's your mind trying to bring it into focus, just as it does with visual images in frame bursting.
Now then in this theory of mine there are some brains that are quite active, and memories which are quite adapted. It's hard to say if this is another form of intelligence, or a process that all humans are capable of, if they would only listen to the vibrational noise and sounds around them. I'd like to leave you with all these thoughts, and I hope you will please consider all this and think on it. If you have any additional comments or questions I hope you will shoot me an e-mail.
Biology - A Study of All Aspects and Forms of Living Beings
Biology, a branch of science, is the study of life and its processes. It studies living things in all their aspects and forms. Biology covers a vast area, so, it has been divided into many sub divisions such as botany, algology, zoology, cytology, mycology and microbiology. All its branches have contributed to humanity in many ways such as improvements in agriculture, study of diseases etc.
By studying biology, students understand that life is all about interactions such as cells interact with their environment and with each other and so do ecosystems, organs and organisms.
Why Study Biology?
Here are some reasons to study biology:
• The study of Biology increases the understanding of the human body.
• It educates a student about all living beings, which helps in making the environment better for the future.
• With the knowledge of Biology one can understand the world and its natural processes in a better way.
• It teaches how different organs and systems work which helps in understanding how everything is connected in the body.
Study Tips for Biology
• To learn Biology, it is very important to learn its terminology. Biology can be tough if you don't know all the terms. Whenever you don't understand a word, make a note of it and look for the definition.
• Read Biology books and if you find them tough to comprehend you can also look for online biology help resources. Though reading by book is the best way to learn.
• Pay attention to the pictures. If you will understand a picture, the explanation given with it may also become very easy. So, don't just ignore a picture thinking that it will only add some more minutes to your study time.
• After completing a topic, solve all questions, this will increase your understanding of the topic.
• Don't study as if you have to just score the marks, be curious and interested to learn the topic.
• Still if you find the subject hard, there are many online biology tutoring sites, so take the help of an onlinebiology tutor to understand the topics which you find hard.
• Before attending the lab class, study what your class is going to be all about. This way you will be able to complete the lab assignment successfully. Attend all your lab classes, they play a vital role in learning Biology.
• Take the notes when your tutor is teaching in the class, this will help you in recalling all the classroom study.
By studying biology, students understand that life is all about interactions such as cells interact with their environment and with each other and so do ecosystems, organs and organisms.
Why Study Biology?
Here are some reasons to study biology:
• The study of Biology increases the understanding of the human body.
• It educates a student about all living beings, which helps in making the environment better for the future.
• With the knowledge of Biology one can understand the world and its natural processes in a better way.
• It teaches how different organs and systems work which helps in understanding how everything is connected in the body.
Study Tips for Biology
• To learn Biology, it is very important to learn its terminology. Biology can be tough if you don't know all the terms. Whenever you don't understand a word, make a note of it and look for the definition.
• Read Biology books and if you find them tough to comprehend you can also look for online biology help resources. Though reading by book is the best way to learn.
• Pay attention to the pictures. If you will understand a picture, the explanation given with it may also become very easy. So, don't just ignore a picture thinking that it will only add some more minutes to your study time.
• After completing a topic, solve all questions, this will increase your understanding of the topic.
• Don't study as if you have to just score the marks, be curious and interested to learn the topic.
• Still if you find the subject hard, there are many online biology tutoring sites, so take the help of an onlinebiology tutor to understand the topics which you find hard.
• Before attending the lab class, study what your class is going to be all about. This way you will be able to complete the lab assignment successfully. Attend all your lab classes, they play a vital role in learning Biology.
• Take the notes when your tutor is teaching in the class, this will help you in recalling all the classroom study.
Biology Help - 5 Ways to Learn Effectively
Biology is a very diverse subject, dealing with the study of single celled organisms to large plants and animals to entire ecosystems. It is the study of life in all its forms and it offers students a glimpse into the inner working of every living thing. Fascinating as it is, biology can get tedious owing to the sheer volume of information that students need to remember. Adding some structure to your study plans will help you stay on top of your classes. If you're having a hard time understanding biology or remembering the new terminology, try putting these steps into practice.
1. Read your lessons everyday. Then read it again. Whatever you are learning is new, and it takes time to understand it well enough to retain it. Reading the topic more than once is a sure shot way to learn the material well and remember it longer.
2. Make notes while you study. Text books are very descriptive and if you want a quick run down through the main points, the best thing to do is make your own list. Scribble them down in your notebook, the sides of your textbook, or anywhere else that's convenient.
3. Try to read up on the topics planned for the next lesson. Put your lesson plans to good use and have a glance through what you can expect for the next class. Before you complain about the extra time, effort and boredom, try it for a week. Familiarity with the concepts will help you understand them in greater detail than if you were hearing them for the first time.
4. The diagrams are important so practice them. Yes some of them are quite intricate, however the diagrams are a visual representation of what you are learning and hence, aid your understanding of the subject considerably. You will also need to know them for exams and tests, so get your drawing pencils out and doodle away.
5. Revise. Whether you do it everyday or weekly or bi-weekly, revise everything you've learned periodically. By doing this you will keep memorizing the main points and keep track of how much you've covered.
You might also want to consider forming study groups. Study groups are a great way to study and help you out in a number of ways. All the members will be more inclined to stick to the study schedule and can help each other focus. You can also learn from each other as each student brings something different to the group. If members stay dedicated, study groups help you prepare for tests and exams, get help on assignment, or even plan projects together.
An alternative to forming a study group is biology tutoring. This is personalized, one on one study time and benefits students who need expert help with the subject. Online biology help is a great way to find qualified biology tutors, at convenient timing and economical rates.
1. Read your lessons everyday. Then read it again. Whatever you are learning is new, and it takes time to understand it well enough to retain it. Reading the topic more than once is a sure shot way to learn the material well and remember it longer.
2. Make notes while you study. Text books are very descriptive and if you want a quick run down through the main points, the best thing to do is make your own list. Scribble them down in your notebook, the sides of your textbook, or anywhere else that's convenient.
3. Try to read up on the topics planned for the next lesson. Put your lesson plans to good use and have a glance through what you can expect for the next class. Before you complain about the extra time, effort and boredom, try it for a week. Familiarity with the concepts will help you understand them in greater detail than if you were hearing them for the first time.
4. The diagrams are important so practice them. Yes some of them are quite intricate, however the diagrams are a visual representation of what you are learning and hence, aid your understanding of the subject considerably. You will also need to know them for exams and tests, so get your drawing pencils out and doodle away.
5. Revise. Whether you do it everyday or weekly or bi-weekly, revise everything you've learned periodically. By doing this you will keep memorizing the main points and keep track of how much you've covered.
You might also want to consider forming study groups. Study groups are a great way to study and help you out in a number of ways. All the members will be more inclined to stick to the study schedule and can help each other focus. You can also learn from each other as each student brings something different to the group. If members stay dedicated, study groups help you prepare for tests and exams, get help on assignment, or even plan projects together.
An alternative to forming a study group is biology tutoring. This is personalized, one on one study time and benefits students who need expert help with the subject. Online biology help is a great way to find qualified biology tutors, at convenient timing and economical rates.
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