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Shape seems to be a very superficial trait. One need only consider an elephant's trunk. In terms of shape and size, it has more in common with my leg, but ask
by metanomicon 5y ago
Shape seems to be a very superficial trait. One need only consider an elephant's trunk. In terms of shape and size, it has more in common with my leg, but ask anyone, "What is an elephant's trunk?" and they will immediately tell you "A nose!"
When it comes to examining various lifeforms and fossil remains to determine ancestory, it seems to be more a matter of homology - the relationships between parts. Whether it's the same part over long periods of time (ex. comparing differences in the thumb) or different parts within the same individual (ex. comparing the big toe and thumb) or interspecies similarities (ex. the similarities of hands, feet, paws and flippers), evolution is a story of relationships, not size or shape.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2097084 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2097084
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homology_(biology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homology_(biology)
- harrisi 5y agoI typed out a lot about how I've never compared my nose or leg to an elephant's trunk, but it seemed beside the point. The general idea was it's interesting to think of how we identify things, and this comment reminded me of Is The Man Who Is Tall Happy?[0][1] and the idea of psychic continuity. [0]: https://youtu.be/cv66xFD7s7g https://youtu.be/cv66xFD7s7g [1]: side note: this documentary was pretty influential to my interest in compilers (specifically lexing and parsing), and is an interesting watch.