Intelligence is not the “end goal” of evolution, it’s a trait (or several) that is expensive and not always worth the cost. What do pandas need intelligence for in their natural environment, and how the hell would they fund such a thing calorically off a diet of bamboo?
Evolutionary failure is not why they’re at risk of extinction (it’s human mass deforestation and breeding windows that work perfectly well in nature but don’t cope well with the captivity we forced upon them).
That’s not how evolution works, there is no backwards, because that would require a “correct” direction; all that matters with evolution is survival.
I know you’re probably joking, but I tire of this narrative more every time I see it. I find it to be arrogant in the extreme the way that we’ve destroyed panda habitats, blamed them for being unable to adapt to the captivity we subsequently inflicted on them, and then normalized the idea that they somehow “deserve” to go extinct for it when they were doing just fine before we fucked it up.
The evolutionary process probably went much more along the lines of “I can sacrifice intelligence and many of my speed/fine motor functions and in exchange I gain a food source with zero competition”. That’s not a terrible trade, and it’s not particularly different from what something like a koala or sloth is doing. If the deforestation happened slowly, evolution could also probably unfuck the situation too, but we humans change shit too fast for evolutionary timescales to mean a damn thing.
Again, I understand you’re making a joke. But I’ve been hearing this particular “joke” for the better part of 20 years (and I’m sure it’s been going longer) and this “joke” has normalized a view on the situation that I think is highly skewed and massively egotistical. By making this joke you perpetuate this normalization, so I feel that it’s required of me to call it out. I don’t think you’re personally to blame for it or anything like that; this isn’t an attack. I just want to make clear the reality of the situation to anyone unfamiliar with how the common narrative differs from the real world.
Intelligence is not the “end goal” of evolution, it’s a trait (or several) that is expensive and not always worth the cost. What do pandas need intelligence for in their natural environment, and how the hell would they fund such a thing calorically off a diet of bamboo?
Evolutionary failure is not why they’re at risk of extinction (it’s human mass deforestation and breeding windows that work perfectly well in nature but don’t cope well with the captivity we forced upon them).
That’s not how evolution works, there is no backwards, because that would require a “correct” direction; all that matters with evolution is survival.
I know you’re probably joking, but I tire of this narrative more every time I see it. I find it to be arrogant in the extreme the way that we’ve destroyed panda habitats, blamed them for being unable to adapt to the captivity we subsequently inflicted on them, and then normalized the idea that they somehow “deserve” to go extinct for it when they were doing just fine before we fucked it up.
“I’m a bear. What am I going to eat? Oh wait, I know, I’m going to eat the thing with the lowest nutritional value possible.”
I am against captivity of animals in general. The argument you complain about is not the argument I make.
Indeed I am.
Pandas are a political influential power for China, indeed we completely fucked up and pandas did nothing to deserve this fate.
The evolutionary process probably went much more along the lines of “I can sacrifice intelligence and many of my speed/fine motor functions and in exchange I gain a food source with zero competition”. That’s not a terrible trade, and it’s not particularly different from what something like a koala or sloth is doing. If the deforestation happened slowly, evolution could also probably unfuck the situation too, but we humans change shit too fast for evolutionary timescales to mean a damn thing.
Again, I understand you’re making a joke. But I’ve been hearing this particular “joke” for the better part of 20 years (and I’m sure it’s been going longer) and this “joke” has normalized a view on the situation that I think is highly skewed and massively egotistical. By making this joke you perpetuate this normalization, so I feel that it’s required of me to call it out. I don’t think you’re personally to blame for it or anything like that; this isn’t an attack. I just want to make clear the reality of the situation to anyone unfamiliar with how the common narrative differs from the real world.
I’ve enjoyed and appreciated reading both of your messages people.