Chapter 49 Science Speaks of Evidence

However, the girl seemed to be a little scared and shy, and did not respond to Xiang Kun, Professor Li explained on her behalf: "She also explained to me before, in fact, there is no fixed way to distinguish it, even if it is the same species of bird, each one may be different, and it has to be judged according to the surrounding situation at the time." If there are multiple birds making calls, they need to be compared with each other to make a reference. At the end of the day, it's all about judging emotions through sound. But I've tried so many times according to her, but I can't hear anything. I guess it has something to do with her better hearing, and the more detailed sounds she can hear and a wider range of frequencies also have something to do with it......"

After chatting on this topic for a while, "Little Apple" seemed to be less afraid of life and participated in their discussion.

Li Yang said that his daughter's hearing is stronger than that of ordinary people, and she can hear more details, so it is difficult for him to learn. But this question did not exist for Xiang Kun, he was sure that his hearing must be much stronger than this girl.

After communicating directly with the girl for a while, he also grasped some knack for distinguishing bird language, and he also made sure that what the girl said was useful based on the various bird calls he had heard in the mountains during this time.

However, if you want to master it and be able to apply it practically, you need to have practical exploration and training.

After chatting, Xiang Kun learned that Li Yang, an associate professor, is actually from the School of Life Sciences, and his main research field is "the interrelationship between complex microbial communities with important functions in the natural and artificial environment".

Although Xiang Kun swallowed a lot of books on biology, medicine, cells, and genes some time ago, when Li Yang really talked about his major, he was still a little confused, so he could only ask for advice like a student.

Xiang Kun has always wanted to consult a professional about his situation. Professor Li Yang's professional field and knowledge reserve should be regarded as a "professional".

Of course, he will not tell Li Yang about his situation directly, but slowly guide the topic and lean in the direction of mutation and genetic mutation.

“...... Professor Li, do you think it's possible for birds to mutate for some reason and become three or four times their size, or even five or six times their size?"

"Do you mean individuals, or do you mean entire groups?"

"Individuals, such as an owl...... Or vultures or the like. ”

"It's almost impossible, you know, if you get three or four times bigger, you may have to increase your weight more than ten times, and your bones and muscles can't bear it. Li Yang shook his head: "Even if it appears, that kind of individual will not survive." Unless its entire body structure and tissue strength are remodeled, mutations that occur in individuals will not be so orderly and stable. ”

“...... Professor Li, do you say that it is possible for people to mutate for some reasons, such as the digestive system, and then the way of energy intake changes, and other organs and tissues of the whole person will also change, and the body function will be improved......

"You don't want to say that you have superpowers after mutation, right?" Li Yang couldn't help laughing, "We often use a sentence to describe the characteristics of gene mutations: the general random frequency is low, and the more harm is less beneficial and not directional. ”

Li Yang continued: "That is to say, genetic mutations are ubiquitous in the biological world, and they can occur at any time and in any part of biological ontogeny, they are random, and the mutation frequency is very low. Moreover, variation is generally harmful to individuals, and there are very few beneficial ones. As for non-directionality, it refers to the fact that more than one allele can be produced......

“...... The human body is a delicate, complex, stable and orderly system, and any change may bring bad consequences. The usual outward manifestation is illness or deformity. Brother Xiang, you are a programmer, you said that if a large-scale program with a sophisticated and complex design, such as an operating system, if there is a bug, is the bug good or bad?"

Xiang Kun thought for a while and said, "For programmers or administrators, bugs must be bad and need to be patched. Sometimes, however, bugs can be beneficial to users......"

Li Yang nodded: "You see, that's it, most of the time, it's a disadvantage, occasionally in some special circumstances, a few will bring benefits, but there is a risk of overall collapse." The same is true for variation, if it is only a small variation, it may have little impact on the whole human body, or it will bring certain benefits and convenience. For example, the lactose tolerance mutation allows adults to secrete lactose-breaking enzymes, so that dairy products can be enjoyed better and more confidently. But if the impact of mutation is significant, the benefits are nothing compared to the disadvantages, and there may even be a domino effect, causing the entire human body system to collapse and even die......

“...... In the future, there may be the possibility of artificially modifying genes to give birth to super humans, but now ...... It is basically impossible to rely on accidental mutations to appear superheroes in movies and comics. ”

In fact, what Li Yang said, Xiang Kun had read a lot of books related to biology and genes before, and he knew all of them. It's just that what happened to him and the giant owl made him unable to fully believe the textbook.

"Professor Li, do you say that there is such a possibility, there are actually some mature mutation mechanisms in nature, but they have been hidden...... Hidden in the bodies of some humans or other creatures, until certain conditions are met, they will not be activated?"

Li Yang shook his head: "You are already in a category similar to occultism, literary works, novels and movies, the setting can be made up directly, and the logic will make sense." But science is about evidence, and without evidence, it cannot be inferred out of thin air. ”

Xiang Kun asked again, "What does Professor Li think of vampires?"

"If you ask me about rabies or porphyria or something, I can talk about it, because there are cases, there are pathology studies, there are all kinds of documentation. But vampires, zombies and so on, in essence, are still the same as superheroes, they exist in literary works, legends and myths, and there is no actual evidence to prove that they have appeared in reality. Therefore, we can only talk about it from the perspective of literature and art, not from the perspective of science...... Well, I like "Night Interview with Vampires" and "400 Years of Horror" ......" Li Yang said with a smile.

Xiang Kun wanted to turn around and grab Li Yang's collar in the back seat, and said to him loudly: Lao Tzu is a vampire, and Lao Tzu is ready-made evidence!

But just thinking about it, he definitely won't reveal his secret to someone he meets for the first time.

In fact, they had already arrived at the bottom of the mountain, but Li Sheng saw that the three of them had a heated discussion - in fact, it was mainly Xiang Kun and Li Yang. So they simply drove Xiang Kun to the station in the city, and they had to go back to the city anyway. Along the way, it's just the right time to continue chatting.

After arriving at the station, Xiang Kun and Li Yang, Li Sheng, and Little Apple all left WeChat messages for each other, and then got off the train to say goodbye.

Looking at the back of Xiang Kun walking into the ticket hall, Li Yang in the car shook his head and sighed lightly: "I didn't expect this Xiang brother to be thirty years old and still so obsessed with superheroes." By the way, Apple, what's that word you said before?

"Form 2. Little Apple said and shook her head: "Uncle Xiang is not called Zhonger, he seems to want to hear from his father that he can help him explain the theories of superheroes and vampires." ”

"How is this possible......" Li Yang said with a smile.

Li Sheng, who was driving on the side, suddenly said: "Brother Xiang's feet are very dirty. After a pause, he added, "Very dirty." ”

"Huh?" Li Yang frowned suspiciously, because of the speculation on the road, Li Sheng gave him the pair of slippers that Xiang Kun was wearing, Li Sheng said this, definitely not disgusted with Xiang Kun's dirty feet, but to express something else.

Li Yang thought for a while, and then understood: "You mean that Brother Xiang walked a long distance barefoot?"

Li Sheng nodded: "The thick layer of hard mud wrapped around his feet definitely didn't come out of the winding mountain road, he must have walked a long way in the mountains." And when he washed his feet, I saw on the side, and there were no wounds on his feet. This shows that he walks very skillfully and knows how to avoid obstacles that can hurt his feet. I suspect that he deliberately went into the mountain barefoot and did not wear shoes at all. ”

"Why is this deliberately not wearing shoes?" Li Yang asked.

"Maybe he's really an ascetic, tsk, if he wears a monk's robe, I'd really think he's a monk with real kung fu. Li Sheng said, and he laughed too.

Li Yang shook his head: "Aren't people programmers, don't talk nonsense about any monks, he said it himself, bald head is because of hair loss......"

At this time, the little apple next to him suddenly spoke: "Uncle Xiang doesn't have any smell on him." ”

These words made both of them stunned, more than two o'clock in the afternoon, such a big sun, such a hot day, let alone walking on the mountain road, even standing still for ten minutes, they had to sweat profusely.

But now that he thinks about it, Xiang Kun seems to be very dry, and he doesn't sweat at all. Even if the sweat dries later, there must be a residual sour smell from the sweat that flowed before. Both of them know very well that Little Apple not only has more sensitive ears than others, but also has the same sense of smell, and even she said that it doesn't smell much, so it must be that she doesn't sweat much.

Li Sheng smiled and shook his head: "This Brother Xiang is a bit interesting." ”