My little blowing off of steam about overanalytical BSG fans.
There's been at least a little muttering on my flist about the final episode of BSG, at least as regards the "science" of the refugees landing 150,000 years ago. Some are saying that the first major steps in technology-gain -- using bone/stone instead of wood tools, etc. -- ONLY popped up about 40,000 - 50,000 years ago and that that's when Mitochondrial Eve first appeared and WTF mankind is descended from white men in Africa and so OH NOES Ron Moore must've gotten his science HORRIBLY WRONG OMG EVERYONE BE PISSED ABOUT IT.
First, read this Wiki page about Mitochondrial Eve. Ooooooooh, look, the text and the references suggest that, indeed, MitoEve showed up about 140,000 years ago.
Second, realize that if you take one drop of white paint and drop it in a bucket of brown paint, and then pour that into successive buckets of brown paint, the white paint will be basically indistinguishable after the first ten to a hundred "generations." As generations are usually about 20 years long, and there would be about 7000+ of them in the theoretical 140,000 year period... well, do the math.
Third, read this other Wiki page about the Toba Catastrophe and realize that that near-global wipeout stands between the purported BSG-landing and the modern era.
Fourth, realize that you are all worked up over the science in a FICTIONAL PROGRAM and that you naysayers had no trouble with hyperspatial travel, artificial intelligences, humaniform robots, magic vision-inducing cancer drugs, momentary reincarnation/angels descending to walk invisibly among man, that Gaius Baltar getting all the ass he did despite being a whiny selfish bastard, or any of the other supposedly un-scientifically-justified things on the show... and now notice that the mug I handed you is nice and steaming and filled to the brim with shut-the-fuck-up, mmmmkay?
*eyeroll* Mountain out of a molehill, I swear. Sheesh. *stomps off with a scowl*
First, read this Wiki page about Mitochondrial Eve. Ooooooooh, look, the text and the references suggest that, indeed, MitoEve showed up about 140,000 years ago.
Second, realize that if you take one drop of white paint and drop it in a bucket of brown paint, and then pour that into successive buckets of brown paint, the white paint will be basically indistinguishable after the first ten to a hundred "generations." As generations are usually about 20 years long, and there would be about 7000+ of them in the theoretical 140,000 year period... well, do the math.
Third, read this other Wiki page about the Toba Catastrophe and realize that that near-global wipeout stands between the purported BSG-landing and the modern era.
Fourth, realize that you are all worked up over the science in a FICTIONAL PROGRAM and that you naysayers had no trouble with hyperspatial travel, artificial intelligences, humaniform robots, magic vision-inducing cancer drugs, momentary reincarnation/angels descending to walk invisibly among man, that Gaius Baltar getting all the ass he did despite being a whiny selfish bastard, or any of the other supposedly un-scientifically-justified things on the show... and now notice that the mug I handed you is nice and steaming and filled to the brim with shut-the-fuck-up, mmmmkay?
*eyeroll* Mountain out of a molehill, I swear. Sheesh. *stomps off with a scowl*