> Gordon wrote... Or are they just very smart animals who know better than to
>     refuse the luxury of riding along in life with the most advanced species on
>     earth?
>
>
> Lois wrote... What is your definition of "advanced"?  Do you have any documented proof that humans are the most "advanced" species on
> earth?  If you do, whose guidelines are you using?
>
> Gordon Wrote:
> Are you suggesting that bacteria are more advanced than humans because
> bacteria have been on the earth longer?
>
No. The point I was trying to make was that the term
"advanced" is relative.  One could state that bacteria are
"advanced" in that they are diverse, complex assemblages of
organic molecules.  They are "advanced" in that ultimately,
they gave rise to not only us, but millions upon millions of
species-and have proven that they will continue to do so.
It all depends on how you look at something when you lable
it as "advanced".  Are bacteria advanced in their evolution
in that they can adapt to the many environmental changes
that have occured in the life of Earth, and that the
methanogens, thermoacidophiles and halophiles can survive
today in conditions that would snuff out all human life?
That sounds advanced to me, but perhaps not to you. (I dunno
- seems like a Mars/Venus thing to me.)

> I don't think so, and in any case I think it is interesting that you suggest
> that I never studied evolution but you make the mistake of comparing
> "bacteria" to "humans".
>
Again, you missed the point as well as misquoted.  If you
reread carefully, I never made any comparison of humans and
bacteria on a taxonomic level; it was made in terms of
longevity. Again, the point was about the use and context of
the word "advanced".

> In case you don't know, Lois, we humans are a single unique SPECIES (Homo
> Sapiens). The word "bacteria", however, is used normally in reference to an
> entire CLASS or even to the entire KINGDOM of Monera. It is a gross error to
> compare a single species to an entire class or kingdom as you have done
> here.
>
Reread - I never said bacteria were a species.  And again, I
was not making a comparison of organisms taxonomically, I
was simply trying to make a point about the definition of
the term "advanced". (By the way, the kingdom Monera was
overthrown some15 or so years ago by the the kingdoms
Archaebacteria and Eubacteria.)

Lois

> -gts
>
>