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Demonstrating macro/micro evolution through analogy
Topic Started: Sep 16 2009, 06:54 PM (843 Views)
ashwinder
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Adolescent
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After seeing Dakwin's talk today I had an idea of carrying out a study to demonstrate micro evolution leading to macro evolution. I thought of taking some kind of document and sending it out (like a chain letter) asking people to change a small part of it (such as one word etc). After a certain period of time it would be interesting to see if the meaning/content had changed significantly therefore showing a kind of macro evolution. This is more for fun than real scientific endeavour and I need to really flesh it out, anyone got any ideas how I could go about simulating evolution in a similar analogous way without computer programming?
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Empyreon
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Are you plausible?

One of my favorite analogies/models for natural selection was to take a piece of patterned fabric, lay it on a table, then spread out a whole bunch of dots on it (the ones I used were the results of hole-punched construction paper). After closing my eyes for a moment, I would quickly grab the first ten of them I saw (but any appropriate number would do, or maybe a time limit) and remove them from the fabric. Those dots represent victims of predation. After that, the 'surviving' dots 'reproduce' by getting three similarly colored dots placed around them. After repeating this process several times it becomes apparent that certain colors of dots are rare or extinct while others thrive because they are positioned over a color of the fabric that makes them more difficult to see.

It's a little simplistic, but that's what some people need in order to grasp the concept initially. Personally, I would waste hours of my time if there was some version of this exercise in some online game form.
Take a look at my exobiology subforum of the planet Nereus!

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food for thought
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