Tag: convergent evolution

Our brains might have more in common with an octopus than we’d like to believe, suggesting that famed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins’ new paradigm is correct

Christian Twiste1 Comment

Almost everyone knows that an octopus is much smarter than we would expect for a boneless creature that lives in the ocean, but next to no one expected they would achieve their intelligence using some of the same genes and chemical processes we do. Octopi and their cephalopod cousins have long been regarded as unusually… Continue reading Our brains might have more in common with an octopus than we’d like to believe, suggesting that famed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins’ new paradigm is correct

The evolution of consciousness and the omnipresence of sentience

Christian Twiste2 Comments

Based on the latest research, we can continue to maintain that sentience, and the higher order consciousness that springs from it in humans, is the most widespread accident in the history of life, completely unnecessary, but somehow omnipresent, or we can reject that view and assume it serves a deep evolutionary purpose. Thought experiments can… Continue reading The evolution of consciousness and the omnipresence of sentience

The shape of your inner ear, convergent evolution, and the evolution of evolvability

Christian TwisteLeave a comment

A new study from the University of Vienna on the inner ear in mammals offers valuable evidence and insight, while upending at least some of the conventional wisdom by finding the shape of the ear in some lineages is more directly connected to habitat and lifestyle than genetics alone. Counter intuitively, we can find evidence… Continue reading The shape of your inner ear, convergent evolution, and the evolution of evolvability