Mrs. Darth Vader
04-17-2010, 01:41
Sagan, in chapter six, starts with a mystery. Did the origin of life start with a single start or several false starts that lead to many dead ends to finally get the correct one? Sagan here lets you know that science does not know everything. Science has answered much but there is always room for new discoveries. Science unlike religion excepts the unknown and is patient to wait for the answer. A scientist need not answer something not yet discovered. In religion it seems you pretend to know it all and have God in your hip pocket. Only belligerence and stubbornness is needed for religion, especially fundamentalist style religions. Sagan shows his quiet confidence in his atheism because he has the courage to admit where a puzzle piece is missing. I never heard the religious do that.
Sagan then reminds us how every organism is a relative of any other organism on earth. We are all distant cousins of one another. Here we are all interconnected by our chemistry and our biology. Sagan describes cells with protective membranes that form spheres. These cells have a way to let water in to absorb nutrients while other parts of the same membrane are repelled by water and keep it out. This kind of cell is the bases of cell membranes today. Sagan then describes how cells digest their food in a step by step fashion. Each step has a given enzyme for the task. Here genes must work together in perfect harmony in order to continue. So nature does have both competition for survival and cooperation for survival. In the digestion example everyone must work for the good of the tribe. These early enzymes had to know the difference between other members of itself and the grouping it belonged and the “alien” cell to be eaten. So the “us” verses “them” started very early in the history of life. Sagan gives you the relationship between predator and prey on the cellular level.
Sagan describes molecular symbiosis. In this instance how plant microbes evolved to get very important “guests” bacteria. It started out that the cell used to eat this bacteria but it (the bacteria) evolved in a way as to make itself indigestible but quite by accident it became a benefit to the cell that used to eat it. Former rivals became friends so to speak. This symbiosis has been going on for about 2 or 3 billion years to this day. Even today this very important “guest” called Chloroplasts are in every green plant. These very tiny bacteria is very essential. As a matter of fact with out them almost all life on earth would die. They are unobtrusive and bother no one. Here is a real example of “Judge me by my size do you?” in action. Humans are arrogant about our importance on earth but it is obvious these tiny little chloroplasts are far more important than us. These bacteria are interesting because they reproduce by asexual reproduction. The parent splits itself in half creating another. The one becomes two smaller bacteria. These two grow quickly to adult size and split making more and so on. Here there was no death or old age of the parent. If left to themselves, they would live forever. Death only comes when an amoeba eats them or poisons are introduced or some other molecular catastrophe.
Sagan discusses about how as far back as 3.5 billion years ago a microbe could now detect the difference between “us” and “them”. Life by then evolved a form of outer chemical that allows other members of the same group, family or species to detect one another. This was the first way to ensure survival of your species, by not eating each other up. You could be a ruthless predator to the “them” but you had better be kind to your fellows to ensure survival.
We finally get out of the world of microbes to the animal kingdom. Here Sagan tells how kittens learn to hunt from their parents. It is not all instincts. Here Sagan sights lab experimental results of kittens to rats. He tells under which circumstances where cats will kill selective rats, all rats and no rats. Then Sagan talks about the relationship between predator and prey and how the genes select which will survive and which will not. Sagan then compares the relationship between predator and prey by comparing it to the arms race. For every measure there is a counter measure keeping things in balance. Neither side over takes the other. This ensures that there is not an over population problem in nature. Later in this chapter Sagan discusses the fight or flight mechanism in animals as a way of ensuring survival. Organisms become more complex as millions of years pass in evolution.
Now it gets interesting because Sagan talks about selfish genes. Using information from R.A. Fisher, geneticist, who showed how people tend to help only their relatives. Fisher believed in “Kin Selection” stating that humans only help people that are relatives or at least of the same race. Sagan sights a chilling example of this according to financial records of where aid goes. He sights how thousands of children die of preventable hunger, neglect and disease. We could inoculate these children but the money is not given because other budgetary concerns take precedence. We sleep well while we know these people are dieing.
Sagan uses examples like these to show selfishness and kin selection. This is to illustrate that we have a selfish gene. But on the other hand, Sagan shows that we have a gene for altruism as well. He then sights how people will cross species and rescue animals and care for them. Dogs are known to risk their lives to save humans. Sagan gives both ends of the spectrum. He describes a total selfish person/ situation. Then he describes a total altruistic person/ situation. This leads up to the climax of this section of the chapter or why we need to balance between selfishness and altruism. Here Sagan makes an “open shut case” for the balance of the two. Too much altruism leads to extinction and Sagan clearly shows why. Too much selfishness also leads to extinction and again Sagan shows you why. This part of the book is one of the most important parts because today people are choosing all selfish and aggression with no altruism at all. Here the lesson needs to be learned or we will all be extinct. There will in fact be “Population Zero, Life after people”. Sagan describes how primates, in which humans are part, need the group in order to survive. We are not solitaries, like the bobcat. Yet today, at least in America we are enforcing a solitary lifestyle on the entire American population.
Sagan ends the chapter by showing lab results that proved beyond all doubt these Macaques (Rhesus Monkeys) were more kind and caring than humans. In what Sagan clearly thought was a cruel experiment, showed these monkeys when they saw the suffering of a strange Macaques monkey they were willing to sacrifice themselves rather than cause suffering of the other.
“In a laboratory setting, macaques were fed if they were willing to pull a chain and electrically shock an unrelated macaque whose agony was in plain view through a one way mirror. Otherwise, they starved. After learning the ropes, the monkeys frequently refused to pull the chain; in one experiment only 13% would do so-87% preferred to go hungry. One macaque went without food for nearly two weeks rather than hurt its fellow. Macaques who had themselves been shocked in previous experiments were even less willing to pull the chain. The relative social status or gender of the macaques had little bearing on their reluctance to hurt others.
If asked to choose between the human experimenters offering the macaques this faustian bargain and the macaques themselves- suffering from real hunger rather than causing pain to the others-our own moral sympathies do not lie with the scientists. But their experiments permit us to glimpse in non-humans a saintly willingness to make sacrifices in order to save others-even those who are not close kin. By conventional human standards, these macaques- who have never gone to Sunday school, never heard of the Ten Commandments, never squirmed through a single junior high school civics lesson-seem exemplary in their moral grounding and their courageous resistance to evil. Among the macaques, at least in this case, heroism is the norm. If the circumstances were reversed, and captive humans were offered the same deal by macaque scientists, would we do as well? In human history there are a precious few whose memory we revere because they knowingly sacrificed themselves for others. For each of them, there are multitudes who did nothing.” Page 117 and 118 “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors” by Carl Sagan.
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z209/mrsdarthvader/100324-runaway-monkey1-5astandard.jpg
Sagan then reminds us how every organism is a relative of any other organism on earth. We are all distant cousins of one another. Here we are all interconnected by our chemistry and our biology. Sagan describes cells with protective membranes that form spheres. These cells have a way to let water in to absorb nutrients while other parts of the same membrane are repelled by water and keep it out. This kind of cell is the bases of cell membranes today. Sagan then describes how cells digest their food in a step by step fashion. Each step has a given enzyme for the task. Here genes must work together in perfect harmony in order to continue. So nature does have both competition for survival and cooperation for survival. In the digestion example everyone must work for the good of the tribe. These early enzymes had to know the difference between other members of itself and the grouping it belonged and the “alien” cell to be eaten. So the “us” verses “them” started very early in the history of life. Sagan gives you the relationship between predator and prey on the cellular level.
Sagan describes molecular symbiosis. In this instance how plant microbes evolved to get very important “guests” bacteria. It started out that the cell used to eat this bacteria but it (the bacteria) evolved in a way as to make itself indigestible but quite by accident it became a benefit to the cell that used to eat it. Former rivals became friends so to speak. This symbiosis has been going on for about 2 or 3 billion years to this day. Even today this very important “guest” called Chloroplasts are in every green plant. These very tiny bacteria is very essential. As a matter of fact with out them almost all life on earth would die. They are unobtrusive and bother no one. Here is a real example of “Judge me by my size do you?” in action. Humans are arrogant about our importance on earth but it is obvious these tiny little chloroplasts are far more important than us. These bacteria are interesting because they reproduce by asexual reproduction. The parent splits itself in half creating another. The one becomes two smaller bacteria. These two grow quickly to adult size and split making more and so on. Here there was no death or old age of the parent. If left to themselves, they would live forever. Death only comes when an amoeba eats them or poisons are introduced or some other molecular catastrophe.
Sagan discusses about how as far back as 3.5 billion years ago a microbe could now detect the difference between “us” and “them”. Life by then evolved a form of outer chemical that allows other members of the same group, family or species to detect one another. This was the first way to ensure survival of your species, by not eating each other up. You could be a ruthless predator to the “them” but you had better be kind to your fellows to ensure survival.
We finally get out of the world of microbes to the animal kingdom. Here Sagan tells how kittens learn to hunt from their parents. It is not all instincts. Here Sagan sights lab experimental results of kittens to rats. He tells under which circumstances where cats will kill selective rats, all rats and no rats. Then Sagan talks about the relationship between predator and prey and how the genes select which will survive and which will not. Sagan then compares the relationship between predator and prey by comparing it to the arms race. For every measure there is a counter measure keeping things in balance. Neither side over takes the other. This ensures that there is not an over population problem in nature. Later in this chapter Sagan discusses the fight or flight mechanism in animals as a way of ensuring survival. Organisms become more complex as millions of years pass in evolution.
Now it gets interesting because Sagan talks about selfish genes. Using information from R.A. Fisher, geneticist, who showed how people tend to help only their relatives. Fisher believed in “Kin Selection” stating that humans only help people that are relatives or at least of the same race. Sagan sights a chilling example of this according to financial records of where aid goes. He sights how thousands of children die of preventable hunger, neglect and disease. We could inoculate these children but the money is not given because other budgetary concerns take precedence. We sleep well while we know these people are dieing.
Sagan uses examples like these to show selfishness and kin selection. This is to illustrate that we have a selfish gene. But on the other hand, Sagan shows that we have a gene for altruism as well. He then sights how people will cross species and rescue animals and care for them. Dogs are known to risk their lives to save humans. Sagan gives both ends of the spectrum. He describes a total selfish person/ situation. Then he describes a total altruistic person/ situation. This leads up to the climax of this section of the chapter or why we need to balance between selfishness and altruism. Here Sagan makes an “open shut case” for the balance of the two. Too much altruism leads to extinction and Sagan clearly shows why. Too much selfishness also leads to extinction and again Sagan shows you why. This part of the book is one of the most important parts because today people are choosing all selfish and aggression with no altruism at all. Here the lesson needs to be learned or we will all be extinct. There will in fact be “Population Zero, Life after people”. Sagan describes how primates, in which humans are part, need the group in order to survive. We are not solitaries, like the bobcat. Yet today, at least in America we are enforcing a solitary lifestyle on the entire American population.
Sagan ends the chapter by showing lab results that proved beyond all doubt these Macaques (Rhesus Monkeys) were more kind and caring than humans. In what Sagan clearly thought was a cruel experiment, showed these monkeys when they saw the suffering of a strange Macaques monkey they were willing to sacrifice themselves rather than cause suffering of the other.
“In a laboratory setting, macaques were fed if they were willing to pull a chain and electrically shock an unrelated macaque whose agony was in plain view through a one way mirror. Otherwise, they starved. After learning the ropes, the monkeys frequently refused to pull the chain; in one experiment only 13% would do so-87% preferred to go hungry. One macaque went without food for nearly two weeks rather than hurt its fellow. Macaques who had themselves been shocked in previous experiments were even less willing to pull the chain. The relative social status or gender of the macaques had little bearing on their reluctance to hurt others.
If asked to choose between the human experimenters offering the macaques this faustian bargain and the macaques themselves- suffering from real hunger rather than causing pain to the others-our own moral sympathies do not lie with the scientists. But their experiments permit us to glimpse in non-humans a saintly willingness to make sacrifices in order to save others-even those who are not close kin. By conventional human standards, these macaques- who have never gone to Sunday school, never heard of the Ten Commandments, never squirmed through a single junior high school civics lesson-seem exemplary in their moral grounding and their courageous resistance to evil. Among the macaques, at least in this case, heroism is the norm. If the circumstances were reversed, and captive humans were offered the same deal by macaque scientists, would we do as well? In human history there are a precious few whose memory we revere because they knowingly sacrificed themselves for others. For each of them, there are multitudes who did nothing.” Page 117 and 118 “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors” by Carl Sagan.
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z209/mrsdarthvader/100324-runaway-monkey1-5astandard.jpg