Evolution and Plants

[Trumpeteer]

Now this really comes from when the ratattlers (France) were playing with tree seeds in Bar des Amis.

Now I can understand that in the past an animal (lets call it a short neck giraffe) needs to reach the fruit of a tall tree, so it stretches, its brain tells it a long neck would be helpfull, and it evolves to what we know to be a giraffe.

Soooo......how does a plant that cannot think or see(as far as we can prove) evolve seeds that fly etc. I asked this to an international group last night (well French, Dutch, English and S African) and the final answer was that plants must be able to think!

Whats your take on this?

[Samray]

Do you know how small a giraffe's brain is?

[Stokesy]

what ever your drinking will do me just fine

[fastasfcuk]

theres cabbages in my village that sit in bus stops and drink beer

[Trumpeteer]

Sam, yes I know Woody.
Stokesy, home made plum brandy.
Fastasfuk, is it Greens King IPA?

[D-Rider]

I asked this to an international group last night (well French, Dutch, English and S African) and the final answer was that plants must be able to think!

Whats your take on this?

That's really quite impressive for an international group of plants.

...... was it the French that knew their onions?

[Aladinsaneuk]

mutagenic natural selection at work

the seeds, lets say for a sycamore, can be carried by the wind.
By chance, some seeds were produced that had vanes on them - because the wind carried them beyond the "parent's" canopy they took root and grew - the mutation would then be part of the genetic make up so all that tree's seeds would have the vanes to enable it to be carried by the wind


(Not my thinking either - I think some chap wandering around on a dog related boat postulated something similar in his journals.....)

[Firestarter]

Don't think the giraffe's thoughts on needing a longer neck are what caused that kind of evolution - same as what Aladinsane said about the plants, it's random mutation - the giraffe with the longer neck would have been a random birth, it survived better as it had better access to food over it's shorter-necked brethren, therefore was more likely to reproduce and pass on it's genes.

If all it took was thought to make things longer/bigger - well, you can see where I'm going with that

[fastasfcuk]

i'm thinking i'm thinking.

[falcomunky]

Dont think too hard though...

[Firestarter]

Yeah, don't want all the blood rushing from your head and you fainting