Ep 189: The Miocene, the right teeth for the right job

Ep 189: The Miocene, the right teeth for the right job

The Miocene, the right teeth for the right job Today we chat about the Miocene. During this epoch, kelp forest spread along the shoreline, creating habitat for otters and pinnipeds. The climate cooled and forest gave way to open grassland. Those grazing animals without the right kind of teeth died out, and the early apes …

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ep 188: The Oligocene, getting cold and growing huge

ep 188: The Oligocene, getting cold and growing huge

The Oligocene, getting cold and growing huge Today we talk about the Oligocene epoch, when the climate cooled and forest gave way to areas of open land. Grass spread beyond the lake shores and river sides where it had been living, and began to spread across the landscape. Many animal types changed their bodies to …

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Ep 187: The Eocene, giant birds and proto-herds

Ep 187: The Eocene, giant birds and proto-herds

The Eocene, giant birds and proto-herds We cover the Eocene epoch, including early horses that lived in forests, but didn’t climb trees. We also had early forms of bores, rhinos, whales and primates.

Ep 186: Why would Paleocene males lay eggs?

Ep 186: Why would Paleocene males lay eggs?

Why would Paleocene males lay eggs? Today, Phil and I get back to talking about the history of life and evolution, with the Paleocene epoch. During this time the birds spread out and diversify, along with the mammals. We talk about the early versions of the hooved animals and elephants, and a few other creatures. …

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Now that’s evolution!

Now that’s evolution!

Remember six? She’s a small population of the digital creatures I implemented, called “figures.” Six has a population size of 6, thus the name, and no matter how much room there is, no matter what the maximum population size happens to be, she always has a population size of 6 figures. Meanwhile, each figure will …

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Messing with messy mutation

Messing with messy mutation

I’ve been experimenting with mutating some of the populations I had saved. To do such experiments, I had to implement mutation in the first place. I got the first form of mutation implemented on Tuesday night. It had been an interesting and long day, so I climbed into bed, ready to start experimenting in the …

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Ep 185: More rocks

Ep 185: More rocks

More rocks After episode 184, phil and I were outside on the porch. We got to chatting about the bits and pieces about geology and rocks that hadn’t fit within the last couple of episodes. So, we setup the equipment, and recorded an episode with no plan or preparation. It came out pretty good, even …

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This morning, sights, and sounds

This morning, sights, and sounds

You’d think, after a post like “Perceptions part I” that the next thing I wrote on the subject would be “Perceptions part II.” Those posts, including the one not written, are about sensory substitution and visual qualia, and my experiences over time. Today, I want to talk about today. I pull open my bottom desk …

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