I would tend to think that appreciation for art and aesthetics are human= perceptions, and even in the plants you mentioned that have highly deve= loped composition and symmetry, they at the same time have the afore men= tioned showy color, size, fragrance, shape, UV characteristics, etc. Re= member to, that insects have completely different visual systems than ou= rs and don't "percieve" flowers the same way we do. I would think their= vision more closely resembles an acid trip. =20 =20 I saw a cartoon years ago on my professor's wall that show four creature= s: a single - celled organism, an amphibian, a monkey, and a human (simu= lating evolution). The first three were all thinking "Eat, survive, rep= roduce... Eat, survive, reproduce..." The human was thinking "What's i= t all about=3F" =20
I'd personally rather be the amphibian. These big brains get us in trou= ble. =20 =20 Jacob Lowe La Reserva Ecologica Taricaya > Many wildflowers are very beautiful, meaning that they have highly > developed > aesthetic values. Some of these traits, such as showy color, size, and > fragrance clearly give a flower great competitive advantage in attract= ing > pollinators. There are other aesthetic values-- composition and > symmetry-- for > which no competitive advantage is apparent. (To me, at least.) > > But, composition and symmetry (as artistic values) are highly develope= d > in > many wild flowers, and some of these are only pollinated by insects. > Should > we conclude from this that insects can "appreciate art," or is there s= ome > other "scientific" explanation=3F Dare we allow a non-scientific > explanation=3F > > I understand that beauty and its recognition is a powerful selector in > man, > but I think I can confine the issue to just the flowers. > > Forgive me if ignorance has allowed me to bring up a question with an > easy > answer. > > Ernie Rogers ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:28:53 +0000 From: L Quinn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Split-plot ANOVA in Systat Anyone out there have experience setting up data to be analyzed in a=20 split-plot design in SYSTAT (I have version 10)=3F Please reply off list if you would be willing to help me go through the= =20 initial set-up steps. Thank you in advance. Lauren Quinn ----------------------------------------- Lauren Quinn, Ph.D. Natural Sciences and Mathematics Dept. Dominican University of California San Rafael, CA 94901 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] =5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F= =5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F= =5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F=5F Watch free concerts with Pink, Rod Stewart, Oasis and more. Visit MSN=20 Presents today.=20 http://music.msn.com/presents=3Ficid=3Dncmsnpresentstagline&ocid=3DT002M= SN03A07001 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:54:42 -0400 From: adam herbert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: gas shmass I am absolutely thrilled by the number of heart-felt responses I receive= d to my provocative email about dumping our addiction to oil in favour of bik= ing and public transportation. I do have a slight advantage, I must admit, having served in Ecuador as a Peace Corps volunteer and seeing how it is possible to do without a internal combustible engine vehicle, despite irregular (at best) public transportation. I remember seeing whole famil= ies (4 people) riding on a single bicycle and students walking 6+ km to scho= ol. why did they conserve=3F well, not because they WANTED to but because th= ey HAD to. so maybe that has something to do with it, believing that you ha= ve no other options. the bus in my area runs every 1.75 hours and it is 0.5miles to the bus stop, so I most often choose to ride my bike the 14 miles to work, additionally I have been hit 3 times by cars while riding my bike. Do I think because I can do it everyone else can, well not really,= am I a martyr, no; stubborn, definitely. I think it comes down to just convincing yourself that there IS no other option, you will be amazed at= the power of innovation of the human brain when it believes that it can't ju= st jump in the car to run that errand or get that instrument forgotten. Sur= e, it requires A LOT of forethought and planning. Ultimately I choose to criticize fellow scientists because with the exception of the few elite politicians and oil industry employees that know the hard truth, scienti= sts SHOULD know better. All the rationalizing in the world about the quality= of research that vehicles enable us to do and practical arguments about families and distance traveled to work really comes down to the fact tha= t we are a pampered and lazy nation. Above and beyond "lead by example" and slow-moving litigation change arguments, the easiest way to just say no = is to quit buying gasoline. or at least quit buying so much, like is it rea= lly necessary for my colleagues to drive only themselves somewhere for lunch= and back=3F is carpooling really that much of a loss of independence=3F take= a step outside the whole system that our economy is based upon and feel th= e wind in your face, you will not be disappointed. thank you for tempering my less than discreet ranting Adam Herbert ------------------------------ End of ECOLOG-L Digest - 29 Mar 2007 to 30 Mar 2007 (#2007-88) ************************************************************** =20 =20 =20
