Jim Menegay wrote:

> tomhendricks474{at}cs.com (TomHendricks474) wrote in message
news:...
> 
>>JM:-
>>Daisy World is a crock IMHO.  Lovelock created an
>>artificial model to illustrate the kinds of mechanisms that might lead
>>to a Gaian homeostasis.  But it would be just as easy to create a model
>>of a world that doesn't exhibit homeostasis - that is actively unstable.
>> >>
>>
>>
>>TH:-
>>I challenge you on that. Give an example.
>>
> 
> 
> OK.  Lovelock's planet has two species - black daisies that absorb sunlight
> warming the planet and white daisies that reflect sunlight cooling the 
> planet.  My example will have the same two species.
> 
> In Lovelock's world, the black daisies prefer cool temperatures and the
> white daisies prefer warm temperatures.  Suppose the sun heats up for some
> reason.  Some of the black daisies die off and the white daisies occupy 
> their territory.  This causes cooling, thus moderating the effect of the
> solar fluctuation.  Homeostasis.
> 
> In my world, which is equally likely, the black daisies prefer it hot, and
> the white daisies prefer it cool.  Now, when the sun heats up, the planet
> heats up even more than a dead planet would.  Instability.
> 
Now introduce evolution - either variation in preference or colour. 
Unless these two are highly correlated, you should get stability.

Bob

-- 
Bob O'Hara
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
P.O. Box 4 (Yliopistonkatu 5)
FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland
Telephone: +358-9-191 23743
Mobile: +358 50 599 0540
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WWW:  http://www.RNI.Helsinki.FI/~boh/

Journal of Negative Results - EEB: www.jnr-eeb.org
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