[betty boop]

She asked how, not at what rate or why.

Thanks for noticing, tpanther! I'd love to have Filo give me a description of the mechanism or process by which inert, unaided, lifeless matter bootstraps itself into life and intelligence. But he seems to have changed the subject.

[Filo]

Thanks for noticing, tpanther! I'd love to have Filo give me a description of the mechanism or process by which inert, unaided, lifeless matter bootstraps itself into life and intelligence. But he seems to have changed the subject.

Funny, yours isn't the question that was asked either.

For the one that was actually asked (how intelligence arose), my answer is sufficient although a bit more research into the details would do anyone a world of good.

As for abiogenesis, well, that's really not within the realm of evolution.

Once the living material exists evolution provides the answer to how it becomes trees and rabbits and stupid 'thumpers with ease.

As for abiogenesis itself, there are numerous competing theories on that - all of which take into account the relative ease with which nature produces amino acids and others of life's building blocks and the various means by which these may have assembled themselves into self-replicating systems.

After that, life is really just a matter of definition.

But, unlike evolution, those various methods are still just theories and are likely to remain that way for some time.

[tpanther]

You’re most welcome. I think I recall something about not knowing, but there’s all this evidence anyway...I suppose if we just wait a few billion more years us folks will see what he sees.