Wikipedia is awesome

[lordaristar]

This isn't a link to wikipedia - it's a link from wikipedia.

That these exist is a decent argument for the evolution, rather than the intelligent design, of the eye.

Comments

[square721bt]

Scallop eyes?

[lordaristar]

Yeah! They're kind of Lovecraftian.

[neoeva01]

I don't get the point either. All that link proves is that Scallops have eyes and that I don't want to meet a live one without a layer of glass seperating us.

[lordaristar]

I thought it was pretty awesome. The whole thing about evolution and intelligent design was really secondary to how frickin' neat scallop eyes are.

And I meant that the existence of scallop eyes (since there are so many, they're very simple, and they regenerate) is a decent argument for the evolution of the eye, not that the article is. I'll edit it to make that more clear.

[uv_searching]

not to be the nay-sayer, but...

while i found the images scary and VERY lovecraft-ian;

It seems to not be inline with the hoped for argument of "proving" the evolution of the eye. I mean, we have many creatures with very simple eyes already. I think that you'd need something a step or two back from even this to get to that point. The how of getting nerves to deliver these, &c.

[lordaristar]

The thing about these eyes is that they offer immediate emotional impact, but are simple enough to be regenerated when they are damaged or lost. Other simple eyes, like those of a slug, don't look like eyes, so they don't have that emotional kick. And that emotional kick - that "this feels right" intuition - seems to be a key part of the intelligent design argument whenever I hear it.