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Researcher says human complexity may be a road to extinction

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Photo of Hagerman horse fossil skeleton
Hagerman horse fossil, 3.5 mya. Us next?

Researcher Ariel Fernández argues in “Our evolutionary Achilles heel” (ABC News, October 11, 2011):

Our biological functions are exquisitely regulated and resilient, owing to complicated webs of interactions. Unlike other species, we seem to be endowed with willpower and intellect, hence we are capable of modifying the environment to buffer the effects of our decreasing fitness.

Be that as it may, we may be doomed as a species precisely because of the way in which our complexity arose. Paraphrasing the science writer Philip Ball, nature seems to have activated a time bomb, and our complexity is only a short-term fix.

The evidence?

It is well known that the number of human genes is deceptively small, merely one order of magnitude larger than that of, say, rice.

If the structure of the proteins is conserved across species, where is our complexity coming from? Better still, in what sense are we more complex?

Arguing that

protein-protein interactions, a hallmark of complexity, are actually promoted by random drift, the evolutionary force behind the protein degradation process.

, he concludes,

So, it seems, complexity is not really naturally selected, but instead arises as a short-term fix to the effects of selection inefficiency.

Perhaps the long-term evolutionary cost of our complexity is too high, with our survival as a species ultimately depending on our ability to mitigate its cost through increasingly arduous therapeutic solutions. Let’s hope we pass the test.

Thoughts?

That last point begs a good many questions. Intelligence is a powerful weapon. And in any event, our complex systems also incorporate a great many self-fixes. Most medical interventions simply co-operate with them, often by removing obstacles. The three most successful medical interventions in history have been clean water, better nutrition, and vaccination, and they have been mainly logistical problems for a century and a half.

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Comments
I guess there's not much hope then, that we'll ever find intelligent life on another planet any more advanced than we are. Maybe science fiction is just fiction after all.mtg
October 12, 2011
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Be that as it may, we may be doomed as a species precisely because of the way in which our complexity arose.
Yet NO ONE knows how it arose.
Paraphrasing the science writer Philip Ball, nature seems to have activated a time bomb, and our complexity is only a short-term fix.
Oh, I see, naturedidit. Well then just imagine taht nature can fix it- you guys do rely on imagination to write your diatribe so just use your imagination to "right the ship", so to speak.Joseph
October 12, 2011
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I don't care for alot of science fiction, but if over a period of decades you watch some of the star travel serial flicks, there's an uncanny similiarity in the expressions these local evolutionists use and common one liners spit out on these programs. Many of these series deal with alot of worldview indoctrination. That makes sense since Hollywood is running those shows and where is Hollywood usually sticking it's head ??? They constantly deal with blips of TOE now and again. That also makes sense since they are after all dealing with the realm of science fiction. But I'm often wondering who makes up the material for the script. Does Hollywood get their material from reading outrageous stories from Evolutionists sensationalizing their wares, or do Evolutionists get their imagination by their addiction to online gaming and Hollywood science fiction flicks ??? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm???????????Eocene
October 11, 2011
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Eocene, I wouldn't have understood your last reference a year ago, but I recently discovered Stargate - Atlantis. I hardly ever watch any TV, but when I'm "working" at the computer I sometimes stream a show on the other monitor. I know, I know, Netflix is taking advantage of me, but I still subscribe. I've discovered a few old TV series that I'm slowly working my way through. I try to ignore the simplistic evolutionary nonsense that some of the storylines are based on, and just treat them as a bit of fun diversion. Occasionally I even find a thoughtful or humorous gem. I'm not afraid to admit that I've even watched X-Men. :)Eric Anderson
October 11, 2011
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Reminds me of this video: Human Evolution or Human Entropy? - Dr. John Sanford http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4585582/bornagain77
October 11, 2011
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Robert: "Did it ever occur to this guy that packing more information into a smaller space is a sign of advanced design? ===== Incredibly, the sad thing here is that this guy is NOT a dummy if you look up who he is. Tho I'm not a fan of "Big Pharma" as he speaks of them! -----Eocene
October 11, 2011
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Eric Anderson: "Namely, why on earth would creatures evolve to be more complex in the first place?" ===== Hmmmm, but aren't those heretical questions or rather terms inserted into questions ??? You know, things like purpose, intent, etc ??? The only type of question that makes sense to an evolutionist/atheist is why would God do it that way or this way. They view and wallow in a world through imperfect lenses and try to bring down God to their level. In their minds, if they can achieve that, then there is no God, or any gods. Except of course alien microbes, Romulans, Klingons, Wraith, etc. Now whenever I tried in the past to read between the lines, all I've ever gotten is empty space!Eocene
October 11, 2011
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Yeah Eric, This article is right up there with "Bumblebee faces extinction as scientists prove it can't fly". Did it ever occur to this guy that packing more information into a smaller space is a sign of advanced design? Like your hard drive, for example? So maybe humans have the Terrabyte drive for their DNA, and all the other creatures have the Megabyte version? But Eric is right, what Fernandez is *really* saying, is that evolution faces extinction as it realizes it can't explain complexity.Robert Sheldon
October 11, 2011
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Well, there is a lot of nonsense in Fernandez' statements, but if we read between the lines there is an important kernel of truth. Namely, why on earth would creatures evolve to be more complex in the first place? If, as our Darwinist friends believe, reproductive success is the be-all and end-all of the purpose of existence and is selected for, then what could possibly drive, say, a bacterium to become an elephant? The facile answer about niches being available is a circular observation, with no real explanation attached. On what empirical basis is it proposed that life should become more complex over time. As Fernandez rightly recognizes, the more complex an organism is, the more interdependent systems become and the more likelihood of breakdown. Fernandez talks about complexity being our Achilles heel. The whole idea of evolution leading from the simple to the complex is an Achilles heel of the theory.Eric Anderson
October 11, 2011
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News: "Thoughts?" ------ Yeah sure I have some thoughts. Do any of these people ever admit there are actually things they clearly don't know ??? Or is writting manuscipts loaded with enough intellect speak to fuzzy things up enough to bluff the ignorant public that these folks have no clue what they are talking about! This goes for the subject below on "Junk DNA". They don't actually have the testosterone to admit to the public that they don't actually know something about function of all the DNA, so let's make up a metaphor to mask our own ignorance and keep the public guessing that we still actually know what we're talking about. If we don't know of a function, then it must be held over evolutionary vestigial junk. Hopefully more and more of the public will start getting a clue that these bluffs are not to be trusted or taken at their word. On another note, did anyone see the New Agey looking evolutionary Chart ??? Are they actually going to promote some futuristic science fictional human Ascension through some mythical Star Gate to some parallel universe ??? http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201110/r838777_7804703.jpg Unbelievable!!! ----Eocene
October 11, 2011
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