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Fear of Snakes May Have Driven Pre-Human Evolution

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the snakes-on-a-plane dept.

Krishna Dagli writes "An evolutionary arms race between early snakes and mammals triggered the development of improved vision and large brains in primates, a radical new theory suggests. The idea, proposed by Lynne Isbell, an anthropologist at the University of California, Davis, suggests that snakes and primates share a long and intimate history, one that forced both groups to evolve new strategies as each attempted to gain the upper hand. Early primates developed a better eye for color, detail and movement and the ability to see in three dimensions — traits that are important for detecting threats at close range. Humans are descended from those same primates. "

3 of 553 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I knew that already... by plague3106 · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Ugh. No, the people that came up with the stories in the bible had a fear of snakes, likely because this rivalry is still a part of us. Its call instinct, it doesn't mean that there is a god.

  2. How to become a popular scientologist by Rinisari · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    1. Dream up a far-fetched 'theory' that Joe public can understand and involves strong emotions
    2. Seek publicity
    3. ....
    4. Sue anyone who makes fun of you
    5. Profit!
    6. Increase thetan levels!

    --
    Colin Dean Go a year without DRM
  3. Re:I knew that already... by squiggleslash · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    It's a funny thing in some ways. There are two problems with worshiping God:

    1. The lack of evidence that He exists.
    2. The fact the major piece of literature that describes who God is, namely The Bible, describes Him, quite frankly, as an utter and complete arsehole.

    Before anyone thinks I'm being blasphemous, I'm merely pointing out what The Bible says, whether it's a legitimate portrayal is open to question (especially by us atheists, who doesn't actually believe in Him), but if the Bible is saying, for example, that all women are punished because of something one woman did, then that doesn't exactly paint a picture of a just, rational, decent being. It paints a picture of a 14 year old boy with a copy of "SimUniverse" and no responsibilities.

    But on the other hand, the Bible says that man was created in God's image. You can interpret that many ways. Humanity isn't exactly perfect.

    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.