We are told: Some species are evolving far more quickly than Darwin ever imagined.

_{Denyse O'Leary

March 31, 2015

Evolution, Intelligent Design, News}

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For example, Discover:

Mosquitoes that colonized the London Underground in 1863 are now so different they can no longer mate with their above-ground relatives. Chinook salmon from Alaska to California needed just a human generation to become smaller and shorter-lived after an increase in commercial fishing in the 1920s. Adaptation is happening right under our noses, in our lifetimes.

But all of this can be accounted for within the genome of the species without any new information.

Put another way, if it is true that 1863 Tube mosquitos can no longer bred with above-ground mosquitoes, does that not signal a loss rather than a gain in information? Or are we not supposed to ask any more?

Comments

Joe, Once again: the linear speed of a point on the equator is an arbitrarily chosen, pretty meaningless parameter. What matters for the strength of a planet's magnetic field is the size of the molten part of the core, the presence of an internal source of heat to drive convection currents, and the angular speed of the planet's rotation. Surface equatorial speed isn't informative in this respect. If Mars rotated ten times as fast as it does, it would still generate no appreciable magnetic field, since the Martian core lost its inner source of heat billions of years ago. Mercury, which is smaller than Mars and rotates extremely slowly (its day is longer than its year) has a magnetic field, much weaker than that of the Earth, but still strong enough to deflect the solar wind and generate a magnetosphere. Life developed where it could develop. It would be a surprise if we found life in extremely hostile conditions (no liquid water, hard radiation, no magnetosphere, too hot or too cold). Still, the range of parameters making life possible is not nearly as narrow as you make it. The Earth's rotation has slowed down to 25% of the original value, and there's still life on it.Piotr_{April 5, 2015
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Piotr:
(3) The Earth’s magnetic field varies within rather wide limits, fluctuates a lot and often gets reversed. At the moment it’s 35% weaker than 2000 years ago and is probably drifting towards instability and fragmentation, to be followed by another reversal. No harm to humans or other living things is expected.
Nice strawman, Piotr. What does that have to do with the earth's speed being reduced by 1/2? That mag field would be so weak radiation would rain down on earth damaging any life- if it could even get started. The gases wouldn't mix properly and we couldn't live.Joe_{April 5, 2015
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Clarice, Hannibal is looking for you. You can't answer any questions and all your position has to explain the earth is sheer dumb luck. All you have are unsupported claims. You don't have any science and it is a safe bet that you don't understand what science is. So grow up and develop an argument. First get an education...Joe_{April 5, 2015
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There is only Nature and artifacts, Clarice. Artifacts are by very definition designed. Why would nature, almost infinitely more subtle and complex, not be designed, but rather have come together by random chance? Unsurprisingly to an innumerate person such as myself, a mathematical impossibility - and surely at the 'cookiest' extremities of the imagination. All the evidence - a whole world full of evidence - points to design, and not least today, biomimetics.Axel_{April 5, 2015
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Joe, after you've answered my other questions, will you demonstrate how your position accounts for "Any of it" (as you put it), without resorting to insults and unsupported claims of design. Bald assertions and name calling won't do. Walk us all through how nature was and is designed, in detail. Please also tell us how old you think this planet and the universe are.Clarice_{April 4, 2015
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I see that the comments I submitted the other day are now posted. Thanks.Clarice_{April 4, 2015
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Joe, your behavior doesn't put you in a good position to accuse Piotr or anyone else of childish ignorance or of being a bloviating arse. How old are you? I'd estimate about 15 chronologically, about 5 intellectually, and about terrible 2 emotionally. To Barry Arrington: Is Joe the kind of person you want as a representative of UD and ID? Do you actually believe that he and others like him are furthering your cause?Clarice_{April 4, 2015
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Clarice:
Joe and ppolish, as Piotr pointed out, the rotation speed of the Earth has changed greatly since its formation. The distance between Earth’s moon and the Earth has also changed greatly. Yet there has been life on Earth for over 3 billion years.
Yes, that is the propaganda, anyway. However your position can't account for it. Any of it.
Joe, your assertion that a 37 minute change in the length of an Earth day would prevent or eliminate the existence of humans is absurd.
It is absurd that you think I made such a claim.Joe_{April 4, 2015
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What happened to the comments that I submitted?Clarice_{April 3, 2015
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Mars' rotational speed:
The planet has a rotational speed of 868.22 km/h at the equator.
Joe_{April 3, 2015
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NASA says:
At the equator, the circumference of the Earth is 40,070 kilometers, and the day is 24 hours long so the speed is 1670 kilometers/hour ( 1037 miles/hr). This decreases by the cosine of your latitude so that at a latitude of 45 degrees, cos(45) = .707 and the speed is .707 x 1670 = 1180 kilometers/hr. You can use this formula to find the speed of rotation at any latitude.
NASA agrees with me.Joe_{April 3, 2015
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Piotr blows a gasket:
No, Joe, rotational speed is not measured in miles per hour, and the rotational speed of Mars is almost equal that of the Earth.
Speed is measured in MPH or KPH, Piotr. You have to be one ignorant ass on an agenda to say that the rotational speed of mars (some 539 MPH) = that of Earth (over 1000 mph)
You have a long record of using idiosyncratic terminology and denying it.
You have a long record of being a bloviating arse and enjoying it. I made it very clear what I was talking about, Piotr. Don't blame me for your childish ignorance.Joe_{April 3, 2015
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Joe you can ignore Piotr ' ignorant waffling. ... http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/van-allen-probes-reveal-zebra-stripes-in-space/Andre_{April 3, 2015
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Joe, (1) Learn to read for comprehension. I didn't say "speed" . I said "rotation period" and I meant just that. You keep making kindergarten mistakes when you confuse linear velocity at the equator with rotational speed:
Mars = 1/2 our current rotational speed.
No, Joe, rotational speed is not measured in miles per hour, and the rotational speed of Mars is almost equal that of the Earth. (2) The linear velocity of a point on the surface of Mars (due to its rotation) can be anything between 0 m/s (at either pole) and 241 m/s (at the equator). On Earth, it can be anything between 0 m/s and 465 m/s. Nothing special depends on this value, which varies depending on the latitude. Where I am now, it's 286 m/s, not much faster than on the Martian equator. (3) The Earth's magnetic field varies within rather wide limits, fluctuates a lot and often gets reversed. At the moment it's 35% weaker than 2000 years ago and is probably drifting towards instability and fragmentation, to be followed by another reversal. No harm to humans or other living things is expected. You have a long record of using idiosyncratic terminology and denying it.Piotr_{April 3, 2015
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Joe, what is the speed of the Earth's rotation in Boston? How about in Phoenix, and at the North Pole? How many hours, minutes, and seconds were there in an Earth day (one rotation of the Earth) a billion years ago, 500 million years ago, and 1 million years ago?How many days were there in a year (one Earth orbit of the Sun) 500 million years ago?Clarice_{April 3, 2015
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Thank you for that thoroughgoing exposition, ba77. Matter has to go through the energy stage was, I think, the nub of what I was trying to remember.'Axel_{April 3, 2015
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Joe and ppolish, as Piotr pointed out, the rotation speed of the Earth has changed greatly since its formation. The distance between Earth's moon and the Earth has also changed greatly. Yet there has been life on Earth for over 3 billion years. Joe, your assertion that a 37 minute change in the length of an Earth day would prevent or eliminate the existence of humans is absurd. ppolish, your assertion that "the rotation will soon enough be incompatible with our existence" is also absurd. The decrease in the Earth's rotation speed is about 1.06 milliseconds per day per century. If the rate of deceleration were constant, which it is not, it would take (15 min * 60 s/min * 1000 ms/s) / (2 ms / 188 y) = 84.6 million years for the day to lengthen by 15 minutes. Don't worry, you guys, the end is not near, at least from changes in the Earth's rotation speed.Clarice_{April 3, 2015
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Piotr, Please learn how to read. The speed of Mars' rotation is just over 500 MPH. Ours is just over 1000 mph. Mars = 1/2 our current rotational speed. Obviously you don't have a clue. Many things. If our rotation was as slow as even Mars the obliquity would be greatly effected as would the mixture of atmospheric gases. The strength of our magnetic field would be that much lower, too. Speed, Piotr, not rate. You confused yourself and made a kindergarten mistake.Joe_{April 3, 2015
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During the Earth's history, the length of the day has grown from about 6 to 24 hours as a result of tidal locking. An additional 37 minutes (the length of the Martian day is 24h 37m 23s) wouldn't kill us all.Piotr_{April 3, 2015
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daveS, thanks for your honesty.
"So the Wigners easily became Lutherans. Today I am only mildly religious. When I attend church it is with the protestants.,,, I found Karl Marx quite unconvincing. And Lenin was even worse." Eugene Wigner - Recollections - page 39 - 1992 https://books.google.com/books?id=_zGpR89xzOEC&pg=PA39&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false
bornagain77_{April 2, 2015
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BA77,
That atheistic view is in the ‘early life’ section of the cite. In later life, from the same cite, he leaned towards pantheism. Hinduism is not atheism!
I apologize. After reading a bit more in the Recollections book, I don't think the label "atheist" fits him well, perhaps at any point in his life.daveS_{April 2, 2015
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Rhampton7, the rotation is such that our existence depends upon it. And the rotation will soon enough be incompatible with our existence. A very special planet at a very special time/rotation. Very very special.ppolish_{April 2, 2015
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I didn't say it was constant. I said the cosmic collision "hypothesis" cannot account for it. It's pretty much a miracle under non-design scenarios.Joe_{April 2, 2015
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Joe, The earth's rotation has never been constant. In general it has been slowing in conjunction with the moon's drifting away (there are fluctuations, but the trend over hundreds of millions of years is pretty clear).rhampton7_{April 2, 2015
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BA77, Once in a Lifetime...live version has facepalms:) thanks for your posts. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o7pVjl4Rrtcppolish_{April 2, 2015
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Piotr:
What’s so unusual (or exceptional) about the Earth’s rotation?
Many things. If our rotation was as slow as even Mars the obliquity would be greatly effected as would the mixture of atmospheric gases. The strength of our magnetic field would be that much lower, too. We wouldn't exist. Like spinning a basketball on your finger the collisions would have had to have been "just so" in order to get our rotation. The last alleged moon-creating giant impact would have to have been especially well timed and placed. And that moon? No moon no us, either. Another obliquity thingy.Joe_{April 2, 2015
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How Teleportation Will Work - Excerpt: In 1993, the idea of teleportation moved out of the realm of science fiction and into the world of theoretical possibility. It was then that physicist Charles Bennett and a team of researchers at IBM confirmed that quantum teleportation was possible, but only if the original object being teleported was destroyed. — As predicted, the original photon no longer existed once the replica was made. http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/teleportation1.htm Quantum Teleportation – IBM Research Page Excerpt: “it would destroy the original (photon) in the process,,” http://researcher.ibm.com/view_project.php?id=2862
In fact an entire human can, theoretically, be reduced to quantum information and teleported to another location in the universe:
Quantum Teleportation Of A Human? – video https://vimeo.com/75163272 Will Human Teleportation Ever Be Possible? As experiments in relocating particles advance, will we be able to say, "Beam me up, Scotty" one day soon? By Corey S. Powell|Monday, June 16, 2014 Excerpt: Note a fascinating common thread through all these possibilities. Whether you regard yourself as a pile of atoms, a DNA sequence, a series of sensory inputs or an elaborate computer file, in all of these interpretations you are nothing but a stack of data. According to the principle of unitarity, quantum information is never lost. Put them together, and those two statements lead to a staggering corollary: At the most fundamental level, the laws of physics say you are immortal. http://discovermagazine.com/2014/julyaug/20-the-ups-and-downs-of-teleportation
Scriptural note and music:
Acts 8:39 8:39 caught away Philip. This was evidently a unique miracle, God somehow translating Philip rapidly from Gaza to Azotus (same as the ancient Ashdod), twenty miles to the north along the Mediterranean coast. For reference to similar miraculous translations in space, see I Kings 18:12, II Kings 2:16; Ezekiel 3:14; 8:3. A far greater translation will take place when Christ comes again (I Thessalonians 4:16,17). http://www.icr.org/books/defenders/6855 Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFLiKLoxWD8
bornagain77_{April 2, 2015
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Axel, not to be picky, but it is not what I say about what reduces to what, it is what the evidence says. Here is the evidence: it is important to learn that ‘non-local’, beyond space and time, quantum entanglement (A. Aspect, A. Zeilinger, etc..) can be used as a ‘quantum information channel’,,,
Quantum Entanglement and Information Quantum entanglement is a physical resource, like energy, associated with the peculiar nonclassical correlations that are possible between separated quantum systems. Entanglement can be measured, transformed, and purified. A pair of quantum systems in an entangled state can be used as a quantum information channel to perform computational and cryptographic tasks that are impossible for classical systems. The general study of the information-processing capabilities of quantum systems is the subject of quantum information theory. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qt-entangle/
And by using this ‘non-local’, beyond space and time, ‘quantum information channel’ of entanglement, such as they use in quantum computation, physicists have reduced material, via quantum teleportation, to quantum information. (of note: energy is completely reduced to quantum information, whereas matter is semi-completely reduced, with the caveat being that matter can be reduced to energy via e=mc2).
Ions have been teleported successfully for the first time by two independent research groups Excerpt: In fact, copying isn’t quite the right word for it. In order to reproduce the quantum state of one atom in a second atom, the original has to be destroyed. This is unavoidable – it is enforced by the laws of quantum mechanics, which stipulate that you can’t ‘clone’ a quantum state. In principle, however, the ‘copy’ can be indistinguishable from the original,,, http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2004/October/beammeup.asp Atom takes a quantum leap – 2009 Excerpt: Ytterbium ions have been ‘teleported’ over a distance of a metre.,,, “What you’re moving is information, not the actual atoms,” says Chris Monroe, from the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland in College Park and an author of the paper. But as two particles of the same type differ only in their quantum states, the transfer of quantum information is equivalent to moving the first particle to the location of the second. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2171769/posts Scientists Report Finding Reliable Way to Teleport Data By JOHN MARKOFF - MAY 29, 2014 Excerpt: They report that they have achieved perfectly accurate teleportation of quantum information over short distances. They are now seeking to repeat their experiment over the distance of more than a kilometer. If they are able to repeatedly show that entanglement works at this distance, it will be a definitive demonstration of the entanglement phenomenon and quantum mechanical theory. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/science/scientists-report-finding-reliable-way-to-teleport-data.html?_r=2 First Teleportation Of Multiple Quantum Properties Of A Single Photon - Oct 7, 2014 To truly teleport an object, you have to include all its quantum properties. Excerpt: ,,,It is these properties— the spin angular momentum and the orbital angular momentum?(of a photon)—?that Xi-Lin and co have teleported together for the first time.,,, https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/first-teleportation-of-multiple-quantum-properties-of-a-single-photon-7c1e61598565 Two quantum properties teleported together for first time - Feb 27, 2015 Excerpt: The values of two inherent properties of one photon – its spin and its orbital angular momentum – have been transferred via quantum teleportation onto another photon for the first time by physicists in China.,,, Even the simple photon has various properties such as frequency, momentum, spin and orbital angular momentum (OAM), which are inherently linked.,,, Teleporting more than one state simultaneously is essential to fully describe a quantum particle and achieving this would be a tentative step towards teleporting something larger than a quantum particle, http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2015/feb/27/two-quantum-properties-teleported-together-for-first-time Researchers Succeed in Quantum Teleportation of Light Waves - April 2011 Excerpt: In this experiment, researchers in Australia and Japan were able to transfer quantum information from one place to another without having to physically move it. It was destroyed in one place and instantly resurrected in another, “alive” again and unchanged. This is a major advance, as previous teleportation experiments were either very slow or caused some information to be lost. http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-04/quantum-teleportation-breakthrough-could-lead-instantanous-computing Two quantum properties teleported together for first time – Feb 27, 2015 Excerpt: To successfully teleport a quantum state, you must make a precise initial measurement of a system, transmit the measurement information to a receiving destination and then reconstruct a perfect copy of the original state. The “no-cloning” theorem of quantum mechanics dictates that it is impossible to make a perfect copy of a quantum particle. But researchers found a way around this via teleportation, which allows a flawless copy of a property of a particle to be made. This occurs thanks to what is ultimately a complete transfer (rather than an actual copy) of the property onto another particle such that the first particle loses all of the properties that are teleported. http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2015/feb/27/two-quantum-properties-teleported-together-for-first-time
bornagain77_{April 2, 2015
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Joe,
And again given the nature of collisions there is no reason for our rotation to be what it is.
What's so unusual (or exceptional) about the Earth's rotation? The direction is the same as in most other solar planets (except Venus and Uranus, both of which are untypical in more than one way), and the rotation period is almost the same as that of Mars. What would you expect "given the nature of collisions"?Piotr_{April 2, 2015
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bornagain77, Aldous Huxley became a Vedantist. He wrote a marvelous book on comparative religion, The Perennial Philosophy, which was instrumental in my refinding my Christian faith. By the way, you wrote in earlier posts that matter reduced to energy, but you didn't say that energy reduced to information. You used another expression. What was it?Axel_{April 2, 2015
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