If Humans Are So Good At Evolution

[Doofus]

Then why haven't we evolved the ability to sleep on our sides without one of our arms getting in the way?

[FredericRobinson]

Why haven't more (any?) creatures got 360 degree vision! That'd be an advantage for hunters and hunted

[AlexC1981]

Try this, it's my preferred position.

[glazbagun]

FredericRobinson said:

Why haven't more (any?) creatures got 360 degree vision! That'd be an advantage for hunters and hunted

Think some birds do. But they use different parts of their brain for each field of vision. In fact I think some have a side that is better for hunting and one that is better for danger awareness.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

FredericRobinson said:

Why haven't more (any?) creatures got 360 degree vision! That'd be an advantage for hunters and hunted

Evolution is usually a selection of advantages and sacrifices. Eg, animals that can fly are rubbish at running. Animals that run fast can't fly. In evolving one thing, something else had to lose out.

Vision uses up a lot of brain processing power as it is. maybe 360 degree vision would use up so much processing power, that in order to run it, reactions and decision making would be slower. Better for a gazelle to be a bit later in seeing the lion but react in a flash, rather than seeing it sooner but not having the sense to run straight away.

[warch]

FredericRobinson said:

Why haven't more (any?) creatures got 360 degree vision! That'd be an advantage for hunters and hunted

Many prey animals do have almost 360 degree vision. You can tell this because their eyes are usually on the sides of their heads, like sheep, deer, cattle etc have. There are usually blindspots to the front and rear, which is why you never approach a horse or cow from these angles (ooer!). The problem with this is that this gives very poor depth perception, which is important for hunting animals, which usually have both eyes facing forward, giving binocular vision and decent depth perception. Cats, dogs, birds of prey, even Tyrannosaurs had exactly this sort of arrangement.


Evolution is purely a process of what traits get passed down to the next generation. Some traits aren't even advantages, hence why humans are plagued with dental problems, simply because our jaws are too small for our apelike assortment of teeth.

[Sheets Tabuer]

Why do you want to sleep on your side? Star fishing is the way forward.

[67Dino]

You can take Evolution too far you know...



Oops, wrong thead. Will move to ‘Badly Modified Cars’ thread.

[Mothersruin]

Seems to be survival of the fattest now.

The human gene pool is full of pond life nowadays.

[magooagain]

Must be a uk thing,as I see many Europeans asleep on beaches and the side they sleep on the arm is tucked out the back and not wrapped around the head etc like Brits do.

[4x4Tyke]

It's all down to the environment.

[ApOrbital]

I sleep where i lay my hat.

[Doofus]

4x4Tyke said:

It's all down to the environment.

So there was a point in the evolution of all three nations, where we all had massive boners?

[Long Drax]

Doofus said:

4x4Tyke said:

It's all down to the environment.

So there was a point in the evolution of all three nations, where we all had massive boners?

I guess I must be just some sort of evolutionary throwback.

[Second Best]

Of course we can sleep on our sides, just use the "superman" position. One arm up and over the missus, just means you sleep at a slight angle in the bed rather than perfectly parallel to the sides.

Evolution does manifest itself in different ways. For example, chickens have evolved to keep their heads in the same place even if you move their bodies. Think it's called head tracking, see gif below.



While this looks interesting, humans have the same ability, just not in such an extreme way. Look at your eyes in a mirror and start to wander around and move your head. Your eyes will remain affixed on their reflection and reflexively adjust to your movements.

[glenrobbo]

ApOrbital said:

I sleep where i lay my hat.

Is it a flat hat?