Post #3048363
2025-08-03 16:40 UTC
Replies (5)
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@paninid@mastodon.world 2025-08-03 16:44
@ramsey@phpc.social The lineage of cetaceans like humpbacks pre-date Homo sapiens by tens of millions of years, so if we were witnessing that it would be incredible evolutionary timing.
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@midgephoto@photog.social 2025-08-03 19:31
@ramsey@phpc.social @paninid@mastodon.world Evolution doesn't run that fast. Learning does. So cultural development is perhaps more learned, software, than evolved as firmware.
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@folfdk@helvede.net 2025-08-03 20:20
@ramsey@phpc.social I would hesitate to guess that it is the other way around. That we are observing a trait much more common and ancient than previous studies have reported. So, as we have common ancestry with the whales, that trait was already present much longer ago (And yes, I realize this would invalidate your point about how we out competed the other hominids) Cc @paninid@mastodon.world
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@Linza@kamu.social 2025-08-03 20:30
@ramsey@phpc.social @paninid@mastodon.world It's far more likely we've only now evolved the ability to not be self-centred assholes and notice these things happening around us.
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@Iwillyeah@mastodon.ie 2025-08-03 21:34
@ramsey@phpc.social @paninid@mastodon.world it would have to be arguable as we don't know that other homo species didn't have comparable empathy levels. Aren't there even skeletons of large ancient cat species that lived to old age despite career ending injuries, only possible because other family members allowed them to feed with them and perhaps even brought them food? Cats!