1 HN user recommended this documentary1 month2012–2024score 1
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN uses it as the canonical example that evolution is not optimal and can get stuck in local maxima.
A clip from Channel 4's Inside Nature's Giants in which Richard Dawkins shows the recurrent laryngeal nerve of the giraffe during a dissection. The nerve takes a long detour down the neck and back up.
“The bit about the recurrent laryngeal nerve of the giraffe is particulary memorable” (HN, 2024)
The blog post recommended the TV show "inside nature's giants", and I second it. The bit about the recurrent laryngeal nerve of the giraffe is particulary memorable: [this video]
Memorable giraffe recurrent laryngeal nerve segment from Inside Nature's Giants
A rule of thumb is not a law. Form doesn't always follow function even in nature and evolution: [this video] Also styles and fads like "minimalism" and "flat design" are forms that do not follow function but are really forms that enforce function. Which is why they're fads and go away after enough people jump on the bandwagon and realize the fad's flaw and limitations.
Giraffe laryngeal nerve as example that form does not always follow function
Evolution most certainly DOES get stuck in local maxima: [this video] . Also, it's quite easy for me to imagine an animal like an angel, with arms and wings. Tetrapods only have 4 limbs to work with though. For bats to gain wings they had to lose their front legs.
Giraffe nerve as example of evolution stuck in local maxima
Good catch. It seems like an artifact of working and editing a query until they got what they wanted - certainly not a BigQuery restriction. (like this [this video] ) Note that the published query scans 2.25 TB of data. While impressive, for a better workflow and cost management I would split it into a 2 step process: - First extract all the files I'm interested in to a separate table (all pom.xmls?). - Then run whatever analysis you want over those files.
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