Lmst

“Darwin’s theory of #evolution by #naturalselection plays the role of #semantic #darkmatter in relation to the second law of #thermodynamics, reconciling the local, and perhaps even transiently global, increase in functional order in the face of #entropy increase” open.substack.com/pub/sfiscien...

The Problem of Translation & S...

A quotation from Bill Watterson

   CALVIN: Isn’t it strange that evolution would give us a sense of humor? When you think about it, it’s weird that we have a physiological response to absurdity. We laugh at nonsense. We like it. We think it’s funny. Don’t you think it’s odd that we appreciate absurdity? Why would we develop that way? How does it benefit us?
   HOBBES: I suppose if we couldn’t laugh at things that don’t make sense, we couldn’t react to a lot of life.
   CALVIN: (after a pause) I can’t tell if that’s funny or really scary.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1991-03-03)

More about this quote: wist.info/watterson-bill/81815…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #billwatterson #calvinandhobbes #absurdity #evolution #existence #humancondition #humannature #humor #incomprehensibility #laughter #life #makesense #naturalselection #nonsense #reality #senseofhumor

In 1943, Luria and Delbrück showed that Darwin’s natural selection applies to bacteria just as it applies to more complex forms of life. #Poetry #Science #History #Genetics #Bacteria #Luria #Delbrück #Darwin #NaturalSelection #Evolution (https://sharpgiving.com/Sharp/thebookofscience/items/p1943a.html)

Drawing of a bacterial cell in cross section, showing three flagela, pili, double cell membrane, ribosomes, and nucleoid.

Good morning. 🦆🪿🦢

14 January 2026

I often find myself wondering why some people can’t wrap their heads around concepts that seem completely obvious. I’ve got a saying for it: “We’re not all issued the same toolkit.” I don’t claim to be the smartest guy in the room, but I’m still amazed at how often I’ve watched people struggle with things that feel straightforward. Education plays a role, sure, but it doesn’t fully account for what I’ve seen.

Take natural selection, for example. I don’t have much formal education in biology, yet the basic logic of natural selection—survival of the fittest—has always made sense to me. It isn’t hard to grasp how tiny changes, stretched across vast spans of time, can accumulate and produce new species. Once you see that mechanism, you can’t unsee it. And yet some people, as I’ve said, just don’t get it… or maybe they refuse to.

I’m not trying to wander into theology, but belief systems absolutely shape this particular conversation. For many folks, understanding evolution feels like betraying their faith, so they choose not to understand. I’ve seen it firsthand—students in college biology classes arguing with the instructor, practically ready to cover their ears and hum just to avoid hearing the explanation. I’m exaggerating, but only a little. People get emotional about this stuff.

C’est la vie. What can you do.

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” — Carl Jung

“Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so.” — Lemony Snicket

“Evolution is one of the shattering ideas that overturns past hopes and assumptions.” — Stephen Jay Gould

“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” — Charles Darwin

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #wildlife #nature #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #birdphotography #morning #knowledge #naturalselection #biology #ducks #geese #thought

Where the Flock Goes

"A lively procession of ducks and geese moves across a sunlit grassy field, their bodies angled in the same direction as if drawn by a shared instinct or silent signal. The flock is a patchwork of plumage—some birds are pure white, others deep black, and many wear mottled coats of gray, brown, or cream. Their feathers catch the morning light, revealing soft textures and subtle iridescence. Shadows stretch behind them, long and gentle, anchoring their movement to the earth. The grass beneath is lush and uneven, dotted with tufts and dips that ripple like a green quilt. The birds walk with purpose—some with heads held high, others pecking or glancing sideways—yet the overall motion feels unified, like a slow, deliberate migration or a communal march. In the bottom corner, the photographer’s credit, “© Swede’s Photographs,” marks the image as a captured moment of quiet ceremony." - Microsoft Copilot

The garden falls silent.

A few weeks ago, a Sparrowhawk turned our garden upside down in a storm of panic and wings. Yesterday, he returned. This time, there was no chaos — only anticipation. Every bird seemed to know what was coming. Long before I noticed him, the garden emptied itself. Not in panic, but with experience.

Only two House Sparrows (Passer domesticus — Huismus — House Sparrow) made a mistake. They chose low cover beneath the bird feeder house. When the Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus — Sperwer — Eurasian Sparrowhawk) landed on top of it, right above them, they froze. Perfectly still. Camouflage doing what evolution designed it to do.

The garden was silent. Too silent.

The sparrowhawk scanned the area, clearly disappointed. Then the two sparrows shifted… and briefly quarrelled. A fatal error. In a flash of muscle and feathers, the hawk launched himself downward. The sparrows reacted instantly — nimble, desperate, alive. They fled with the hawk right on their tail, vanishing beyond the garden.

I don’t know how it ended. That’s nature.

Predators like the Sparrowhawk don’t hunt for sport. They take what they need, removing weakness and maintaining balance. Without them, ecosystems collapse quietly and invisibly. Watching this unfold from my lunch table was a reminder that even the smallest garden is part of a much larger system.

Photographed handheld with my Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400mm at f/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 3200 — overcast, calm, and deceptively peaceful.

Nature rarely announces itself loudly. Sometimes, it simply holds its breath.

#AccipiterNisus #Sperwer #EurasianSparrowhawk
#PasserDomesticus #Huismus #HouseSparrow
#BirdPhotography #GardenWildlife #UrbanNature
#NatureObservation #EcologicalBalance #Predation
#WildlifeBehavior #BirdsInTheGarden #NatureStory
#HandheldPhotography #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400
#WinterWildlife #OvercastDays #NaturalSelection
#FoodChain #Ecosystem #BackyardNature
#PixelfedPhotography #WildlifeMoments

“Tinder for Nazis” hit by 100GB data leak, thousands of users exposed
Published: 2 January 2026

https://cybernews.com/security/investigator-exposes-white-supremacist-sites-users/

The leak affects:
• WhiteDate, a white supremacist dating site for “Europids seeking tribal love,”
• WhiteChild, a white supremacist site focused on family and ancestry, and
• WhiteDeal, a networking and professional development site for people with a racist worldview.

#Incels #MAGA #Trump #NaturalSelection #groyper

How Humans Changed Fruit Forever

Explore the truth about your favorite fruits! How human intervention has led to the unnatural evolution of fruits like bananas, making them sweeter and easier to eat.

Follow @biohackingpathway for more⁣

#FruitEvolution #BananaHistory #FoodScience #HumanIntervention #SupermarketScience #PodcastInterview #FoodFacts #NaturalSelection #wellnessblog #wellnesswins #wellnessmatters #holisticwellbeing #wellnessmama #wellnesscoaches #SweetFruits #UnexpectedScience

Allen, die sich an #Silvester beim #Feuerwerk mit selbstgebastelten oder nicht zugelassenen, aus dem Ausland illegal importierten #Böllern verletzen, möchte ich, ganz unabhängig von irgendwelchen #Verboten, folgende Worte sagen:
Schlaua durch aua. (smarter by ouch)
#Silvester #Feuerwerksverbot #Böller #böllerverbot #böllerfrei
Bild: Böllerhände (hands after firework) #Karma #DarwinAward #NaturalSelection

On #ThisDayInHistory in 1831, British #naturalist #CharlesDarwin set saiil on #HMSBeagle. His five years on the ship, the influence of #CharlesLyell's geology, and careful observations of nature led him to a mechanism for #evolution: #NaturalSelection, a central fact of biology.

Dark-eyed juncos living in urbanized Los Angeles have shorter bills than juncos in nearby natural areas— but while UCLA was closed for COVID-19 safety, campus juncos evolved longer bills again

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2520996122

#evolution #NaturalSelection #UrbanEvolution #bird

Screenshot of Fig 2A from the linked paper, plotting mean ±SE of residual bill length by tarsus length for UCLA juncos by their hatch year in comparison to the same measure for nearby natural-area juncos; before and after the COVID anthropause the UCLA juncos have bills much shorter than the natural-areas juncos, but during 2020 and 2021 the UCLA junco bill lengths spike upwards to be comparable to the natural-areas juncos

The downfall of #democracy will be caused by which of the following:

#AI #Billionaires #Poll #NaturalSelection

In 1859 on #ThisDayInHistory, #CharlesDarwin published the first edition of #TheOriginOfSpecies. Its foundation was his 1831-1836 trip as #naturalist on #TheBeagle, with much later research to follow. The #NaturalSelection model shown in it remains a cornerstone of #evolution.

The Surprising Truth About 4 Billion Years of Evolution - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX7PdJIGiCw
#Veritasium #Science #Evolution #PoopSmellsBad #NaturalSelection

The Evolutionary Political Fitness Hypothesis: Extending Natural Selection to Human Societies #evolution #genetics #naturalselection #replicators #darwinian #politics #governance #democracy #authoritarianism #evolutionarypolitics #kinselection #biologicalevolution #errtlings #bookcafe

Introduction
The evolutionary process, as described by Darwinian natural selection, involves competition for resources and propagation opportunities among replicators (genes) that encode beneficial traits (Dawkins, 1976). This paper extends this logic to human societies, proposing that political institutions and behaviors are not separate from evolution but rather its inevitable extension. We argue that political systems function as complex survival machines that address the same fundamental problem: ensuring genetic continuity.

Theoretical Framework
Core Principles
Our hypothesis builds on several key evolutionary concepts:

Genetic Indirect Fitness (Hamilton, 1964): Political actions that appear altruistic actually serve genetic interests by protecting kin or strengthening group structures that sustain gene propagation.

Political Replicators: Politicians function as "survival machines" similar to how animals serve as vessels for genes, but with significantly greater cognitive capabilities allowing for strategic manipulation of social systems.

Cultural Natural Selection (Friedman & Wilson, 2005): Political ideologies and institutional frameworks evolve through a process analogous to biological natural selection, where certain political strategies become more prevalent based on their success in acquiring resources, maintaining power, and ensuring genetic continuity.

Kin Political Alliance: Political cooperation often favors relatives (kin selection), as seen in family-bas

Mathematical Formulation
We propose that the fitness (F) of a political strategy can be modeled as:

F = r × b - c

Where:

r = genetic relatedness between actors
b = benefit to recipient
c = cost to actor
This formula extends Hamilton's rule from biological kin selection to political contexts (Hamilton, 1964).

Empirical Support
Existing phenomena align remarkably with our hypothesis:

Hereditary Political Dynasties: Families like the British royal family or Indian Congress party have maintained political power across generations, demonstrating how genetic continuity can shape political institutions.

Voting Patterns: Studies show stronger support for candidates related by blood (Grrall & Pons, 2019), supporting the idea of genetic interests influencing political preferences.

Authoritarian Tendencies: Historical preference for authoritarian systems during resource scarcity periods mirrors how environmental pressures shape evolutionary strategies (Friedman & Wilson, 2005).

Political rhetoric emphasizing group identity and genetic continuity
Criticisms and Limitations
While our framework offers novel insights, it faces several limitations:

Reductionism: Reducing complex political decisions to genetic imperatives oversimplifies human agency and environmental factors.

Time Scale Mismatch: Political changes occur too rapidly for genetic evolution to explain, suggesting cultural evolution may play a more significant role.

Cultural Variability: Different societies develop dist

How Did #Hands #Evolve? Look to Your Anus, a New Study Suggests.
The evolutionary blueprint for hands was borrowed in part from a much older genetic plan for our nether regions, a new study suggests.
It turns out that hands and #feet were not the products of new #genes doing new things. Rather, through #naturalselection, pieces of old genetic recipes for ancient body parts were cobbled together into new combinations.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/science/evolution-crispr-hands.html
https://archive.ph/jgEjV

@ai6yr #NaturalSelection

#Crosses #NaturalSelection

#AI #Darwin Awards proudly continue this noble tradition by honouring #visionaries who looked at artificial #intelligence—a technology capable of reshaping civilisation—and thought.

You know what this needs? Less #safety testing and more venture capital!

These brave pioneers remind us #NaturalSelection isn’t just for #biology anymore

Why stop at individual acts of spectacular stupidity when you can scale up to global proportions?

https://aidarwinawards.org/

An icon:

On a yellow, road sign type of caution sign with the image of a typical square headed, rather dimwitted looking robot.

Good morning. 🦌🦌🦌

5 September 2025

When You Look Into the Face of Another Animal

When you look into the face of another animal, what do you see?

And by another animal, I mean one other than yourself. Humans are part of the animal world, you know—just another species, all dressed up. Putting clothes on an animal doesn’t make it not so, does it?

Sure, we’re smarter. Top of the food chain, allegedly. But it doesn’t take a high level of geniosity to look at other mammals and see that we’re simply a variation in design. You can use your beliefs to explain the differences if you like. But the similarities? They’re plain to see.

I stick with the scientific explanations—natural selection and all that. But I’m getting off track.

When you look into the face of another animal, do you see a thinking, living, feeling creature? Because if you really take the time to notice, that’s what you’ll see.

A couple of days ago, while mowing my lawn, I stopped cold. There—on a trail that cuts through the forest—stood a huge, regal-looking buck. Right in the middle of the path. Staring at me.

We both held still for a few seconds. I reached to turn off the mower, and when I looked up, he was gone.

Of course, those moments always happen when I don’t have my camera

“We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals… In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained.” — Henry Beston, The Outermost House

#morning #deer #animals #naturalselection #belief

A single deer stands motionless on a narrow grassy path, framed by dense green foliage that arches inward like a living corridor. The deer is centered in the composition, facing forward, its gaze locked with the viewer’s as if caught mid-thought. Its ears are alert, symmetrical, and slightly tilted outward—tuned to the hush of the forest. The sunlight spills generously across the path, illuminating the deer’s tawny coat and casting soft shadows beneath its slender legs. The foliage on either side is lush and layered, with leaves in varying shades of green—some deep and shadowed, others lit from behind like stained glass. Above, the sky is a clear, unbroken blue, offering a quiet contrast to the textured undergrowth. There’s no visible motion, yet the scene feels suspended—like a held breath in the middle of a story. The photograph is signed “© Swede’s Photographs” in the bottom left corner, subtly anchoring the image in authorship without distracting from its stillness.

The overall mood is serene but charged with presence. The deer is not startled, not fleeing—just there, as if it had been waiting for someone to notice." - Copilot

How Humans Changed Fruit Forever

Explore the truth about your favorite fruits! How human intervention has led to the unnatural evolution of fruits like bananas, making them sweeter and easier to eat.

Follow @biohackingpathway for more⁣

#FruitEvolution #BananaHistory #FoodScience #HumanIntervention #SupermarketScience #PodcastInterview #FoodFacts #NaturalSelection #wellnessblog #wellnesswins #wellnessmatters #holisticwellbeing #wellnessmama #wellnesscoaches #SweetFruits #UnexpectedScience

#naturalselection

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