31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
How Do Flatlanders Move?
None of this actually explains how Flatlanders move. We
know various things about their locomotion; that
travelling somewhere involves some form of effort, that
it is harder to travel North than in other directions,
especially for women, and that femails "undulate" as they
travel, although this is more of a safety measure
than a necessity.
A mundane explanation, but one that causes a few
problems, is the use of very short cilia-like mobile hairs
for propulsion. This assumes that Flatland ai...20 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Evolution of the Eye
A possible sequence of such changes begins with simple eyespots made
of light-sensitive pigment, as seen in flatworms. The skin then folds in,
forming a cup that protects the eyespot and allows it to better localize
the light source. Limpets have eyes like this. In the chambered nautilus,
we see a further narrowing of the cup’s opening to produce an improved
image, and in ragworms the cup is capped by a protective transparent
cover to protect the opening. In abalones, part of the fluid in t...A simple series of adaptive steps explain the evolution of eyes over time.