Posts

Language

Part 1 I found Part I of the experiment to be extraordinarily challenging, though not as much so as Part II (more on that in a bit). I found the experiment difficult because it involved me not communicating! It was interesting to see the way that my partner would respond as well. For instance, because I was not communicating a response, they began to get ansy, hesitant, and almost nervous. They didn't appear to like talking without any reciprocity. I would say that they were definitely in control of the conversation, being that I was unable to communicate with them.  They initiated everything...topic choice, topic changes, questions, etc. They asked questions and I did not answer, which made them act differently. Conversation is certainly a balance of power, and they had it all. Interestingly, I felt as if I did have some power in the conversation because they were caught so off guard by my lack of communication.  If we were part of two separate cultures I would ima...
4 comments
Read more

Fossils, Fame, & Forgery

The Piltdown Hoax was a simple yet effective hoax played against the scientific community in the early 20th century. In 1912 a man by the name of Charles Dawson was digging through some rubble in the small town of Piltdown, England. Mr. Dawson came across what seemed to be some very old human fossils. While the fossils did fill the evolutionary gap between apes and humans, the brunt of the scientific exuberance occurred within the English scientific culture. English scientists were elated to learn that they (Englishmen) too had human remains that dated as far back as one million years old. This was the first discovery of its kind on the island and was met with a large amount of enthusiasm. There was some in the English scientific community that were not as elated about the discovery as the rest. Some individuals who were participating in the scientific community of England at the time doubted the Piltdown discovery. Because the Piltdown discovery was met with such elation and excitem...
3 comments
Read more

Week 3: Analogy/Homology Blog Post

Image
Week 3: Analogy/Homology Blog Post Homologus Traits a. I have chosen human beings and gorillas as both possessing the homologous traits of having arms with hands.  b. While the structure of human arms and gorilla arms are quite similar (two sections with a hand/palm at the end), the functions are quite opposite. Humans use arms and their adjacent hands/palms to grab, lift, and hold. Gorillas use their arms to grab, lift, hold, as well as walk while holding. The four limb walk of the gorillas allows them to maintain speed and strength which is needed for defense and climbing trees in their natural environment, while humans walk on two limbs to save energy and do not have the need for climbing trees or maintaining speed and strength while moving.  c. Generally, the common ancestor was a gorilla/ape/monkey like creature. Humans broke off of the species and evolved while the gorillas/monkeys/apes did not.   2. Analogous Traits a. I have...
4 comments
Read more

Protein Synthesis: Blog Post

ATATTACTAAGAGCTTAATTCTGAAACGGTATATATCCGCG
6 comments
Read more

Historical Influences on Darwin

Charles Lyell, a friend and mentor of Charles Darwin, had the most influence on Darwin's work and his theory of Natural Selection. Lyell, outside of the friendship and mentorship of Darwin, argued: "that the geological processes we see today are the same as those that existed in the past." Lyell was a proponent of a theory called Uniformitarianism, where geological processes are the same over a long period of time. "Darwin, greatly influenced by Lyell, extended that principle to biology. Species, like geologic features, evolved gradually or died out gradually." The two points that were helped by Lyell's work are, "Individuals do not change, populations do" and, "in order for natural selection to occur, reproduction must occur."(PBS) The first point helps Darwin's theory by proposing that if change happens, it happens on a mass scale. The second point helps Darwin's theory by proposing that the species must continue to exist for ch...
4 comments
Read more