Creek Running North 大自然 Convergent evolution revisited

March 6, 2006

Convergent evolution revisited

As is appropriate for a good dog belonging to inspiring men, Tito has spurred a bit of thoughtful conversation with his passing. In response to PZ Myers’ note on Carl and Hank’s loss, commenter Skeptyk observes:

PZ, dogs have been a wildly successful species, I think because their genes have exploited ours. So, are they symbiotes, parasites, parasitoids? I am a happy host and alpha dog stand-in for these guys. Neoteny? Survival of the cutest?

And that reminded me of something I wrote long ago. If I had to choose one piece from among all of my early writing to survive past my lifetime, I think I’d pick Convergent Evolution. I see passages there, a decade after writing, that I would now rearrange. But it’s still one of the pieces of writing of which I am most proud.

I offer it here today for Carl and Hank, and for Tito.

Posted by: Chris Clarke

Categories:
Zeke
Coyote
Pets
Family
Paleontology
Blogging

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What a haunting, beautifully expressed, beautifully crafted piece. I don’t understand how you do it-such clear sight you have, of yourself, of the world, of your place in it. It’s a lovely tribute to Tito and his people, and to Zeke, and to their-and our-ancestors.

Thank you for linking to it-I’d missed it in my poking around the archives.

1
By: Stephanie
on March 6, 2006
at 04:39 PM

I see you didn’t have an awnser for me about why you think this forum is Kofax worthy. Instead, more non-politcal irrelevant stuff. Why should anyone vote for this blog? Where is the progressiveness? It’s all fucking camping and birds. Why aren’t you findrasing for the Democratic Party?

2
By: Still not impressed
on March 6, 2006
at 05:20 PM

it is a beautiful piece.

3
By: kathy a
on March 6, 2006
at 07:02 PM

Ah, thank you Chris. If love of the world won’t save us, I don’t know what will.

4
By: Kat
on March 6, 2006
at 07:04 PM

Thank you, all.

and S.N.I., one sentence in your comment seems unclear.

It’s all fucking camping and birds.

Did you mean to put a comma after “fucking”? Because I really don’t post about fucking all that much.

5
By: Chris Clarke
on March 6, 2006
at 07:11 PM

Yeah, fuck birds! What have they ever done for us (except be dinosaurs, because that was pretty rad)? They don’t even support the Democrats! What, do they WANT to go extinct?

Fuck birds.

6
By: Allison
on March 7, 2006
at 12:24 AM

“If the Spotted Owl can’t adapt, screw it.”
—Rush Limbaugh

7
By: Jym Dyer
on March 7, 2006
at 01:55 AM

Great post!

I misread the part about you playing on the kitchen floor with your brother, wrestling matches. I had this image in my head of the two of you on the kitchen floor with a bunch of matchsticks, pretending they were wrestlers. Wrestlers with no arms or legs. And I thought that gave me flash of insight into how you got to be the way you are.

I read it wrong.

8
By: Rain
on March 7, 2006
at 10:04 AM