This might be the coolest visualization of evolution ever

#1

Post by oldbuzzard » Sat, Sep 10, 2016, 12:27 AM UTC

This might be the coolest visualization of evolution ever
vox.com

Re: This might be the coolest visualization of evolution ever

#2

Post by hNewsLover99 » Sat, Sep 10, 2016, 2:51 AM UTC

Experimental acceleration of evolution was the plot of the 1964 teleplay, "Wolf 359", which was one of the very best Outer Limits episodes. A scaled-down version of a distant life-bearing planet was constructed in a laboratory safe-room. The passage of millennia of days and nights was simulated by a strobe light blinking at an imperceptibly-fast rate. Evolutionary progress was monitored and photographed through a mini-telescope in the adjoining room. Spoiler alert: it did not end well...

Wolf 359 asks whether evolution, at the grand scale, might be moderated, at least in part, by the mere accumulation of day/night cycles, regardless of their individual and cumulative lengths, like some sort of a cosmic iterator.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_359_(The_Outer_Limits)

Re: This might be the coolest visualization of evolution ever

#3

Post by CarolineW » Sat, Sep 10, 2016, 8:53 PM UTC

hNewsLover99 wrote: post #2

Experimental acceleration of evolution was the plot of the 1964 teleplay, "Wolf 359", which was one of the very best Outer Limits episodes. A scaled-down version of a distant life-bearing planet was constructed in a laboratory safe-room. The passage of millennia of days and nights was simulated by a strobe light blinking at an imperceptibly-fast rate. Evolutionary progress was monitored and photographed through a min…

Sounds like it was based on "Microcosmic God" by Theodore Sturgeon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcosmic_God

Re: This might be the coolest visualization of evolution ever

#4

Post by hNewsLover99 » Sat, Sep 10, 2016, 11:29 PM UTC

CarolineW wrote: post #3

hNewsLover99 wrote: post #2

Experimental acceleration of evolution was the plot of the 1964 teleplay, "Wolf 359", which was one of the very best Outer Limits episodes. A scaled-down version of a distant life-bearing planet was constructed in a laboratory safe-room. The passage of millennia of days and nights was simulated by a strobe light blinking at an imperceptibly-fast rate. Evolutionary progress was monitored and photographed through a min…

Sounds like it was based on "Microcosmic God" by Theodore Sturgeon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcosmic_God

Thanks for that tip and link, CarolineW ! I'll add this to my reading list. The wikipedia summary for Microcosmic God is chilling... Outsourcing with a vengeance!