Perhaps evolution has squared that circle (1)
You wonder why animals haven’t evolved wheels (19/26 December 2020, p 50). It is worth noting that the body of an organism isn’t the boundary of its phenotype.
Richard Dawkins introduced the “extended phenotype” concept in which a cascade of causality ultimately stemming from genes can eventually lead to non-biological products, examples being architectures like beaver dams. Could the wheel similarly be considered an extended phenotype of humans, constructed once evolution had invented sufficiently advanced intelligence?
Non-biological materials don’t face the same inherent limits as living tissue, such as the blood supply requirement. When phenotypes are expanded according to Dawkins’s framework, the design book for evolution to explore could massively expand.
Perhaps evolution has squared that circle (2)
The arguments cited against the evolution of wheels in living things include the problem of the environment not being smooth and the challenge of supplying blood to a biological wheel.
Maybe there are exceptions. Tumbleweed lacks blood, but has evolved a rolling solution that is perfectly suited to its flat, desert environment. Its “wheeled” design has a clear advantage, allowing distribution of the plant and its seeds over a wide area.
It is sometimes suggested that we are the only creature to have invented the wheel. I think dung beetles may have beaten us by millions of years, “inventing” a way to get collections of dung larger than themselves uphill: rolling them.
Perhaps evolution has squared that circle (3)
Michael Marshall’s article on why animals don’t have wheels correctly addresses the issue that they are only useful on firm, flat surfaces, which are rare in nature, but perhaps misses the question: how did such surfaces come to be? In other words, in terms of human technological evolution, which came first, the wheel or the road?
Handshakes may be gone for a generation
There is much talk of the impact of covid-19 on how we greet one another (11 November 2020, p 41). Perhaps the flu pandemic that followed the first world war gives clues to how our behaviour on this may change long term.
I am 88 and my parents, born in 1907 and 1909, were averse to any physical displays when greeting strangers. There was very little handshaking or kissing on meeting anyone. Of course, they grew up through the 1918 flu pandemic and their behaviour was like that of their contemporaries.
When it comes to aliens, N may be large after all
In discussing the Drake equation, which estimates the likelihood of the existence of intelligent alien cultures, Tim Stevenson assumed that N 鈥� the number of advanced civilisations in our galaxy 鈥� was low, as we haven’t heard from any such aliens (Letters, 28 November 2020).
With tongue in cheek, may I suggest that such civilisations may not want “developing” ones such as ours to communicate with the advanced worlds around them. They could be perfectly capable of stopping communication both from and to us. When we are considered “advanced”, maybe we will be invited to join them.
Our feral horses can't be controlled that way
From
19/26 December 2020, p 12
While it would be nice to have a simple solution like birth control for feral horse populations, or to redefine them as beneficial, this risks exacerbating environmental degradation and loss of species.
In Australia, our flora and fauna (for example, the corroboree frog) haven’t evolved to cope with the many effects of large, hoofed herbivores. Research I am involved in shows that trapping and birth control are impractical methods to reduce the approximately 25,000-strong feral horse population in the .
Eyes also betray when a right hook is coming
You reported how changes in our eyes occur before the decision to initiate strenuous activity (28 November 2020, p 13). This is one of the first things a novice boxer is taught: “Don’t look at the opponent’s hands. Look at their eyes. They will tell you when the real attack is about to start.”
Maybe combat AIs will just declare a truce
The clear message from your piece on military robots is that AIs will provide clearer and more logical decisions in warfare than their human minders could offer (12 December 2020, p 14).
To extend the argument, we can imagine both sides in a conflict having such weaponry, with AI pitted against AI. As warfare is 鈥� by any sensible assessment 鈥� an irrational and illogical way to resolve conflict, can we assume that AIs left to their own devices would reach that conclusion and end hostilities? In such a case, AI can only be seen as a good thing.
Guts of a computer help me search for stardust
When it comes to hunting for micrometeorites that land on my roof, I have often dredged my gutters with a magnet from a computer hard drive in a plastic bag (19/26 December 2020, p 53). Remove the sludge adhering to the bag, wash in a Petri dish and examine under a microscope.
Do distant worlds warm as they feel the squeeze?
Apparent volcanic activity even on the most remote worlds in our system raises the question of the source of its internal energy (5 December 2020, p 44).
I wonder if, as planets and moons cool and their outer layers solidify, there is a compression of internal material by shrinkage of the outer layer. Could this raise the temperature and be a source of energy for this distant volcanism?
Essential reading in these challenging times
I wanted to thank 快猫短视频 editor Emily Wilson and all the team, especially Adam Vaughan, Graham Lawton, Michael Le Page and Clare Wilson, for keeping me so well informed about coronavirus over the past tumultuous year. Your coverage has been fascinating, enlightening and always informative.