The food shortage problem:
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I took his hypothesis to mean that the unwillingness to fight for food wasn't so much due to genes specific to that individual, but due to "giving up early because it knows it's inferior from earlier experiences" - a trait like that could stay, could it not? The stronger individuals would continue to fight for survival but still carry those genes..
Hmm, I don't know. I generally think of genetic traits as fairly simplistic... "Aggressive", "Empathetic", "Brave", "Cautious", "Energetic"... That kind of thing... If the population is generally more aggressive, then they're more likely to fight over food instead of surrendering early. Just guesses and speculation, of course.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels) -
Hmm, I don't know. I generally think of genetic traits as fairly simplistic... "Aggressive", "Empathetic", "Brave", "Cautious", "Energetic"... That kind of thing... If the population is generally more aggressive, then they're more likely to fight over food instead of surrendering early. Just guesses and speculation, of course.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels) -
Well, this is starting to leave the boundaries of what I could claim to know. I'm not a biologist..
Neither am I... Like I said, guessing and speculation. The way I see it, nature generally functions on very basic principles, scaled up immensely. All of physics, for example, can be traced back to a few elementary particles and four forces (Gravity, EM, Strong, Weak). Everything else is just extrapolated from there. Biology seems to work similarly... How aggressive we are is based on the amount of testosterone our body produces (I'm sure there are other factors, so yes, I'm oversimplifying)... The "normal" testosterone production level is probably controlled by one or more genes... Hence, aggression levels could be passed down genetically. Empathy is a pretty general concept, too... The ability to identify with others... A basic emotion or feeling or whatever the right word is... But the ability to predict the result of a confrontation and know when to just give up instead of fighting? That seems, to me, to be based on a combination of genetic predisposition and experience, and you can't pass experience down genetically... Then again, there are base instincts... Maybe it could be linked to that... I dunno... It's just interesting to think about :)
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels) -
Neither am I... Like I said, guessing and speculation. The way I see it, nature generally functions on very basic principles, scaled up immensely. All of physics, for example, can be traced back to a few elementary particles and four forces (Gravity, EM, Strong, Weak). Everything else is just extrapolated from there. Biology seems to work similarly... How aggressive we are is based on the amount of testosterone our body produces (I'm sure there are other factors, so yes, I'm oversimplifying)... The "normal" testosterone production level is probably controlled by one or more genes... Hence, aggression levels could be passed down genetically. Empathy is a pretty general concept, too... The ability to identify with others... A basic emotion or feeling or whatever the right word is... But the ability to predict the result of a confrontation and know when to just give up instead of fighting? That seems, to me, to be based on a combination of genetic predisposition and experience, and you can't pass experience down genetically... Then again, there are base instincts... Maybe it could be linked to that... I dunno... It's just interesting to think about :)
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels) -
Ian Shlasko wrote:
and you can't pass experience down genetically...
There is that, but what about the tendency to give up quickly after losing just a few fights?
Stubbornness, or in this case, lack thereof... It's possible.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)