Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-26 Thread Charlie Bell
On 26/01/2009, at 2:13 PM, dsummersmi...@comcast.net wrote: > > I was getting at another point entirely. For evolution to make > sense, you > have to have millions of years of time over which it occured. For the history of life on earth to make sense, yes. For evolution, no. We've seen specia

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread dsummersmi...@comcast.net
Original Message: - From: Wayne Eddy we...@bigpond.net.au Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:10:41 +1000 To: brin-l@mccmedia.com Subject: Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity - Original Message - From: To: Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 6:38 AM Subject: Re: Galactic Effect On

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread dsummersmi...@comcast.net
Original Message: - From: Doug Pensinger brig...@zo.com Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:15:44 -0800 To: brin-l@mccmedia.com Subject: Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity Dan wrote: If you really believe that, then you would throw most of evolutionary > theory out, beause we'

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread dsummersmi...@comcast.net
On 26/01/2009, at 7:38 AM, dsummersmi...@comcast.net wrote: > >> Empirical observations of patterns occurring within a limited scope >> can >> shed no light on the state of things outside that scope. > > If you really believe that, then you would throw most of evolutionary > theory out, beause

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread William T Goodall
On 26 Jan 2009, at 00:20, Charlie Bell wrote: > > On 26/01/2009, at 7:38 AM, dsummersmi...@comcast.net wrote: >> >>> Empirical observations of patterns occurring within a limited scope >>> can >>> shed no light on the state of things outside that scope. >> >> If you really believe that, then you

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread Charlie Bell
On 26/01/2009, at 7:38 AM, dsummersmi...@comcast.net wrote: > >> Empirical observations of patterns occurring within a limited scope >> can >> shed no light on the state of things outside that scope. > > If you really believe that, then you would throw most of evolutionary > theory out, beause w

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread Doug Pensinger
Dan wrote: If you really believe that, then you would throw most of evolutionary > theory out, beause we've only been making good scientific measurements over > a very limited scope of time, say the last 150-200 years. The difference in limits of scope between evolution on earth and universal ev

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread Wayne Eddy
- Original Message - From: To: Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 6:38 AM Subject: Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity > Finally, I assume that modern physics (say from SR on) is correct, and we > do not live in a Newtonian/Maxwellian universe. If you give me that much, > I can

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread dsummersmi...@comcast.net
>I didn't read about it before last night but this summary of the problem of >induction from the Wikipedia article on the Cosmological Principal describes >my feelings rather well: >Empirical observations of patterns occurring within a limited scope can >shed no light on the state of things outs

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread Doug Pensinger
Dan wrote: Sorry, I made my last post prior to reading this one. > > The actual process of nucleosynthesis is though to have stopped 20 minutes > after the big bang. We know that the inflationary period had to end after > densities were below those sufficient to produce magnetic monopoles. > > S

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread Doug Pensinger
Dan M wrote: > > Which scientists? Are they the same ones who are skeptical about > evolution? > :-) I don't believe that The Big Bang Theory is on as sound a footing as evolution do you? Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

RE: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-25 Thread Dan M
> -Original Message- > From: brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com [mailto:brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com] On > Behalf Of Doug Pensinger > Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 10:36 PM > To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion > Subject: Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity > &g

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-24 Thread Euan Ritchie
> It is exceedingly difficult to judge exactly what the rest of the world > thinks about the election of Obama I'll tell you what the populace of New Zealand I live among thinks (and I suspect a considerable many more nations)... It's nice to see an adult get elected. Someone who thinks rationa

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-24 Thread Nick Arnett
On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 8:36 PM, Doug Pensinger wrote: > > > Yea, god forbid scientists that are skeptical about the bing bang! Not to mention the badda boom. Nick (rim shot, please) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-24 Thread Doug Pensinger
Ronn! wrote: > > Seen the back cover of the latest (Feb.) issue of _Astronomy_? > > (There's at least one more ad inside.) > > Null Physics? Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-24 Thread Ronn! Blankenship
At 10:36 PM Friday 1/23/2009, Doug Pensinger wrote: > Dan wrote: > >Even really revolutionary data, like the data that suggests dark energy, are > > written up in such a way that it implies that the big bang is now in > > question. That drives me crazy in the same way. > > >Yea, god forbid scient

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-24 Thread Rceeberger
On 1/24/2009 3:07:57 AM, Charlie Bell (char...@culturelist.org) wrote: > On 24/01/2009, at 10:53 AM, Nick Arnett wrote: > > > On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 3:15 PM, Charlie Bell > > wrote: > >> > >> > >> > It's closer to the first example you suggest than the second, but > >> it's > >> part of a general

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-24 Thread Charlie Bell
On 24/01/2009, at 8:56 PM, Richard Baker wrote: > Charlie said: > >> It's closer to the first example you suggest than the second, but >> it's >> part of a general trope of less-good science writing that pitches >> every new minor spin on science as rewriting the whole body of theory >> that is

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-24 Thread Richard Baker
Charlie said: > It's closer to the first example you suggest than the second, but it's > part of a general trope of less-good science writing that pitches > every new minor spin on science as rewriting the whole body of theory > that is really starting to wind me up. The "Physics Revolutionised F

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-24 Thread Charlie Bell
On 24/01/2009, at 10:53 AM, Nick Arnett wrote: > On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 3:15 PM, Charlie Bell > wrote: >> >> >> It's closer to the first example you suggest than the second, but >> it's >> part of a general trope of less-good science writing that pitches >> every new minor spin on science as

RE: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-23 Thread Dan M
> -Original Message- > From: brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com [mailto:brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com] On > Behalf Of Doug Pensinger > Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 10:36 PM > To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion > Subject: Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity > &g

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-23 Thread Doug Pensinger
Dan wrote: Even really revolutionary data, like the data that suggests dark energy, are > written up in such a way that it implies that the big bang is now in > question. That drives me crazy in the same way. Yea, god forbid scientists that are skeptical about the bing bang! Doug

RE: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-23 Thread Dan M
> -Original Message- > From: brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com [mailto:brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com] On > Behalf Of Charlie Bell > Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 5:16 PM > To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion > Subject: Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity > > &g

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-23 Thread Nick Arnett
On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 3:15 PM, Charlie Bell wrote: > > > It's closer to the first example you suggest than the second, but it's > part of a general trope of less-good science writing that pitches > every new minor spin on science as rewriting the whole body of theory > that is really starting to

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-23 Thread Charlie Bell
On 24/01/2009, at 2:58 AM, Nick Arnett wrote: > On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 4:50 PM, Charlie Bell > wrote: > >> >> >> It's interesting, but I'm really sick of the "evolution can't explain >> this" schtick. Evolution explains how diversity occurs. Extinction >> events are known, some are understood.

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-23 Thread Nick Arnett
On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 4:50 PM, Charlie Bell wrote: > > > It's interesting, but I'm really sick of the "evolution can't explain > this" schtick. Evolution explains how diversity occurs. Extinction > events are known, some are understood. That we don't know the specific > causes of certain extinct

Re: Galactic Effect On Biodiversity

2009-01-22 Thread Charlie Bell
On 23/01/2009, at 11:07 AM, Rceeberger quoted: > Earlier this year, research revealed that the rise and fall of > species on > Earth seems to be driven by the undulating motions of our solar > system as it > travels through the Milky Way. Some scientists believe that this > cosmic > force ma