'How/Why' questions on nature and life.. ;)

salami1212

salami1212

salami1212

Soldato
Joined
3 Jul 2005
Posts
3,027
Ok, questions for you. I know why fish travel in schools, im just wondering how they can move instantly at the same time and each fish knows which way to go?

If they can detect the water vibrations, then which fish chooses where to go? Its like they are 1 mind.

Also how do animals know where to go in their mating seasons?

How do turtles know to swim to the sea when they are born? Instinct?

What is blushing? Why do we blush? To show our guilt to someone? Whats the purpose of that in nature?

Why is water the only substance which expands when frozen?

I will come up with more if anyones interested in discussing.
 
salami1212 said:
What is blushing? Why do we blush? To show our guilt to someone? Whats the purpose of that in nature?
Click to expand...

Unless my information is out of date, it's because of an increased blood flow to the brain during emotionally stressful situations. Because of our evolutionary niche, the human brain has evolved far beyond the complexity required by nature, and even slight evolution in complexity of the neural network causes far-reaching developments through the process of emergence. I believe conscious thought, along with our more esoteric emotions, are a byproduct of this same phenomenon, and they serve no purpose in the natural world. Anyway, the complexity of the brain as an organ has outstripped its ability to effectivemy manage itself with the body's resources, so curious little phenomena like this are quite common - deja vu is my personal favourite.

salami1212 said:
Why is water the only substance which expands when frozen?
Click to expand...

It's to do with the charge balance across the molecules, I believe. A positive charge distribution towards the oxygen component aligns with the negative distribution towards the hydrogen poles, forming a crystalline structure that takes up much more space than when the individual molecules vibrate at a higher frequency, as they do in liquid form.

Amateur answers, not to be taken as gospel and I've ignored the ones I can't guess at, but the answers are out there, I'm sure. In particular, the 'hive mind' phenomenon is quite common, especially amongst insect species.
 
I don't really understand the evolutionary advantage of complex emotions, it's something that i've always seen as a competitive disadantage
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom