On Thu, 23 Mar 2000 10:03:08 -0500 Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]>
writes:

> Maybe you and Gordon should try to agree on what "advanced" means
> first.  I don't think it means or implies "more valuable" or
> "more important."  In a classroom, for example, an advanced
> student is neither more important nor more valuable than anyone
> else.
>
> As far as I can tell, "advanced" just means "ahead of most
> others" on some continuum.  But if you don't identify what that
> continuum is, it doesn't mean much of anything.

OK....point taken......and I'm operating from what may be a
false assumption......I'm assuming Gordon is referring to
human life as more "advanced" than other lifeforms...such
as earth worms and/or bacteria................................
humans have developed into lifeforms which can exist
in almost any environment........from the hot jungles to
the frozen poles......humans can walk erect....which
other primates can only do for short distances....humans
can run....but not as fast as some other animals......
humans can swim....but not as fast as some aquatic
animals.....humans can climb....but not as well as some
other animals.......humans are perhaps the most adaptable
of all lifeforms.....................
But I still question the use of the term "advanced".....
if this harks back to the textbooks I saw in high
school that depicted lifeforms on a continum from
simple....such as a flatworm....to complex...such
as a human being........

I still don't think I would agree
with the assumption that humans are more "advanced"
........let me try it this way......gorillas are not "failed"
humanoids.....gorillas are as advanced on their own
genetic path as humans are on theirs......

We.....humans....are not the penultimate goal of
evolution.......we just happen to be the critters
that developed the ability to "conquer" the world
before any other critter developed that ability.

That said.......my ancestors didn't spend thousands
of years climbing up the food-chain to become
successful omnivorous predators just to have me
revert to a vegetarian primate.    The only
vegetarian primates are still living in the trees.....
and some of them have been know to eat meat
on occasion..........................

[log in to unmask]

________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.