Evolutionary Advancement Chart

[Hunter Parasite]

I was bored so what the heck, im gonna make an evolutionary advancement chart.

Stage I-Primordial life
Life consisting of single celled organisms, as well as simple multi-celled organisms. Examples are worms and jelly fish

Stage II-Advanced life
Multi-celled life consisting of fish, reptiles, simple mammals, and insects

Stage III-Primitive cultures
Lifeforms who have formed a basic social system, and have created and used simple tools

Stage IV-Moderate Culture
Cultures who have made use of Mobile vehicles, and Natural elements like fire and water. They also excel in the field of Archutecture, and travel in previously unaccessable areas such as the Sky and Bodies of water. Also, warfare has been increase with the invention of firearms. We are a perfect example

Stage V-Moderatly Advanced culture
A society that has advanced beyond conventional means of transportation, warfare, archutecture, and communication. Warfare is nearly needless for it was discovered that peace can be made easly by negotiation.

Stage VI-Highly advanced Race
A race that has harnessed the power of pure energy such as, solar, kinetic, and has evolved to the point that their brains have devoloped enough to allow them to posess psycokinetic abilitys

[ElChristou]

and then... BBBBOOOOOMMMMM...
...return to Stage I...

[Hunter Parasite]

yep

Im adding another stage

Stage VII-Complete Society(Very unlikey)
The society has advanced to the point of which nothing else can be learned. The society has all the knowledge in the universe and They begin to share their knowldege with other civilizations

[ajtribick]

fish, reptiles, simple mammals, and insects

Ah, so you are assuming that these concepts can be applied to other evolutionary histories.

How quaint.

[Hunter Parasite]

fish, reptiles, simple mammals, and insects

Ah, so you are assuming that these concepts can be applied to other evolutionary histories.

How quaint.

I see your point. How about this. this only applies with earth-like lifeforms. I've gotta fix some errors.

[ajtribick]

I see your point. How about this. this only applies with earth-like lifeforms. I've gotta fix some errors.

Why not read Evolving The Alien by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen (it also is published as What Does A Martian Look Like?) - it's quite entertaining and makes an interesting case for the possible diversity of alien life.

[Hunter Parasite]

good idea. thanks! ive really dont have anything to read now anyways. Entertaining and a learning experience. just what i need.

[Dracontes]

Since I am an "amateur" biologist I obviously have my own ideas on the subject so here goes nothing:

1. Unique molecular assemblages capable of processing molecules, capture energy and perform most of the tasks cells do.
Most specialization here is chemical at the most fundamental level as this step determins what substances are the mainstay of the creatures' constitution (protein, hidrocarbons, lipids and nucleic acids in our case).

2. Reproducing procaryote-like cells, derived from self-enclosed molecular assemblages, with one or more clumps of genetic material floating inside a cellular membrane's premises.
The specialization here is mainly at the nutrition level as through evolution these creatures find new ways of capturing organic material and harnessing energy, of which photosynthesis and cellular respiration are an example.

3. Eucaryote-like cells, derived from procaryote-like organisms, with cellular compartments that are more of less fixed in time due to the presence of a cell skeleton and cellular membrane invaginations. These may acquire organelles by endosymbiotic relationships with procaryotoids.
Specialization here is mainly morphological with new structures arising to cope with the environment.

4. Multicelular creatures, derived either from eucaryotoids or procaryotoids, whose cells are linked forming tissues that have specific functions: movement (if any), sensing, food processing, excretion and reproduction. Specialization occurs always at the morphological level.
4.a. Cellular agregates with little tissue specialization.
4.b. Tube-like forms have the tissues organised in concentric sheets that have specialized areas that can't really be called organs.
4.c. Derived forms have some degree of specialization displaying organs and basic segmentation or ramification.
4.d. Even more derived forms have the latter's characteristics even more exacerbated having organ systems and secondary patterns of segmentation and/or ramification.

This is, of course, oversimplified and one has to take in account the fact that reversals 4.a. 3 and 4.c. 4.b. can and do occur, but I do think it's not as animal-centered as most and covers most cases, though it mustn't be construed that any of these steps are mandatory or necessary in any way.

[Dollan]

The advancement of life and the development of cultures are really two different subjects entirely....

Also, it should be understoo that evolution does not produce more advanced forms, per se. Rather, it produces new forms that have radiatively adapted to newly available ecological niches. There may be a degree of advancemnet between, say, a rhino and a paramecium, but really a Human (regardless of cultural level) is no more biologicvally advanced than a mouse.

...John...

[M00SE]

Hunter Parasite Wrote

Stage V-Moderatly Advanced culture
A society that has advanced beyond conventional means of transportation, warfare, archutecture, and communication. Warfare is nearly needless for it was discovered that peace can be made easly by negotiation.][quote]

Intelligent beings will most likely see that the benefits of peace will outweigh the cost of war, but there will always be dumb beings who will not see this wisdom, will this mean the intelligent beings will just sit back and be destroyed? Wont they eventually forget how to wage war and get wiped out by less intelligent creatures, and if that's the case wouldn't these intelligent creatures not be so intelligent after all?

And if the intelligent creatures wish to make dumb creatures intelligent to see that wisdom is the best choice, wouldn't this be through war?
You cannot reason with fools.

I would think that they, at the stage you proposed, probably mastered the arts of war but rarely use it.

quite a paradox

[Hunter Parasite]

stupidity is mans worse nightmare. All these wars and stuff were caused by idiocy. This is why the "For Dummies" franchise was invented.

[bdm]

I was bored so what the heck, im gonna make an evolutionary advancement chart.

Stage I-Primordial life
Life consisting of single celled organisms, as well as simple multi-celled organisms. Examples are worms and jelly fish

Stage II-Advanced life
Multi-celled life consisting of fish, reptiles, simple mammals, and insects

More than two stages here. I'll try to be brief:
0. No life.
1. Self-reproducing molecules.
2. Single-cell life with simple cell structures. (Prokaryotic)
3. Single-cell life with complex cell structures. (Eukaryotic)
4. Multicellular life with nondifferentiated cells. (Sponges, Ediacaran fauna, Volvox)
5. Multicellular life with specialised cells. (Cambrian explosion)

PS: Dracontes described a similar progression in more detail.