[Right Wing Professor]

We can be justifiably amazed that these trilobites, very early in the history of life on Earth, hit upon the best possible lens design that optical physics has ever been able to formulate. ~Ellis, 2001, p.49

What utter bull. Late on in trilobite evolution, they evolved a Huygens doublet. Big deal. I mean, think for yourself, just once, MM. Is it even plausible this was a better lens than, say, the objective in a good 4 inch refractor? Most modern telescopes have moved well beyond simple achromatic doublets. And actually, several other species have evolved the same thing, independently, since, including the caterpillars of the cabbage white butterflies that are currently devouring my broccoli. Oddly enough, when I pull 'em off and stomp 'em. the advanced optics don't seem to be much of a help.

Drag yourself away from the creationist tracts and read a real scientific account of tribolite eyes. It's a good article.

[furball4paws]

Page won't come up. I will try later. I'd like to know this.

[Doctor Stochastic]

They could better tell which one was about to tread on them.

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

Is it even plausible this was a better lens than, say, the objective in a good 4 inch refractor?

~RWP

These lenses—technically termed aspherical, aplanatic lenses—optimize both light collecting and image formation better than any lens ever conceived.

~Niles Eldredge, paleontologist of the American Museum of Natural History