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On Plausibility; mulling on the nature of criticism
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Topic Started: Aug 19 2017, 03:37 PM (627 Views)
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Tartarus
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Aug 31 2017, 07:38 PM
Post #91
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On producing speculative organisms by working forwards from ancestors to descendants, the issue is just how far back in the ancestry one should go to improve plausibility. Say for example, one creates a bunch of alien organisms by starting out with some early simple sea creatures and coming up with ways for them to evolve over the next hundreds of millions of years or so based on what sort of geological and environmental changes one chooses to have occurring on their world in that time frame. But even in that case one has essentially started with a later result without first taking account the ancestors- namely because the early sea creatures this hypothetical project began with had to have ancestors as well. Does this mean that one should have started all the way at the beginning, with the world's earliest single-celled microbes and described a potentially very long period of microbe evolution eventually leading to one to several microbe lineages evolving into the world's first multicellular organisms? Or are there times when it is OK to just start out later in the world's evolutionary history and just make the assumption that the desired organisms one begins with did manage to evolve without saying exactly how?
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LittleLazyLass
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May 15 2018, 11:16 PM
Post #92
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Proud quilt in a bag
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So, and I know this is really out of nowhere, but I've been thinking about the forum dynamic regarding spec for a while, as well as how the forum's approach to it often appears to new users and outsiders, and my mind always comes back to this topic. I really must commemorate Nitwhite, it's a great essay. Accordingly, I've decided to pin the thread, an idea I brought up with the staff a while back; nobody at that point seemed opposed, so I've finally gone and done it. I took the liberty of hiding a selection of problematic off-topic posts. Many of these were from myself; I apologize for my behaviour.
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totally not British, b-baka!
You like me (Unlike) I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess.
Me  Forum user Uncanny Gemstar drew what is supposed to be a me. Thanks! Spoiler: click to toggle As they walk in, they're greeted by a small, poorly kept pathway leading to a poorly constructed Japanese-style gate. Behind this, a small field made up of corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, among other plants is contrasted by large piles of books, as well as a few rather out of place looking laptops. Off in the corner, a small woman, with long, striped, and strikingly colorful socks, no shoes, unremarkable denim shorts, a large, fancy black coat, arm warmers, glasses, a tuque, and somewhat unkempt, mid-length blue-and-pink-streaked red hair, is rummaging through a trash bin, located behind a sign saying "employees only". She continues this for a while (walking behind a wall to change her outfit now and then), until one of her visitors coughs. Startled, she looks up, apologizes, and grabs a handful of textbooks and novels before daintily running off to join them. What, you want me to tell you what these mean? Predenterra The (Lost) Lost World The Standing World Read First Clarifications on my sex and genderSorry if I come off as rude, I don't put much thought into word choice sometimes. I'm also super prone to editing my posts, sometimes multiple times, in the minutes following posting. For the love of god, take my posts from my earlier days on the forum with a grain of salt. I was not particularly knowledgeable or mature back then. Some of them are so cringe-worthy I can't even bring myself to look at them. Words Maybe Great Words - Words To Spec By
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It would have to be something extremely alien, pushing the limits of our imagination. But those are always my favorite kinds of life. ~~The Words of The Xenologist
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Ignorance is never insulting if you're willing to learn, we're all ignorant about most things. ~~The Words of Lamna
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Yeah, and even if you don't agree with creationists on that concept, that doesn't mean they can't be decent people. I have friends who are creationist (possibly even young earth) that I get along with fine in general life. I don't think they're right of course, but that doesn't make them intellectual degenerates. ~~The Words of forbidden3
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Even though he is our creator, that does not afford him the right to take our lives on a whim. But that is the thinking of a homs. He is a god. Such morals cannot apply to gods. So you think we should just shut up and die?! If that is the fate decided by a god. You are mistaken if you think we will simply accept such a fate and wait to die. We'll never stop fighting. Not till the end. To Zanza, the outcome is the same. Thus your logic is flawed.
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But Souls are delicious. They're like bacon - they taste good on anything. But if you eat them, you completely remove them from existence! They can't move on or... or be reincarnated! Huh. I never really gave it much thought. Besides, what do you mean by reincarnation anyway? You know, being reborn as someone or something else. Which means different body, different memories, different experiences, yes? So isn't being reborn as "something else" the same as being "removed from existence"? I... I... eating souls isn't right! That depends on your definition of "right". All living things survive by eating other living things. So what? You're a god. You should be above all that! Gods are above living things, which doesn't necessarily mean we care about them.
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Dr Nitwhite
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May 16 2018, 02:31 PM
Post #93
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WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMB wait it's been what?
I suppose I'm honored, frankly. I'm glad this is still looked at as an interesting enough thread to continue deliberating. I look forward to further conversation!
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Speculative Evolution Projects- The Great Song (5 myh, North America is filled with giant coots, life in the clouds, and the songs of human descendants. One curious society has devoted itself to the study of this world) The Curious World of Laniakea (An endless world of islands, shallow seas, mangrove swamps, and reefs) Hidden Spring (A partner project between myself and Beetleboy- exploring a future where a twist of cosmic fate changes the planet forever)
Other Relevant Work-
Final SE Lifelist standings 1. Sayornis (82) 2. Dr Nitwhite (79) ↑ 3. Steampunk FireFinch (44) ↓ 4. The Dodo (26) 5. W.C.K.D (23) 6. Sphenodon (21) 7. Sheather (19) 8. Beetleboy (19) 9. Thylacine (16) 10. Monster (15) 11. HangingTheif (15) 12. Aptornis (13) 13. Stealth Rock (10) 14. KomradeWatcher (9) 15. lamna (7) 16. Flisch (5) 17. Olympianmaster (4) ↑ 18. Archipithecus (2) ↓ 19. Datura (1) ↓ 20. Giant Blue Anteater (1) ↓ 21. Kachimushi (1) BREAKING NEWS We interrupt your regular programming to bring you this cutting edge report. ATTENDANCE DROPS DRASTICALLY ON SE SERVER This past Monday on Discord, famous server Speculative Evolution took a hit in the attendance office when it's offline member list suddenly reappeared. Mods scrambled to rectify the situation, but unfortunately there was little anyone could do. Server member Ivan was asked what he thought of the situation. "So long as Flisch, lord of machines and scion of Urborg lives, all will be well". SE, (in)famous for it's eccentric userbase, has recently been spiraling downward, and now we have hard conformation of the decline. Moderator "High Lord" Icthyander states "There is nothing to be concerned about, Discord is merely changing its UI again", but members are beginning to suspect the honesty of their staff. Stay tuned, we'll be back with more at 11.
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