A Walk Through Time
TNHarter
on a timeline at a scale of a million years to a foot,
you would have a one mile long chart. This is fully a
third of the estimated life of the universe. I walked
such a timeline last weekend at Stanford University.
I found that it had enough detail to explain the Gaia
hypothesis (that life and geology coevolve) in a way
that makes a lot of sense. Allow me to share with
you the highest of the highlights of that walk.
Life first took hold about 3900 MYA (Million Years Ago)
in a primordial soup that had been around since about
4100 MYA. The first life forms were very simple,
bacteria and such. About 3700 MYA ago photosynthesis
was discovered. The first big earth changes made by
life were things like huge gold deposits in South Africa,
which were precipitated out by bacterial feeding about
2900 MYA. By this time microbes have evolved every
metabolic mode known to modern science. Not long
after that (2800 MYA) predators first appeared.
The next period was marked by steadily more
sophisticated cell structure. Organisms that had stood
on their own in the primordial soup were forced into
symbiotic relationships to survive. The first major
extinction occurred when mass photosynthesis put so
much oxygen in the atmosphere that it killed 90% of
the anaerobic bacteria that had been the dominant life
form before then (1900 MYA). Sexual behavior first
evolved as a survival strategy about 1500 MYA.
Land was first settled by bacteria about 1400 MYA.
The concept of an individual with a personality begins
to become relevant about 1200 MYA. Animals are
thought to begin to roam about 600 MYA, although the
chordata (ones with backbones) did not appear until
505 MYA, about the time of the original green movement
toward land. Real plants evolved on dry land about 455
MYA. From that point to this, the story is remarkably
similar to the one I learned as a child. Human history
was covered in one large panel I could read in a few
minutes, the last one.
After absorbing the whole thing I was hungry. I decided
to eat on California Avenue in Palo Alto, ending up in a
place called Mediterranean Wraps run by three Jordanian
Engineers. While I was waiting for my food, I browsed
the currency collection on the back wall of the restaurant.
There were many kinds of money I hadn't seen before
there, including things like 1 Real notes from Brazil.
The only American note that was green side up was a
bicentennial $2 bill. The sight of the founding fathers
signing the Declaration of Independence with "in god
we trust" in the fine print added something to the day.
While I was eating I found myself wondering how the
information density in the brain of the old woman on
the cell phone I passed a billion years into the walk
compared to the information density on the hard disk
of my computer under normal operating conditions.
Browsing the book that contains all of the slides I saw
during the walk, it says a normal human lifespan is
.001 inches. They have to be somewhat comparable. To
see for yourself visit http://www.globalcommunity.org/wtt.
Tian Harter
Mountain View, CA
The evolution of "think globally, act locally"
is "globalize consciousness, localize economies."
James Copeland
Ticks! Ticks are Evil. There is no earthly reason for the damn things. If
the ecology needs, them, then the ecology can just get over it. I kill all
ticks.
James....
TNHarter <tnha...@aol.comHomePun> wrote in message
news:19990420190717...@ng156.aol.com...
Barbara Lake
>
> I've decided, Michael.
>
> Ticks! Ticks are Evil. There is no earthly reason for the damn things. If
> the ecology needs, them, then the ecology can just get over it. I kill all
> ticks.
>
> James....
James,
Huh?! I was just about to thank Tian Harter for his informative post
and read your response. ???????
A very puzzled Barbara
--
http://mindspring.com/~bglake/index.html
James Copeland
more class than most...<G>
James...
Barbara Lake <bgl...@mindspring-IFIGHTSPAM.com> wrote in message
news:371D374D...@mindspring.com...
Barbara Lake
>
> It's a SPAM post, Barb. Go to the WEB site. I gotta admit, thought, it has
> more class than most...<G>
You're right. It's spam. It's also classier than most.
Now as to your premise that ticks are evil. I feel the same way about
mosquitos -- being allergic to the darned things. And then, Ogden Nash
must have felt the same way about the common house fly. He wrote:
God in his wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why
Barbara
--
http://mindspring.com/~bglake/index.html
Uncle Dale
If bother were gone tomorrow would they really be missed??
James Copeland <jkcop...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:7fjbhq$mnl$1...@camel29.mindspring.com...
> I've decided, Michael.
>
> Ticks! Ticks are Evil. There is no earthly reason for the damn things.
If
> the ecology needs, them, then the ecology can just get over it. I kill
all
> ticks.
>
> James....
Uncle Dale
Now we have Ticks, Chiggers, Mosquitoes, and House Fly's
four species should be enough for one day :)
Barbara Lake <bgl...@mindspring-IFIGHTSPAM.com> wrote in message
news:371D42B6...@mindspring.com...
Ray & Ginger
flea? A lot of sand fleas. I got into a batch of them a few years ago &
forgot about it. Later that night I got to kind of itching & thought I
had some good old chiggers. There are different cures for chiggers, one
being to take a cup of clorox & pour it into a tub of warm water as it
will suck the blood out of them litle suckers. Yep, I did it. Jumped
right in & that sucker set me on fire. Was sand fleas & not chigers.
After a shot at the ER hospital I felt a little better.
Can recall it as if it was just yesterday. That's how good it felt. No,
been there, done that, ain't doing it again. :)
Uncle Dale wrote:
>
> Okay,
> Now we have Ticks, Chiggers, Mosquitoes, and House Fly's
> four species should be enough for one day :)
>
> Barbara Lake <bgl...@mindspring-IFIGHTSPAM.com> wrote in message
> news:371D42B6...@mindspring.com...
> > James Copeland wrote:
Ray & Ginger
Mind over matter, if you don’t mind, it don’t matter.
(Confucius)
Lou Coles
TNHarter <tnha...@aol.comHomePun> wrote in message
news:19990420190717...@ng156.aol.com...
> in a primordial soup that had been around since about
> 4100 MYA.
Still lots of debate on the soup flavor . <bg>
> The first big earth changes made by
> life were things like huge gold deposits in South Africa,
> which were precipitated out by bacterial feeding about
> 2900 MYA.
Gold being precipitated by bacteria ? If your refering to the
bacteria which accounts for the majority of life on or within
the earth (by weight) then I can't help but assume your
also extending all elements above a certain weight as being
precipitated "out" by bacterial feeding ? Perhaps your just
saying the deposits (called lodes) had bacteria feeding around
them.?
> After absorbing the whole thing I was hungry. I decided
> to eat on California Avenue in Palo Alto,
Stickneys (??) Pizza still there ?
> Tian Harter
nice post Tian
Lou Coles
> It's a SPAM post, Barb. Go to the WEB site. I gotta admit, thought, it
has
> more class than most...<G>
Oh James grow up.
Nick Chenarides
Nick
James Copeland
James
Lou Coles <louc...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:7fjp4s$h16$1...@camel19.mindspring.com...
Putt
--
Putt (remove the "7" and also "nospam" to reply
Lou Coles <louc...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:7fjp2c$9pn$1...@camel19.mindspring.com...
> ---------------------------------snip------------------------
> 4100 MYA.
>
> Still lots of debate on the soup flavor . <bg>
>
> > The first big earth changes made by
> > life were things like huge gold deposits in South Africa,
> > which were precipitated out by bacterial feeding about
> > 2900 MYA.
>
> Gold being precipitated by bacteria ? If your refering to the
> bacteria which accounts for the majority of life on or within
> the earth (by weight) then I can't help but assume your
> also extending all elements above a certain weight as being
> precipitated "out" by bacterial feeding ? Perhaps your just
> saying the deposits (called lodes) had bacteria feeding around
> them.?
Have always been under the impression the the Whit was formed by gold
particulate being "filtered" out of the water that was passing over
beds of bacteria/alge.. More of a mechanical event than a biological one...
--------------------------------------------------------------snip----------
----------------------------
Lou Coles
> > > The first big earth changes made by
> > > life were things like huge gold deposits in South Africa,
> > > which were precipitated out by bacterial feeding about
> > > 2900 MYA.
> >
> > Gold being precipitated by bacteria ? If your refering to the
> > bacteria which accounts for the majority of life on or within
> > the earth (by weight) then I can't help but assume your
> > also extending all elements above a certain weight as being
> > precipitated "out" by bacterial feeding ? Perhaps your just
> > saying the deposits (called lodes) had bacteria feeding around
> > them.?
>
> Have always been under the impression the the Whit was formed by gold
> particulate being "filtered" out of the water that was passing over
> beds of bacteria/alge.. More of a mechanical event than a biological
one...
There is a difference between place gold deposits and hard rock lodes.
In both cases no gold is "precipitated" by any biological event I'm aware
of. I could well imagine particulate gold being filtered out of the sea
water
much the same as carpet acts in a rocker box. Hard rock quartz lodes are
usually formed during volcanic action.
Ray & Ginger
James Copeland wrote:
>
> If I grow up any more, the next step is burial.
>
> James