Comments on: Evolution, Immunolgy and Religion in James Cameron’s Avatar http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3 Interesting Stuff from the people of Naked Sky Tue, 4 May 2010 05:44:23 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Kylie Batt http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-433 Kylie Batt Tue, 04 May 2010 05:44:23 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-433 <strong>это прямо хаб будущего...</strong> <a href="http://www.trudogolik-ru.ru/?p=112" rel="nofollow"> </a> So I saw Avatar over last weekend and was a bit disappointed that the absolute coolest thing in the movie was glossed over in about 20 seconds of exposition..... это прямо хаб будущего…

So I saw Avatar over last weekend and was a bit disappointed that the absolute coolest thing in the movie was glossed over in about 20 seconds of exposition…..

]]> By: GMS http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-24 GMS Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:20:50 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-24 Like Andrewq, one of the first points that jumped out at me was the broad divergence in morphologies. On Pandora, all the macro-organisms that we would classify in the kingdom of animalia were endowed with six limbs, yet the humanoid creatures with four limbs evolved for some reason. The brief scene with transitional lemur-like organisms was probably the result of a consultant pointing out the incongruity. Another point of interest was of course the notion of an organic computational network -- on a global scale. As someone that studies mycology, I can't help but wonder if Cameron was inspired by our poorly understood mycorrhizal networks that permeate the soil in our own planet's varied plant/fungi based ecology -- perhaps he read Mycelium Running or attended a workshop by Paul Stamets. Also, I would contend that for such a planetary symbiosis to have evolved, the reproductive process typically selected for would have to be quite different than what we experience on Earth. Yet, we may deduce that many of the same paradigms that dominate earth-based reproductive systems were present on Pandora: presumably both angiosperms and gymnosperms were present from what I could see, and fungi that appeared to fall into the two classic earth bound classifications were represented -- basidiomycota and ascomycota. If the animal reproductive system was revealed I missed it (maybe that will be in the directors cut haahaa)... Anyway... blah blah blah... it was an science fiction movie... and the 3-D was impressive. Like Andrewq, one of the first points that jumped out at me was the broad divergence in morphologies. On Pandora, all the macro-organisms that we would classify in the kingdom of animalia were endowed with six limbs, yet the humanoid creatures with four limbs evolved for some reason. The brief scene with transitional lemur-like organisms was probably the result of a consultant pointing out the incongruity.

Another point of interest was of course the notion of an organic computational network — on a global scale. As someone that studies mycology, I can’t help but wonder if Cameron was inspired by our poorly understood mycorrhizal networks that permeate the soil in our own planet’s varied plant/fungi based ecology — perhaps he read Mycelium Running or attended a workshop by Paul Stamets.

Also, I would contend that for such a planetary symbiosis to have evolved, the reproductive process typically selected for would have to be quite different than what we experience on Earth. Yet, we may deduce that many of the same paradigms that dominate earth-based reproductive systems were present on Pandora: presumably both angiosperms and gymnosperms were present from what I could see, and fungi that appeared to fall into the two classic earth bound classifications were represented — basidiomycota and ascomycota. If the animal reproductive system was revealed I missed it (maybe that will be in the directors cut haahaa)…

Anyway… blah blah blah… it was an science fiction movie… and the 3-D was impressive.

]]> By: Ian Glendinning http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-23 Ian Glendinning Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:50:55 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-23 Interesting Josh, I was MASSIVELY disappointed with the film, the basic physics, and the physical aspects of the biology were juvenile fantasy, and the "worship" of elders and the planet-as-god Gaya-like interconnectivity was so crassly presented - so many levels wrong. There was definitely a much better story about "evolution" screaming to get out from under that film. http://www.psybertron.org/?p=3156 Interesting Josh, I was MASSIVELY disappointed with the film, the basic physics, and the physical aspects of the biology were juvenile fantasy, and the “worship” of elders and the planet-as-god Gaya-like interconnectivity was so crassly presented – so many levels wrong.

There was definitely a much better story about “evolution” screaming to get out from under that film.
http://www.psybertron.org/?p=3156

]]> By: Andrewq http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-18 Andrewq Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:47:42 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-18 My biggest beef was the humanoid aliens. Every other animal is reptilian with insectoid qualities, 2 usb ports, and 4 forelimbs. While the Navi have nothing in common with them except bioluminecent faces and bright colors. I realize they tried to explain the loss of limbs with the weird monkeys swinging around, but still kinda lame. How do you merge two hands into one and have only 1 thumb and 3 fingers? Really like your take on the whole brain planet. I think they intended to go deeper than Dances with Wolves meets Furn Gully in space. Can't wait to see what they do next! My biggest beef was the humanoid aliens. Every other animal is reptilian with insectoid qualities, 2 usb ports, and 4 forelimbs. While the Navi have nothing in common with them except bioluminecent faces and bright colors. I realize they tried to explain the loss of limbs with the weird monkeys swinging around, but still kinda lame. How do you merge two hands into one and have only 1 thumb and 3 fingers?

Really like your take on the whole brain planet. I think they intended to go deeper than Dances with Wolves meets Furn Gully in space. Can’t wait to see what they do next!

]]> By: ben.vandgrift http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-17 ben.vandgrift Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:34:25 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-17 i walked away from the movie with the following take: the entire planet was a construct created by an external intelligence (alien race), possibly as an experiment. it is a designed world. this allows for an interesting first contact movie later with the kids who designed it. i like interesting universes. i walked away from the movie with the following take: the entire planet was a construct created by an external intelligence (alien race), possibly as an experiment. it is a designed world. this allows for an interesting first contact movie later with the kids who designed it.

i like interesting universes.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-16 uberVU - social comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:37:09 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-16 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by hrjn_rss: The best review you'll read of James Cameron's Terminator 5 (oh I mean, Avatar): Comments http://url4.eu/14cO6... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by hrjn_rss: The best review you’ll read of James Cameron’s Terminator 5 (oh I mean, Avatar): Comments http://url4.eu/14cO6...

]]> By: Olexiy http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-15 Olexiy Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:33:30 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-15 Enjoyed reading it. Enjoyed reading it.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-14 uberVU - social comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:13:56 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-14 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by sixteenbits: Our new blog is up, inaugural Avatar musings by J Glazer | http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by sixteenbits: Our new blog is up, inaugural Avatar musings by J Glazer | http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3...

]]> By: Zach http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-13 Zach Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:09:35 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-13 Ever read the Foundation series by Asimov? Ever read the Foundation series by Asimov?

]]> By: Not Nymous http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3&cpage=1#comment-12 Not Nymous Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:37:31 +0000 http://www.nakedsky.com/html/Blog/?p=3#comment-12 So, in other words, it's Chrono Trigger?: http://imgur.com/21ELj.png So, in other words, it’s Chrono Trigger?: http://imgur.com/21ELj.png

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