The Great Chaco Taco Question

If a person eats a Chaco Taco every day of his/her life up until he or she produces an offspring will said offspring have a stronger affinity toward Chaco Tacos than similar individuals whose parent(s) did not eat daily Chaco Tacos?

This question (in various forms) has been pondered throughout history and most famously by French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. In Lamarck’s evolutionary theory, articulated in the late 1700s and early 1800s he said that, yes, the offspring would have an affinity for Chaco Tacos.

This notion of passing on acquired traits has been subsequently disproven and given way to Mendelian genetics which is has then further been understood through our expanding knowledge of DNA.

While Mendel’s mechanisms came onto the scene later Charles Darwin (who was born the year Lamarck published a book reasserting the idea that acquired traits are heritable) swooped in to save the day and our understanding of how life works from generation to generation, with the theory of evolution through natural selection.  

Well, this is the type of narrative you learn about in biology courses. In many ways it seems like Lamarck was a villain or at least an oaf for his role in telling the story of natural history. Maybe it is never intended in this way but as a high school or college kid looking for the right answers the Lamarckian fool scenario is an easy one to arrive at.

Today as I was reading The Origin of Species (on the beach btw booyah I love vacation) I was surprised to read that Darwin gave some credit to the idea of acquired traits being passed on to subsequent generations but then later in the same chapter asserts that the laws of inheritance are largely unknown.

This reading was a gentle reminder for me that understanding is usually more of a gradient than a strict delineation of correct and incorrect (and also that I shouldn’t make out Lamarck as the Syndrome to Darwin’s Mr. Incredible).  But more importantly, as in the past, it will continue to be important to approach life’s questions, big or small, with an appreciation for the fact that we don’t always know everything.

The Natural Selection

When faced with the selection of whether to eat a Chaco Taco or a Twix the choice is only natural. Chaco Taco then Twix.

Context

A friend passed this image on today and I think it does a great job of contextualizing these different scales. For more context consider today’s high temperature: 84⁰F, 29⁰C or 302K

So why K? The Kelvin scale is the ultimate at contextualizing temperature. K references where temperature is actually, or better said, absolutely zero.  Temperature is a measurement of the average energy of the molecules in an object where heat is the total energy in an object.  When K = 0 there is no energy and therefore absolutely no temperature.

Wait a minute what was that thinkgyou said about the molecules and the energy and the thing?

Context can help. I read a nice example that illustrates the difference.  Imagine a small cup of water and a bath tub. Both are filled with water of the same temperature. However the bathtub has much more heat because there is far more total energy because there are a lot more molecules in the tub than in the cup.

Okayyyyyy……?

As another example let’s take two more containers of water. Container A has 10 total molecules and container B has 50 total molecules.

Each molecule’s energy is represented by the numbers in the table.

<><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><> <><>

Container A				Container B
	6				6	7	4	9	6
	7				7	4	8	6	7
	3				3	8	6	7	3
	4				4	6	6	4	4
	9				9	6	7	8	9
	6				6	7	3	6	6
	7				9	3	4	6	7
	4				6	4	9	7	4
	8				8	7	6	3	8
	6				4	6	7	4	6
Average energy	6			Average energy	6
Total energy	60			Total energy	300

The average energy, or temperature, of the two containers is 6. However because container B has so many more molecules its total temperature is much higher.

The Kelvin temperature scale starts where there is no energy in the molecules which is why zero K is known as absolute zero.

Cooler Heads, Fire in the Belly

It’s interesting to see amateur adults compete.  You’ll see a lot of different styles and a lot of different reactions to adversity.  There are hot heads and cool heads, acceptors and negotiators. It’s important to be cool but not at the expense of the fire it takes to compete. No matter what the style I guess we’ll keep going after it, no matter the level of competition, until the fire goes out.

Back on the Line

So it turns out that a 5 year old five dollar set of ratchet straps suspended tightly between two trees isn’t quite sturdy enough to support the weight of a 200+ pound man.  It is however sufficient to carry 50-60lb human males, even concurrently.  Tomorrow I’ll stop at Home Depot to pick up a rig rated for 10,000 lbs. That should just about do it.  And for $13.96 it will be worth a try.  If not I may have to save up for a slackline made for just that purpose but at $70+ for a starter set it will be a tough pill to swallow.

Urban Bouldering and Backyard Slack Lining

Tonight I got dominated by a climbing wall built on the framework of a backyard climbing structure.  The bottom section was simple enough but the challenge can in transferring to the upper overhanging section. It was an awesome challenge and it was only about 12 ft tall.

Then the slack line.  Basically a wide braided strap cinched tight 3 ft from the ground between a tree trunk and a fencepost.  The line looked and felt tight on approach but when I first put my foot on and applied half the pressure to step up my foot found the slack in the slack line.  My entire leg began to oscillate back and forth as I increased the pressure.  Throughout the night others kept attempting the line including all of the kids. By the end of the night 3 steps was a great accomplishment and an unaided mount was a victory indeed.

None Down – About 16 to Go

I started my summer vacation at 8:30pm tonight.  After an extended day at work and a tired bus ride home I crossed the threshold into relaxation and non-employment type productivity. Let’s get to it. Tomorrow. Tonight, I sit!