Search found 444 matches
- Tue May 07, 2024 12:46 am
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
- Replies: 20
- Views: 1841
Re: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
Unfortunately, the evidence indicates that bipedalism began evolving millions of years before the earliest evidence of tool use (about 3.3 million years ago). See here: https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s12052-010-0257-6 Of course, we might have started using wooden tools...
- Thu May 02, 2024 10:09 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
- Replies: 6280
- Views: 5042905
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
OK, I understand now. That seems plausible--cats are even more sedentary, and lions are famously muscular. Everything evolves to meet the needs of it's own niche. Our niche, as you point out, was constantly running down prey and gathering plants. That presumably selects for chronic low level activit...
- Thu May 02, 2024 10:05 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
- Replies: 20
- Views: 1841
Re: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
Maybe you didn't mean it this way, but I just wanted to clarify that organisms cannot evolve features so they can then use them for some function they can't attempt until after they evolve the feature. To take one example, neither humans nor reptilians could have evolved an upright posture so that t...
- Wed May 01, 2024 5:34 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Forum Issues
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1799
Re: Forum Issues
I have a weird thing--when I submit a new post, I get sent to a blank page, with no way of getting back to the thread. I have to manually type in the main forum page, or else Google and look for it that way.
Except it's not consistent--for example that didn't happen just now.
Except it's not consistent--for example that didn't happen just now.
- Wed May 01, 2024 5:32 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
- Replies: 6280
- Views: 5042905
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
My definition of "evolution" is "involves genetic mutations, selected by natural conditions." The effects of being a couch potato are not evolution, except indirectly (via behavior and motivation). But perhaps we are talking about different things. I was responding to the idea that our ability to in...
- Wed May 01, 2024 5:22 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: I did something very evil... with outsiders and AI song generation.
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1006
Re: I did something very evil... with outsiders and AI song generation.
Needs more cowbell.
- Wed May 01, 2024 5:21 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
- Replies: 20
- Views: 1841
Re: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
As their tool use evolves, they will become less and less dependent on next fixed nest building behaviors. By the time you get to the neolithic, I imagine a bowl shaped artificial "nest" constructed out of woven fibers, sort of like an upside down human hut.
- Sun Apr 21, 2024 1:55 am
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
- Replies: 20
- Views: 1841
Re: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
Of course there wasn't, otherwise very likely we wouldn't be here. But the OP is asking for speculative origins for an intelligent, civilized reptilian race.
- Thu Apr 18, 2024 2:14 am
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
- Replies: 6280
- Views: 5042905
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
"Maybe the ability to rapidly gain and lose muscle mass is a human adaptation specific to tool-using culture? Flexibility is important to our way of life, I think." Heh, I'm reasonably certain it's a non-evolutionary outcome of a modern, sedentary lifestyle (ie, we didn't evolve to become more flexi...
- Thu Apr 18, 2024 2:07 am
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
- Replies: 20
- Views: 1841
Re: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
I think I read somewhere that the point of the upright bipedal stance is that it conserves energy such that we became marathon runners/walkers, about to run down any prey we targeted. Or at least that "run them till they drop" is one of the common hunting strategies among indigenous people. I don't ...
- Sun Apr 14, 2024 5:15 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
- Replies: 20
- Views: 1841
Re: Off Topic: Lets Make a Scifi/Fantasy Race, Reptilian
If you want to stick to earth-life, I'm of the opinion that no current reptile would plausibly evolve advanced social intelligence. You pretty much have to go back to the dinosaurs for that. Troodon is the most likely candidate, and there's even a scholarly article, by an expert in the field, specul...
- Thu Mar 21, 2024 8:27 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Congrats Arioch! Turns Out Your Torchdrive Has A Real Life Counterpart!
- Replies: 1
- Views: 4109
Re: Congrats Arioch! Turns Out Your Torchdrive Has A Real Life Counterpart!
You can read more about them at Atomic Rockets, here: https://projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/enginelist2.php#nswr "Zubrin calculates that the 20% enriched uranium tetrabromide will produce a specific impulse of about 7000 seconds (69,000 m/s exhaust velocity), which is comparable to an ion drive....
- Fri Feb 23, 2024 10:06 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Replace Alex With a Gigachad Who Acted Like A Gig... How Would The Story Be Different? Funny and Serious Answers Welcome
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3540
- Tue Feb 20, 2024 9:54 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Are Loroi Women Better Than Human Women?
- Replies: 48
- Views: 337888
Re: Are Loroi Women Better Than Human Women?
"Humans use a variety of sex toys... quite a variety for both genders... none of which I'm aware of are heated." Actually some of them are, though texture seems to matter more than temperature. Anyone else thinking of this Not the 9 o'clock new sketch? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VgwxKW0J6I Th...
- Thu Feb 08, 2024 1:12 am
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Are Loroi Women Better Than Human Women?
- Replies: 48
- Views: 337888
Re: Are Loroi Women Better Than Human Women?
"Humans use a variety of sex toys... quite a variety for both genders... none of which I'm aware of are heated."
Actually some of them are, though texture seems to matter more than temperature.
Actually some of them are, though texture seems to matter more than temperature.
- Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:56 am
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: page 196: Crossfire
- Replies: 61
- Views: 26212
Re: page 196: Crossfire
Ah yes, I see from the rules that the pieces actually represent space ships for the most part. It would be cool to spec up a set of miniatures for this game.
- Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:55 am
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
- Replies: 6280
- Views: 5042905
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
I seem to remember Arioch stating that humans and Loroi are not genetically related. That we were used as a physical template for visible characteristics, but the Loroi genetic code isn't derived from ours.
- Sun Feb 04, 2024 11:02 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
- Replies: 6280
- Views: 5042905
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
You could ask the Farseer if she thinks she detected something during the fraction of a second that a ship is in hyperspace, but even if she says 'yes,' there's no way I can think of to test whether this detection was real or imagined. I my "theory" about "farseeing" i don´t think minds do have an ...
- Sun Feb 04, 2024 10:58 pm
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
- Replies: 6280
- Views: 5042905
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
"Jumping ships are only in hyperspace for a fraction of a second, so I think this would be difficult to prove one way or another." What's true of the ships is also true of the minds, not so? What I mean is that even if telepathy and farsensing do work between hyperspace and real spacetime, I don't ...
- Fri Feb 02, 2024 1:11 am
- Forum: Outsider Discussion
- Topic: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
- Replies: 6280
- Views: 5042905
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
"Jumping ships are only in hyperspace for a fraction of a second, so I think this would be difficult to prove one way or another."
What's true of the ships is also true of the minds, not so?
What's true of the ships is also true of the minds, not so?