It's one thing to engage in fantasy. But put on your scientist's cap (if you have one that's ecology/environment-related) and you'd see that it would be a complicated undertaking at best.
Last Dinosaur?
- Thread starter Zardnaar
- Start date
It's one thing to engage in fantasy. But put on your scientist's cap (if you have one that's ecology/environment-related) and you'd see that it would be a complicated undertaking at best.
Ajidica
High Quality Person
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2006
- Messages
- 22,482
I dunno, I think a lot of people would throw all their resources into creating a T-Rex with armor plating and laser cannons if there was even the shred of potential it could be made.
It's one thing to engage in fantasy. But put on your scientist's cap (if you have one that's ecology/environment-related) and you'd see that it would be a complicated undertaking at best.
Just thing of how totally awesome and metal it would be?
What would it be good for?
I'm honestly asking from a scientific point of view, because you already have this stuff in the movies, and it's just fantasy. If you want to bring back a real extinct animal, you need to know why you're doing it, where it would live, what it would eat, could it actually exist in the present world because Earth's atmosphere has changed over time, would it impact the environment (ie. get loose or negatively impact the existing flora/fauna in some other way), and so forth.
Did you just seriously rolly-eyes my post? Seriously?
Oh, and second on the list is everyone who says that "pterodactyls aren't dinosaurs". Because if I am riding a Pterodactyl, it's 'dinosaur enough' for all purposes.
Ajidica
High Quality Person
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2006
- Messages
- 22,482
The fact you are asking what a rideable armor-plated laser-equipped T-Rex "would be good for" indicates you have a serious lack of imagination.
It's there, isn't it?
I'm looking at this whole issue from the view of real science. You and others are looking at it from the view of fantasy. Excuse me but I never saw any of the Jurassic Park movies or any other movies about weaponized dinosaur-shaped war machines.
Whatever. Yeah, close enough, I guess. But I doubt anyone's going to be riding them.
(and before people start making even more snarky remarks, I used to read and watch plenty of prehistoric-themed humans/dinosaurs comics and TV shows, including Valley of the Dinosaurs and The Flintstones)
Oh, I can imagine all kinds of things I'd do with one if I had it, but we're not supposed to say things like that on this forum.
But honestly, fantasy aside, what would you actually do with one? In RL?
Patine
Deity
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2011
- Messages
- 12,074
http://www.biblecalculator.com/study_flood_date.html
This link quote the false prophet scam artist Harold Camping as one of it's most prominent and "strongest," named references. That's a credibility killer right there - or REALLY should be - even in the target audience. I mean the man was a blatant, unrepentant liar blatantly cheating his followers, who trusted his guidance, with lies to commit fraud to enrich and glorify himself on the Earth. That's highly Un-Christian behaviour, no matter how you slice it. The Prophet Samuel said that a "False Prophet must be killed," and even with Christ's "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," being a False Prophet is obviously STILL a very serious affront and grievance. Also, one cannot "calculate the date of the Rapture, Return, and Judgement," through Biblical events - the ONE SINGLE statement on the issue in the Christian Scripture makes that very clear, said by Christ to his followers before his Ascension after the Resurrection, "No man knoweth the Hour of My Return. Even I knoweth not the Hour of My Return. Only the Father knoweth the Hour of My Return. It will be when I am least expected, and most needed." So, basically, anyone, even (perhaps especially) hard Christian Literalists and "Fundamentalists," should disregard the "teachings," and "calculations," (quotation marks advisedly) of Harold Camping. I'm not accusing you of being a fan or follower of Camping, mind, just bringing him up in regard to an article you linked that mentioned him glowingly and praisingly and your only adjective about was "interesting."
I agree fully with @Valka D'Ur. That sounds like a scientific/technological vanity that should not see the light of day. Plus, what honestly makes you think it'll be YOU riding on it's back gloriously, @El_Machinae?
Ajidica
High Quality Person
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2006
- Messages
- 22,482
Recreate images from super-metal album covers?
Conquer the world and create a cyber-anarchist warlord society?
The possibilities are endless.
Oh, you want to conquer the world.
Big deal. All of us do this every time we play Civ (assuming we're not the ones who get wiped out, which happened to me almost every time I played on Deity level - I survived twice).
There are so many knock-on effects. The collapse of the automobile market would mean that artisans who want to turn tyres into body-armor would finally have demand for their craft. The armor plating would mean jobs for people who want to open-pit mine while on the back of a brontosaurus.
Plus, people would get outside more, and stop destroying the environment by buying larger and larger TVs in order to satisfy their hedonism.
Also, important science would get done.
tjs282
Stone \ Cold / Fish
TLDW:
The video is subtitled "The Design of DNA" which is the first mistake (DNA was not 'designed'). Within 30 seconds of the talking heads starting, the interviewer(?) talks about "the Genesis paradigm of each according to their kinds..." which set off a(nother) big warning bell.
The interviewee(?), a biochemist, then starts talking about HOX genes, and what he says is correct (as far as I remember), but I didn't continue watching after that, so I don't know how much the video-makers actually let him talk about evolution, or whether they will rather try to twist his words into a 'support' for Creationism/Intelligent Design (but I suspect they will, possibly using some variant of the Watchmaker analogy, or the "tornado in a junkyard" metaphor).
Either way, the video hardly seems relevant to the OP.
It's pretty interesting, and it's basically impossible to do an interesting and completely comprehensive discussion of genetics in 20 minutes. So, credit for that. It's mostly an argument from incredulity, though.
Speaking of dinosaurs, though. It's astounding how deep time works. Like, this isn't a dinosaur
Phoenix Rising: Scientists Resuscitate A 5 Million-year-old Retrovirus
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061030183232.htm
So, over many generations, this retrovirus integrated itself into the genome of humans, and we can still 'see' that it's a retrovirus despite being all broken up and dismantled (and then used as 'junk' DNA [which isn't 'junk'!]). And since all the pieces of the virus are there, we can just put it back together again.
Speaking of dinosaurs, though. It's astounding how deep time works. Like, this isn't a dinosaur
Phoenix Rising: Scientists Resuscitate A 5 Million-year-old Retrovirus
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061030183232.htm
So, over many generations, this retrovirus integrated itself into the genome of humans, and we can still 'see' that it's a retrovirus despite being all broken up and dismantled (and then used as 'junk' DNA [which isn't 'junk'!]). And since all the pieces of the virus are there, we can just put it back together again.
Interesting; What these guys talk about is that DNA and how it works is just like a computer program but is so complex that not only could humans never create such a program, we can never understand it and therefore god much have created it. The first flaw is that they compare the function of DNA to software. Of course that makes the conversation sound like it is scientific and current. The second flaw is that they say that its complexity is beyond human understanding and that it is too complex to to be driven random events. And lastly, they say the only answer to this is to say God made it. Only God is smart enough to create such a program. They say you cannot produce complex life step by step, or a complex computer program; it must be produced top down, all at once. They did not talk about the problem of time at all.
It is interesting that they accept the complex molecular and biochemical action driven by DNA as a sign of God, but ignore that same process when it comes to scientific dating techniques. YEC Christians believe the results of medical tests based on the science of radioactive decay and half life, but refuse to believe that carbon dating (and other methods) are accurate.
Patine
Deity
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2011
- Messages
- 12,074
To be pedantic the "Watchmaker," (originally," Clockmaker,") analogy was NOT a literalist Abrahamic Monotheist apologetic, but a statement made by the Deist movement (believed to have been coined as early as Leonardo da Vinci, himself, in fact).
Hm. I took multiple years' worth of biochemistry, geography, and anthropology courses, plus independent study of paleontology, and the word "kinds" appeared NOWHERE in any of the books or articles or texts I used.
Mind you, I was using source material by real scientists. That could be why.
Thank you for watching this <nonsense> so I don't have to.
That was fascinating. Thank you for posting it.
Zardnaar
Deity
Seen it and watched some of those other videos. Very good.
