this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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When you say something is “red” it’s actually every color except red since red is the color being reflected off the object. (discuss.tchncs.de)
submitted 1 year ago by BitterSweet@discuss.tchncs.de to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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What’s your new favorite color now???

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[–] 4am@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

In other words:

  • eyes that worked well in those color frequencies we know as “visible light” were able to find food and dodge danger better.
  • Those creatures lived longer and had babies who shared those traits
  • eyes that were more sensitive to other frequencies couldn’t work as well due to the environment they existed in, and as a result didn’t survive as well.
  • Not as many of them left to mate (hell, could have had a hard time even finding a mate!)

This is how natural selection optimizes life traits. It takes hundreds of thousands of generations for profound effects to emerge. You’re currently at the bleeding edge of life tech. Enjoy the details!

[–] fubo@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Eyes have evolved in several separate animal lineages. You, a bee, an octopus, and a box-jellyfish all have eyes, but their most recent common ancestors did not have eyes. Your eyes are different in many ways from those other species', but they all have to make use of sunlight filtered through a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere and water. So it's unsurprising that they end up with some similar "design" features.