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Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology: Difference between revisions
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Below are some attempts at conceiving of what plant life and other foreign life would be encountered in the Wilderness. | Below are some attempts at conceiving of what plant life and other foreign life would be encountered in the Wilderness. First we start with real organisms, and then we move to the speculative realm. | ||
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==Strange life forms== | ==Strange life forms== | ||
{{Pullquote|On and on it goes. It seems the more you learn, the less and less and less and less and less you know.|Apollo Sunshine, "The Egg"}} | |||
===Plants=== | ===Plants=== | ||
Let's look at real plants to get some inspiration. It seems that peering into nature closely only demonstrates how incapable we are of imagining anything stranger or more alien than the actual life that exists on this planet -- plants that hear, plants that eat meat, plants that don't need soil.... Here's some stand-out examples. | Let's look at real plants to get some inspiration. It seems that peering into nature closely only demonstrates how incapable we are of imagining anything stranger or more alien than the actual life that exists on this planet -- plants that hear, plants that eat meat, plants that don't need soil.... Here's some stand-out examples. | ||
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*The [http://www.wired.com/2015/02/absurd-creature-of-the-week-scaly-foot-snail/ scaly-foot snail] uses bacteria to build iron armor! | *The [http://www.wired.com/2015/02/absurd-creature-of-the-week-scaly-foot-snail/ scaly-foot snail] uses bacteria to build iron armor! | ||
*The [[wp:File:Axolotl.jpg| | *The [[wp:File:Axolotl.jpg|axolotl]] — it's just weird. | ||
*[[wp:Flying_gurnard|Flying gurnard]] is a fish with (ornamental) wings. | *[[wp:Flying_gurnard|Flying gurnard]] is a fish with (ornamental) wings. | ||
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*Scientific American: [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=crows-show-off-social-skills Crows Show Off Social Skills] — A general review of bird intelligence, though it conspicuously leaves out New Caledonian crows. | *Scientific American: [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=crows-show-off-social-skills Crows Show Off Social Skills] — A general review of bird intelligence, though it conspicuously leaves out New Caledonian crows. | ||
==Daodan enhancements== | |||
===Senses=== | |||
*Various animals have senses that humans do not, such as infrared/heat perception (vampire bats), magnetoception (squids, birds?), sonar MRIs (dolphins).... | |||
*It’s been well established by scientists that we do in fact have more than five physical senses, but they’re still discovering new ones. Now it looks like we can smell [http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/1966-personality-traits-affect-smell.html personality] and [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/dec/04/smell-fear-research-pheromone emotions]. | |||
===Intelligence=== | |||
If the Daodan organism infects all life on Earth, and it auto-evolves its hosts mentally and not just physically, what effect would this have on animals as they try to out-evolve competitors? A few thoughts: | |||
*These factors have been suggested in the evolution of human intelligence: climate change (forests turning into more complex and dangerous savannahs), sociality (leading to complex group dynamics), the EDSC hypothesis (once mastery of environment is mostly achieved, a species begins competing with itself, leading to an IQ arms race), increased consumption of dopamine from meat/shellfish (leading to the development of reward pathways that fueled greater intellectual experimentation). | |||
*Could a dinosaur species have become the world’s intelligence specialist instead of humans, if they were not replaced by mammals — ''Dino sapiens''? There were two-legged dinosaurs with workable arms like Deinocheirus mirificus. | |||
*Candidates for human-level intelligence: A social oceanic life form like dolphins might be a great candidate, but they cannot master their environment without tools, and tools require manipulators. Squid and octopuses have ten and eight tentacles, but most are not social. Humboldt squid are social hunters, however they only live one year, so they have little time to learn from life or from family. Humboldts are strangely aggressive towards humans and unknown objects; when fighting with Mexican fishers, they flash red and white, giving them the name ''diablos rojos''; they are also cannibalistic. Over the next century, ocean acidification will force Humboldts to live in shallower waters.... Octopuses are noted to have distinct personalities, and live in coral reefs, which are complex environments. They are also smart enough to exhibit [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3328480/Otto-the-octopus-wrecks-havoc.html play behavior] and use [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os6HD-sCRn8 complex camouflaging techniques]. Squids and cuttlefish, with their signaling, have far superior communication abilities which could support complex language. But cuttlefish live 1 year, squid and octopuses live 2-4 years, and they do not get to learn from their parents. What if the Daodan extended their lifespans? Also important to note that recently the gloomy octopus has been discovered to live in small colonies that are built up over successive generations. Can tools be passed on in this environment? On land, bears and raccoons are very intelligent and might develop better manipulation over time. They learn from their parents and may even have self-awareness. Rats are surprisingly smart and have tiny fingers. Perhaps two species can learn to cooperate to overcome their individual shortcomings, and then evolve together. | |||
==To develop== | ==To develop== | ||