Re: The opposite..

fields wrote:

PTD wrote:
> fields wrote:
> >
> > > I'm not convinced that you mean "devolved".
> >
> > > Why not? It got semantically bleached (that's a technical term) from a
> > > highly specific sense to a general (one might say debased) one -- the
> > > opposite of evolution.
> >
> > But evolution is not a directed process, and the opposite of
> evolution
> is stasis.
>
> Are you claiming that semantic bleaching is a "directed process,"
> whatever that would be?

No, I made no representations on the topic of "semantic bleaching" at all.

Then what were you referring to as not being a directed process?
Biological evolution was never under consideration, so your entire
quasi-learned disquisition is irrelevant. (Readers of this newsgroup are
quite familiar with your squid-like habit of throwing up a smokescreen
of elaborate discussions of something completely irrelevant to the
topic, to cover up the fact that you made a mistake.)

> And no, if evolution is a net decrease in entropy, then its opposite is
> not stasis, but a net increase in entropy.
> --
> Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx

This last statement is worth saving, but I'm not sure whether you
realize the level of humor involved.

You have a choice now. Either rely upon your use of the conditional and
admit that this was irrelevant to my statement, semantically equivalent
to "If evolution is pizza with green olives then its opposite is pizza
with black olives", or accept a failing grade for the day in biology,
physics, and lexicography. The former is the more honorable stance.

I'm not concerned with relevance to _your_ statement, only to my
statement that the meaning of "fascism" devolved from something highly
specific to something highly general. If you don't see the connection
between entropy and specificity, then you've not understood the
applications of the concept of entropy that have been made in
information theory.

A net decrease in entropy is an imaginary beast trotted out by
creationists as a wishful attempt to use their misunderstanding of
thermodynamics to argue against biology. Local temporary decreases in
the entropy of a system are always driven by a net increase in the
entropy of that system's surroundings.

Claude Shannon was a creationist?

Evolution does not mean a net decrease in entropy in any case, and is
completely neutral on the topic of entropy. Evolution is just change.
The specific change meant in biology is change in the genetic make-up
and patterns of genetic exchange of a population, across
generations--sometimes leading to two or more sub-populations which no
longer exchange genetic materials with each other Evolution includes
"simplifications" like the formation of the simple chambers of the
nautilus from the incredibly detailed interlinked chambers of ammonites
(e.g. http://www.twoguysfossils.com/images/amm_onstand19.jpg,
http://tellmewhereonearth.com/Web%20Pages/Pendants/Pendants%20Photos/ammonitecanada1.JPG).

Yes, biology uses the word devolution, to mean the degeneration of a
structure within a single living organism. Outside of biology, it means
inheritance, delegation, or simply passage through time. Its
introduction into biology is exactly the semantic change you seem to be
so keen to tell us about. But it isn't the opposite of evolution, and
the sense in which you tried to define it is just evolution.

The opposite of evolution is lack of change, i.e. stasis, and the
observation of this polarity is generally attributed to Stephen Jay
Gould s.v. "punctuated equilibrium".

Then I'd recommend that you, too, look in an ordinary desk dictionary to
discover the current ordinary meaning of "devolution."
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: The opposite..
    ... >>> opposite of evolution. ... but a net increase in entropy. ... A net decrease in entropy is an imaginary beast trotted out by creationists as a wishful attempt to use their misunderstanding of thermodynamics to argue against biology. ...
    (rec.music.classical)
  • Re: everybody launch once, face legally, then specify as to the tutor apart from the borough
    ... evolution achieves steadily. ... technical assessment. ... Her sort was socialist, average, and evaluates opposite the ...
    (sci.crypt)
  • Re: The opposite..
    ... >>> opposite of evolution. ... >> But evolution is not a directed process, ... Then what were you referring to as not being a directed process? ... not a well-defined concept used in biology. ...
    (rec.music.classical)
  • Re: The opposite..
    ... >>> opposite of evolution. ... >> But evolution is not a directed process, ... Then what were you referring to as not being a directed process? ... thermodynamics to argue against biology. ...
    (rec.music.classical)
  • Re: The opposite..
    ... >>> opposite of evolution. ... Then what were you referring to as not being a directed process? ... thermodynamics to argue against biology. ...
    (rec.music.classical)