Alien Biospheres: Part 15 - Sapience

CAMPFIRE: www.campfirewriting.com/world...
PATREON: / biblaridion
DISCORD: / discord
TIRA DISCORD: / discord
MUSIC:
River Flute - Kevin Macleod
Ethereal Relaxation - Kevin Macleod
Ambiment - Kevin Macleod
Almost in F - Kevin Macleod
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
IMAGES:
Hyena greeting ceremony - David W. Siu
Toilet-claw on a Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur - Maky
Grooming monkeys - Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Brain-to-body-mass ratio for some animals - User:Benevolent
Hyoid bone - OpenStax College
Jellyfish - Dan90266
Neuron - SanuN
Çatalhöyük - Dan Lewandowski
Human brain on white background - DJ
African elephant feeding - Getty Images
Diagram of the visual fields of a jumping spider as viewed from above - David Edwin Hill
Sea otter using rock anvil - Smithsonian national zoo
Termite mound in Australia - W. Bulach
Meerkats fighting - sorefo
Cute kitten - Saving Public Ryan
Beaver building dam - Ronnie Howard
Egyptian vulture with stick - Vaibhavcho
Chimps socializing - Ikiwaner
Menstrual cycle - isometric
Geologic timeline - Jarred C. Lloyd
Obstetrical dilemma - Archaeomouse
South Georgia Orca - Christopher Michel
Portrait of Mother and Child - Curt Carnemark / World Bank Photo Collection
Chimpanzee throwing rock - Anup Shah/Nature Picture Library/Corbis
Sweat gland anatomy - Glafoululle des Alpes
Anatomy of the shoulder joint, front view - Jmarchn
Maasai throwing spears - Danijel Mihajlovic
Chronological dispersal of Austronesian people across the Pacific - Pavljenko
Ants and Aphids - Roy Eggloff
Scala Naturae - Pablo Carlos Budassi
Chimpanzee tool usage - Ucumari photography
Squirrel monkey eating a red fruit - Tambako the jaguar
Filling in a crossword puzzle - Philippa Willitts
Dopamine pathway -
Cloudy desert - Mathhew Eshak
Japanese macaques - Akiko Takahashi
African grey parrot hatching - Geek2Nurse
Expensive tissue hypothesis - Smithsonian Human Origins Program
Human running adaptations - Chakazul
Cognitive bias codex - John Manoogian III
0:00 Campfire
1:08 Intro
4:18 What is sapience?
8:17 Instinctive vs. learned behaviors
14:21 Humanoids are teleological
16:03 Prerequisites for sapience
21:40 Sociality
24:12 Astrolophids
31:23 Diet
33:30 Manipulation
38:37 Habitat instability
42:04 Paleotecton
52:00 Neurological evolution
56:00 Pattern recognition
57:42 Symbolism
1:01:36 Language
1:04:40 Tool use
1:10:01 Migration and speciation
1:14:44 Instinctual lag
1:17:20 Senses
1:21:17 Reproduction
1:28:03 Morality
1:29:56 In-group vs. Out-group
1:35:12 The Uncertain Future

[@Biblaridion]

To assuage some of the concerns I’ve been seeing, this may be the last episode of this series, but it won’t be the last time we see this planet - not by a long shot. The whole purpose of this series was to serve as an introduction to the basic principles of evolution and to establish the natural history of this planet in broad strokes. But now that we’re finally at the present-day time period and have established all the necessary groundwork, we can start fleshing out the biosphere in much greater detail. Really, the only thing that’s going to be changing is the format; instead of obscenely long videos that take the better part of a year to make, we can switch to having shorter, more focused videos on a much more reasonable schedule. EDIT: I also want to say, because I don’t think I made this clear enough in the video: cultural developments can play just as big a role as instincts in shaping a sophont’s behavior. There is a danger of being too deterministic when it comes to finding evolutionary explanations for a sophont's behavior. The point of the latter third of this video was just to focus on the biological basis of the neotects’ behaviors (after all, this series is about biology, not anthropology) and to establish their cultural “starting point”, but their behaviors will doubtlessly change a lot from their ancestral state as their cultures and technology progress, which we’ll cover in future videos. For example, the division between breeders and non-breeders is likely to become less important to maintain and more blurred as populations increase and resources become more abundant. It’s not like the neotects are going to be stuck with exactly the same behaviors and social structure as the paleotects forever (just look at how much humans have changed since the paleolithic). Also, while I think it’s pretty much undeniable that a species’ evolutionary history will influence its psychology and culture to some degree, the field of evolutionary psychology is a bit of minefield and can sometimes get mixed up with various outdated and pseudoscientific ideas. Like I said in the beginning of the video, this whole topic is very speculative and is susceptible to personal biases, so be sure to think critically when reading up on the subject.

[@Yutyrant95]

Hell yes! Hopefully you'll add in videos on the development of civilization, if any, on Tira. Can't wait to see!

[@LorreKeeper]

As a long-time fan of this series, I am also very curious to see how you tackle the development of civilization - technological progression, cultural change, the evolution of language/writing/communication, and everything else about it. But I am also glad to know that the biosphere series may still continue beyond the larger timeline scope of before. :D

[@samanthabronder9861]

ok i dont care if thier long as long as i see new tir29nb funua i be happy and i atccauly had a dream before this and it had somthing simler to on the picture

[@notalinglingwannabe5028]

I am really glad to see that this would not be the definite end to such a great series

[@localwalloutlet]

THIS IS ONLY THE START!?!😂

[@xilefm-4517]

We did it boys we've invented spider racism

[@dolphingoreeaccount7395]

Wtf lMao Have a like

[@TacticalAnt420]

👏 LET’S GO!!! ALIEN SPIDER W!!! 👏

[@pll3827]

*Xenophobia intensifies.*

[@garface111]

Laughed out loud.

[@adengoldstein5130]

Let’s gooooo

[@certifiedcoolguy583]

Fact: Neotectons possess an instinctual affection towards creatures with soft, slender bodies and small (or even nonexistent) eyes, in the same way that humans possess such an affection towards creatures with large eyes and heads. Resultant fact: Neotectons would love you if you were a worm.

[@carlstein9278]

i wonder if they would find male human genitalia cute😅

[@itsalily_lei_lei]

Holy shit.

[@dinozone7373]

In a more ghoulish comparison, Neotectons would think of the baby in David Lynch's Eraserhead as being adorable.

[@AaronGeo]

... So they would consider fish (or acanthopods) and snakes cute? Also the Alaskan Bull worm from Spongebob?

[@JongeKroost]

Additionally they would likely find the flaccid human penis the most redeemable, neotectonizing and endearing human feature. This series is truly a work of art

[@SolarBrain4128]

As of right now, 5/3/2024 the wiki page for Neotecton ecumenes states: "The most successful species of sapience because they were the most racist."

[@RABOXD]

Bro🤣

[@RoomInArles]

IN SPITE, IN SPITE!!!

[@diictodon2351]

what would racial slurs be for them?

[@garlikbred6474]

​@diictodon2351 I think Biblaridion said he would use this world to talk about other alien things, like more cultural stuff. And his channel does focus on conlangs...

[@vbgvbg1133]

@@diictodon2351 one of them would probably be some kind of spit that means "outsider" but like very rude

[@enderprism9055]

the end of 'alien biospheres', the beginning of 'alien civilisations'

[@amiracle817]

Considering that female ones will be shamed for leaving their tribe, could we see a male only space program? Intricately designed mating temples as an evolution of the dens? So many ideas 1:31:07

[@amiracle817]

Oh, and horrible idea:Human invasion once they’re in the Iron Age

[@arturonotari8235]

​@@amiracle817 Better during the early space age. Empire's empress: So with this new fussion reactors there's no longer reason to go to war over those uranium mines and oil fields. Federation's supreme leaderess: ¿So we invested a trillion clinx's in uranium missiles for nothing? Republic's prime minister: Well we need to use those things against something! Human: The russians ran out of tanks and began launching, so we are moving in. Queendome's chanchelor: ...Good enought.

[@KindOfWitch]

with all this "human likely wouldnt be able to interact..." blah blah blah, in 'alien civilizations' will there be a story or smthn about humans coming to this alien planet?

[@amiracle817]

@@arturonotari8235 I kind of like the Early Space Age idea, but how advanced are humanity in this? I'd say that TIRA isn't in the nearest 1000 light years, so i'd say Kardashev ~2.3. But now that I think about it, an alien invasion would be rather pointless. by that point we'd have thousands of worlds under humanity, so probably not resources. We'd be like Dyson Sphere/Ringworld levels of tech, so if wanted them dead, they wouldn't stand a chance.

[@dank_smirk2ndchannel200]

Tectid male: _lays two sticks at 90° angles from each other._ Tectid female: "TF does this mean? Literally what?" Tectid male: _moves one of the sticks to be at a 91° angle._ Tectid female: "Take me right now you stud."

[@Dread_2137]

Meanwhile human researcher on orbit, watching it on his monitor: Tectid male: *lays two sticks at 90° angles from each other.* Researcher: "Do you kiss your mother with the same lips?" Tectid male: *moves one of the sticks to be at a 91° angle.* Resarcher: "That's my man, I always knew you had it in you."

[@beepbop6542]

@@Dread_2137 *do you kiss your matriarch with the same face claw things

[@learning7979]

I really love the male tectids being artistically expressive and nurturing.

[@AimlessSavant]

She got a stud muffin

[@dank_smirk2ndchannel200]

@@Dread_2137 I like the idea of a human researcher helping their Tectid bro to pick up women.

[@countessofcats5549]

Considering how their breeding systems work, i imagine these guys are gonna be making absolutely wild romance stories, like a combo of courtly intrigue and soap opera

[@TheCodemasterc]

With sex being a product of age and with it authority I imagine human vampire and elf based romance novels would blow their minds.

[@countessofcats5549]

@@TheCodemasterc oh totally. Also, imagine how Romeo and juliet and other "forbidden love" sort of stories would be received. Thrillingly transgressive to the younger generations, moral outrage from the older

[@dr.archaeopteryx5512]

@@countessofcats5549 You could instantly kill an elder Neotect with the average Warrior Cats Wiki page

[@LashknifeTalon]

@@countessofcats5549 Might be how like yaoi is perceived as somewhat transgressive and feminine in many modern human societies; kind of this masculine guilty pleasure, pulp fiction for the masses.

[@gergelyritter4412]

@LashknifeTalon I disagree. I think that role is filled by stuff like Winx club. That means, female leads with romance and occasional action. I know of no guy, who unironically likes guy-guy romance. I have a gay friend who does, but he obviously doesnt fall under the majority, since he has a predesposition to like that sort of content. On the other hand, I know that a lot of dudes, especially when we were young, enjoyed Winx club and similar shows. Shiit man, I even enjoyed My little Pony.

[@dominiklehn2866]

"Many aspects of human architecture will seem bleak and utilitarian to them" I mean... It does to us too...

[@TheCodemasterc]

I could totally see human tourist going to Neotect cities to look at the architecture alone.

[@annawing770]

@@TheCodemasterc Also not surprising. Humans go to older human cities to look at the architecture alone. I live in Prague, tourist season exists for a reason.

[@themushroominside6540]

What capitalism does to a sophont mf

[@DemigodoftheSea]

Our architecture used to be great, until it wasn't "profitable" enough.

[@gergelyritter4412]

@themushroominside65 Bruh. Capitalism has at least some differences in structure. Have you seen soviet style communist architecture? I wouldnt put the worst criminals in spaces such as those.

[@slyninja4444]

So basically, 'emo' neotechs wear teal patterns, eat 'deserts' made from various meats, and watch 'anime' drawn in a style that makes characters long and skinny with short limbs about badass warrior trans-women with harems of nerdy beta males.

[@laurentiuvladutmanea3622]

...what you said is both cursed, yet makes so much sense.

[@thefacethatstares]

smell-o-vision anime

[@Kikabopom]

@@thefacethatstares Anime Conventions

[@GhostCryProductions]

Blursed.

[@happyslapsgiving5421]

No, they don't eat deserts. They can't digest sand.

[@BoisegangGaming]

Give us the spider-people plushie you cowards.

[@SashedPotato]

I am an artist on the server and communicate with bib on occasion. If I remember, I may propose the idea to him and draw some plans for some plushies. I say this as I would love to get one myself

[@BoisegangGaming]

@@SashedPotato Please do, I need one.

[@szjakesan]

What would their equilavent of a fumo look like?

[@oofy_emma1072]

@@szjakesan making a character wormlike and with small eyes

[@fishyfishyfishy500akabs8]

@@oofy_emma1072 Have a worm base with some small pattern/clothing changes and give em some frills

[@JongeKroost]

"Yes Chief matriarch of the Neotectons, I understand that us humans seem like eldritch horrors beyond your comprehension but have you considered the fact that the human male's reproductive organ resembles a very cute widdle baby grub? Perhaps we are not so different and even worthy of your empathy and compassion."

[@TheCodemasterc]

"Hmm...Very well, we shall exchange males as part of a traditional cultural exchange and see this for ourselves." "Johnson, I'm afraid you're going to have to put your Johnson on the line for interstellar diplomacy."

[@chickennuggetman2593]

😶

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

How would a Neotecton interact with a human? Obviously the spoken word is inferior since to us their language sounds like a bunch of chirping while our language to them sounds like a jumbled mess of nonsense so that’s off the table. And they see way less than we can and blues and greens invoke images of disgust in them, whereas to us reds invoke images of violence or importance since red is the color of our blood. Also given the xenophobic nature of Neotecton society, it’s likely they will view us with contempt. Our world is a mix of blues and greens, we speak the inferior spoken word rather than the superior scent, and the only thing good about us is when we’re dead and gushing out beautifully red (or to them beige) blood. Basically, Neotectons are fanatical purifiers but also not really.

[@Ratchet4647]

You're hilarious! And I suspect you're correct...

[@Maimkillburn69]

We are eldrich horrors though too bad for them the stars are the birthright of mankind not theirs

[@Herrkfvran]

(time stamp: 55:25) The theory that the human brain became smaller a few thousand years ago (by DeSilva in 2021) was refuted only a year or so after it came out (in a 2022 study by Brian Villmoare and Mark Grabowski). Turned out DeSilva used a rather small and skewed sample size in his analysis. Using a wider sample size - especially around the target period of the supposed reduction - shows no sudden reduced volume. Human brain volume has remained (on average) about the same for the last 30k years.

[@bigbonesjones5566]

Bump, hope this comment reaches the top. Thx for posting source

[@keksidy]

The way you divided sapience into "can be used to make life easier" and "is needed for survival" makes a lot of sense and I'm surprised I haven't seen it used by biologists before

[@carlstein9278]

exactly what i thought, but on the other hand we are the only obligate sophont we know, so it would be a category of one. not the most relevant thing, but very neat nonetheless

[@Friendofthescavs]

I mean, it’s not that good tbh

[@Kesh789]

@@Friendofthescavs You going to expand on that? Right now it feels about just saying "No, you're wrong" but I assume you have more thinking there.

[@user-ed8ce8bg4e]

I think this guy created terminology that will literally be used in these fields from now on

[@Friendofthescavs]

@@Kesh789 it (in my eyes) doesn’t do a good job at differentiating between what humans have and what other “facultative sapients” have(I don’t think there is much of a difference though) I don’t really have the energy to fully explain the idea or get into a debate though

[@gamingcat6034]

I can just imagine alien internet and someone going: "HE'S A NON-BREEDER!"

[@cube6794]

I wonder if a staple of Neotect dramas would be plots where someone has children without the tribe's permission (dramatized like how humans would dramatize cheating on one's partner)

[@Xenomorthian]

It'd be the equivalent of people going "woman detected: opinion invalidated" (have to specify for the youtube bots, I don't believe this)

[@thebookless3381]

"bro do you even own land?" "sis do you even have children?"

[@dinozone7373]

It's over, Neotecton, for I have drawn you as a (puny, weak) non-breeder male, and myself as a (mighty, virile) warrior female!

[@Xenomorthian]

@@dinozone7373 We've already come up with analogues for our brainrot for this hypothetical alien civilisation

[@robwalsh9843]

The fact that their architecture was not born out of necessity for survival but out of artistic expression is amazing.

[@RadicalRadixerus]

And also completely unrealistic...

[@laurentiuvladutmanea3622]

@@RadicalRadixerus What he described is literally what many species of birds do. Stop pretending you know anything about biology.

[@justashark776]

@@laurentiuvladutmanea3622 The dude above you is a walking example of the Dunning-Kruger effect, high conviction and low understanding. It's literally mentioned in the video that it's based 1-to-1 on a species of pufferfish lmao

[@myspleenisbursting4825]

​@@laurentiuvladutmanea3622 and many human cultures

[@plantinapot9169]

Though it is survival, just weird survival

[@abledbody]

I would totally read a story about a male Neotecton that dreams of one day traveling the world, only for those dreams to be shattered when they turn to female. Will they resign to the life of a trapped female, or damn the consequences and shame and set off to explore? What will others say? What will they find? Will they still even want to know?

[@TheCodemasterc]

Elder females would consider it gross and subversive, but young males would consider it a cult classic that speaks to a struggle the elders have long forgotten about.

[@dokkis_island]

Ough. That sounds SO compelling

[@LimeyLassen]

Heroes concealing their gender would be common to the point of cliche in neotect theater

[@C-Farsene_5]

@@TheCodemasterc the male neotects are gonna have their own “literally me” 💀

[@C-Farsene_5]

@@TheCodemasterc no way, “literally me” subculture among male neotects

[@sal6695]

"Many primates have a specialized grooming digit called a toilet claw" is a wonderful sentence.

[@PrawnAddiction]

I can only imagine what it was used for! 😌

[@Dread_2137]

​@@PrawnAddictionI can only say that humans are the only ones to invent toilet

[@AaronGeo]

*dont make a skibidi toilet reference* *be mature*

[@boredomofboredom]

Tbf, toilet used to refer to a cloth used to help freshen up/wash ones face or a person's dressing room. It was only in the US during the 1800s that the word was used to refer to the room where you go poop and also the thing you drop your turds in.

[@AimlessSavant]

They got a poop scoop

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

Spiderwolves with pet snakemoles sounds exactly like the kind of thing that will ensure Australians are the first hominids to make contact, as I doubt anyone other than us is going to volunteer for the task.

[@dr.archaeopteryx5512]

You'd think so! But wait. What's this? IT'S THE CHILEANS WITH A STEEL CUTLERY SET!!!

[@tomscott3578]

I'm on it!

[@balazsvarga1823]

At least one species would find Australia livable now!

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

@@balazsvarga1823 I don't know, I'm finding it pretty livable, though it is kinda hard finding space for the two to three dozen squamates I want (I'd say reptiles but that jumps the number up a bit much due to all the archosaurs I want to keep)...

[@shleaumeau7740]

There are entomologist freak nerds in every culture, they crawl out of the woodwork like some kind of bug.

[@kayleighlehrman9566]

Shoutout to orcas for having fashion trends. Salmon hats are so in.

[@ognjenivanovic7871]

Yeeeaah boyiiii 🕵‍♂️

[@Aethuviel]

They're also into kelp scarves.

[@Liethen]

I suspect the stock villain character for the neotectons would be one that murders their superior and frames another superior for it. Oh look at that, I just advanced two ranks.

[@K9TheFirst1]

And suddenly Hamlet and Macbeth are gender swapped alien plays.

[@antonioscendrategattico2302]

It'd be their equivalent of the butler did it. Also I really love the idea that neotectons ecumenes audiences would probably relate a lot to Shakespearean plays. Honestly, they might find them quaint and kinda downplaying the ambition of the characters, if anything.

[@Red-MagicOrchestra]

i wonder what they would think of macbeth?

[@TheCodemasterc]

@@K9TheFirst1 "You haven't really seen Hamlet until you've seen it in the original Neotect"

[@LashknifeTalon]

The poetic justice being they become female after doing this due to their incredible ambition, only to be discovered for their treachery and exiled--something that would have been potentially socially acceptable at the start of the story when they were male, but results in their eternal shame and dishonor.

[@superpig051]

This series started when I was a freshman in Highschool. I'm now finally finishing it finishing my year as a freshman in College. I'm so excited

[@Kenshi_2900]

Haha same here. Loved this series to the end.

[@quack1997]

I started this series as a 7th grader and now I’m ending it as a 10th grader 😭😭😭

[@artifactU]

im abit excited

[@burrdid]

yoo same, idk if i was a freshman in highschool, maybe

[@battlepig1014]

Same!

[@imaredwhale2thenotsoelectr916]

Honestly, I'm kinda struggling to put all of my feelings about this series into words at the moment, but I'll be damned if I don't at least try; I started this series when episode 3 was the most recent one, and have been eagerly awaiting and enjoying every episode since. It's honestly kinda surreal thinking about how much Tira's biosphere itself has changed in those past 4-5 years or so as well, and now that sapience has been achieved, it truly feels like the end of an era, for both the series and the biosphere. This series and the funky little Polypods,Anthostomes, Chemophytes, along with the sulfur rich world they live on, will forever hold a cherished place in my heart. Thank you, Biblaridion.

[@xtrastudios8270]

You have cooked with this speech and hopefully people eat when they see this

[@nadri3335]

Man, we will start seeing more developments of this world in the future, but this sure feels like an end to an era!

[@sips3812]

red whale omg

[@LuckyOtter_WorldBuilding]

hey (waves)

[@eybaza6018]

Omg redweyl

[@baeuy5019]

I'm just imagining like a cute little slice of life were humans and neotects have made contact, and they are doing a little exchange program to get both sides used to each other (thought up by the neotects). Now a human college student and a young adult neotect are romates, and are trying to get used to their VERY different cultures, and other things. Like, imagine I'd the human gets disgusted by the neotect's pet, but the neotect gets absolutely horrified by the humans pet dog. Or they help each other over come their fear of dark (the human) and light (the neotect. And so many more possibilities. :>

[@baeuy5019]

Also, it'd be fun having them react to their very different perceptions of gender. The spectrum of humans, compared to the leveling up of neotects. Also, what is and is not considered masculinity or feminine in their cultures.

[@usuarionaoidentificado9918]

This would be made better if the human has severe arachnophobia in the beginning.

[@baeuy5019]

@usuarionaoidentificado9918 I agree!

[@TheCodemasterc]

With their color spectrum alone Neotects and humans would have to have differents signs and warning labels. Harsh Yellows and Reds for human signs and harsh blues and greens for Neotect signs. Their art would also be considered pretty much the opposite of human color theory and a lot less vibrant in color. Actually there's very real chance since they can't some of the colors we can, like red, that some of their works would be downright garish and bloody looking to a human without them even knowing it.

[@dr.archaeopteryx5512]

Imagine the two roommates bonding over their shared love of stoats tho

[@anintelligenttalkingcowtha131]

Episode 16 - Neotectons invent the internet, with the conclusion being a neotecton youtuber creating a fictitious world in which tetrapodal little guys evolve to sapience, followed by assured mutual destruction via nuclear war

[@benthomason3307]

said youtuber would get a lot of criticism for the complete ass pull of having a particular individual of one of the earliest animals being born with it's head on backwards, purely so she could have the limb girdle on the top of the body (yes this is actually something that happened in Earth's distant past, and yes it is the reason your spine runs along your back rather than your belly. it's also the reason each brain hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body.)

[@LongLiveTheLionKing2]

Don't be sad that it's over.... Be happy that it happened

[@rogaldorn2312]

And be excited that much more is to come.

[@omarszkarlatiuk]

It's not over yet!

[@X3n0nLP]

Reminds me of a quote from a now lost youtube series. "Don't cry because it's over, cry because it happened"

[@Gelatinocyte2]

@@X3n0nLP Unus Annus? (or however you spell it)

[@qoombert]

it's spidover

[@kentoncompton3009]

I just gotta say, my jaw literally DROPPED when I saw that THE C.M. Kösemen submitted art. You know you’re building something special when one of the founders of the subject you’re working on contributes to it.

[@bigbonesjones5566]

He's submitted 1-2 pieces of art for the last 3 episodes now, I'm surprised that many in the comments are just noticing this now.

[@C-Farsene_5]

@@bigbonesjones5566 I know but it just blows my mind everytime such an author helps out a more novice alien planet worldbuilder

[@Aethuviel]

@@bigbonesjones5566 Not the last 1-3 episodes, his art goes back to at least episode 11.

[@gingerhoof2157]

Man, imagine how raw and exiting the “forbidden love” trope would be for the young adults of these species. Two low status individuals falling in love, even tho it seems they will never be able to breed. Of course there might be a plot of a high status individual offering boosting status of one of them. But of course they refuse and go into exile with their chosen partner

[@iferlyf8172]

Another dietary factor for humans getting a bigger brain is that once we invented cooking, a lot of nutrient dense foods that were difficult to digest raw (starchy foods basically) became a bigger staple of out diets. Starchy foods contains a lot more carbs than meat, and brains' only source of fuel is carbs

[@referencetosomething4187]

True! It was also vital in human social culture development. More time spent preparing/cooking foods rather than obtaining it meant more time to put those embigening brains to use with socialization and storytelling around the campfire and such. I'd like to imagine our spiderwolf comrades walk a similar path

[@ShubaSayori]

I’m now imagining one day a crow or something showing up to a blacksmith with a crudely drawn photo of a tool/weapon

[@TheCodemasterc]

The blacksmith makes it out of novelty and curiosity only to find out that it's a replica key to his neighbors backdoor and comes in complaining that all his jerky was stolen.

[@manzac112]

I think it's good to pause for a second and really look back on how far this planet has come. And, this all started with two body plans. I want everyone to think about that. Two body plans, with a pinch of hydrogen sulfide, created a world so rich and diverse that you can honestly make multiple documentaries off just these episodes alone. But, I think it's time will you put a bow on this little story. Where ever the story goes from here, is anyone's guess....After all, life always finds a way...

[@mokithepepe2454]

i was gonna say that one of those body plans was barely touched on till i remembered that the malachoforms are descended from the shelled coral things

[@antonioscendrategattico2302]

Two body plans and five years of our gracious host's (and a lot of passionate artists') hard work. Bib really worked his ass off to make this series the best it could possibly be. And despite the very dry and scientific presentation, I feel a lot of personality in it.

[@rastaboy222]

​@@mokithepepe2454the bird squid things evolved from them to

[@almadelsur01]

The reference to the tanybrachid reminded me that I joined the Discord server when that exact debate was happening, and it was the dumbest thing. I even drew a cursed evolution of tanybrachid as a predator running with their arms to show they wouldn't become sapient.

[@r4pt0r12]

That reminds me the time a made a tanysapiens in spore. Tip: they aren't humanoids.

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

How would they even become sapient? Their legs are basically vestigial remnants. They couldn’t ever evolve humanoid bipedalism. And even then they died in the last video about mass extinctions when much of the forests they called home burned down

[@KhAnubis]

It's amazing to see this massive project culminate in this, and especially fascinating to me how much of human teleological 'progression' was really a series of accidents. I feel we sort of have this view of history similar to many a civilization-building video game, where you start off in the stone age and steadily progress through different ages and develop new technologies, and yet everything from agriculture to industrialization were so far from inevitable it's crazy.

[@submachinegun5737]

Plenty of things are incredibly unlikely, it just seems that life and intelligence act like ratchets for the unlikely stuff to stick around. A random chemical reaction can gain energy from sunlight and then nothing happens once the molecules decay, but only life takes that reaction and uses it to spread into a global ecosystem

[@magiv4205]

Alien Biospheres might just be my favorite series of all time. There've been lots of other great ones, but there's not a single time this one has let me down, and I'd argue it did alot of heavy lifting in the speculative biology renaissance we've seen happen on youtube over the past few years. I learned more from it than from many documentaries, and each episode not only inspires a drive to create, but also an unquenchable wonder for Earth's own natural world, and for the sheer tenacity of life itself. I am over the moon to know we'll get to know this world alot more through more focused videos, but I'll always be glad to have been part of this journey from the very first episode to the very last.

[@viper_exe_]

peak fiction?

[@hstochla]

This and KSP Endurance/Beyond Kerbol were two of my favorite long-running KZbin series to watch. The ending of this was very profound; as different as these speculative aliens are from us, we have a lot to learn from them.

[@NightSkyNyx]

1:39:05 There’s my art!!! It’s such an incredible honor to have my drawings not only be included in a series I’m a huge fan of, but to also be featured alongside so many other amazing and fantastic artists! It really inspires and motivates me to continue improving my own drawing and worldbuilding skills so that I may reach the same level one day :D Aside from that, this whole series truly has been a wild ride from start to finish. When the time comes for the shorter episodes to be made fleshing out more specific areas of the biosphere, I’d personally advocate for the deep sea and tide pools. I absolutely love abyssal habitats and how life adapts to such harsh barren conditions, but my recent experiences with tide pools have given me a new appreciation for these severely underrated ecosystems so I would love to see what their counterparts on Tira are like (I remember in an early episode it was briefly mentioned how the intertidal zones on this planet are around twice the size of Earth’s)

[@oz_jones]

Those are horrifying. Love it.

[@hircenedaelen]

1:23:20 imagine them keeping the wormy bois as pets! That'd be so cute!

[@ethanemerson4862]

Humans when Snake: (screaming) Spider-bois when Snake: “aww, look at the baby- ow! Hey, no biting.”

[@TearsOfLa]

I can imagine the Neotectons domesticating Brachyscelida and Apodomorpha as pets. Tribes will create religious iconography related to Brachy or Apod Gods, like Egyptians with cats or Scandanavians with wolves, and advanced Neotectons argue on the internest about the cutest Apod pics, resulting in meme culture like "Slim Chongus"

[@pangeaman0395]

It’s been roughly four years since the series began. And it’s been an honor seeing this world be developed.

[@hacim42]

My boys the Desmostracans are somehow still kicking. One more video and they will have made it to the modern age. Been watching since like part 3, one of the coolest series on youtube by a country mile.

[@hacim42]

LET'S GOOOOO EUDESTMOSTRACANS MADE IT TO THE MODERN DAAAY

[@KingBreadSlice]

I love the idea of them having a intuitive understanding of architecture. If they develop more complex settlements i wonder what their building would look like

[@tecnochilemapper4121]

I think mosaics would be a form of art really common compared to our world

[@jackscomics3188]

Have to admit, wasn’t exactly expecting transfemme spider dogs. Not complaining about it either. All seriousness though, I loved this series and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for the channel.

[@terdragontra8900]

“Transfemme” has too much human specific baggage for me to want to use it in this context, but, whatever

[@smergthedargon8974]

@@terdragontra8900 Agreed. Such things are an actual biological process for the Ecumenes.

[@Jurasicktrap]

My favourite part is when Biblaridion says "It's sporing time" and spored all over the place

[@colorgreen4999]

spore if Maxis didn't have a strict deadline (EA moment)

[@justusb.plorer8773]

I see you are a person of culture.

[@aloedark5221]

That is such a good game! It was my whole childhood. (+later minecraft when it came out)

[@Ratchet4647]

I thought of Spore in this video as well! The shift to sapience and seeing them wield spears and live in little settlements gave me major Spore Tribal Stage vibes.

[@dragao_generico]

Guys, the wait finally ended!

[@thecantina6029]

congrats on first comment. Your prize is a medal

[@qoombert]

it didn't for me, still 16 mins left

[@rngwrldngnr]

7:45 okay, I was familiar with a lot of these, but pigeons outperforming humans on the Monty Hall problem is the funniest piece of animal intelligence research I've ever seen. Also entirely plausible given how terrible humans are at it.

[@terdragontra8900]

It is necessary that the host in The Monty Hall problem purposefully opens one of the bad doors, if they open a random door and it *happens* to be bad, then switching and staying is the same chance, 50/50. This difference is too subtle for pigeons to grasp, I’m guessing, and their instincts are just coincidentally right.

[@rngwrldngnr]

@@terdragontra8900 From their abstract, "Across experiments, the probability of gaining reinforcement for switching and staying was manipulated, and birds adjusted their probability of switching and staying to approximate the optimal strategy. Replication of the procedure with human participants showed that humans failed to adopt optimal strategies, even with extensive training."

[@aa01blue38]

Humans are probably actively bad at it so it makes sense

[@iamasalad9080]

Biblaridion talks about humans as if he himself isn't human.

[@denifnaf5874]

Of course He's a book Look at his pfp (Joke)

[@paleopal]

@@denifnaf5874 Also the series is told from somewhat of an external perspective.

[@danolantern6030]

He’s a Neotecton that managed to work out general human culture and exposes what they know about their own planet to the universe.

[@chigau2533]

I noticed it too...

[@Lord_Of_Aether]

I'm turning 18 tomorrow and this is the best birthday present I could've asked for. I hope to see how the Ecumenes progress technologically, particularly in regards to writing and communication. Thank you Biblaridion!

[@takatacheroki2624]

Wishing you a happy birthday!

[@user-ey2om4qb9e]

Have a happy birthday

[@user-qk6to5he1t]

have a happy birthday

[@OrionTheHunter098]

:D

[@Kikabopom]

happy birthday

[@peterg.j.macpherson2451]

34:40 bro called out the entirety of the Tira subreddit with that one

[@chuckec]

This is peak worldbuilding. Easily one of my favorite channels of all time.

[@yamatanoorochi6203]

Ladies and gentlemen. We have just taken the last steps of a long, long journey. We observe the origin of life in another world. We observe the evolution of multiple organisms. We witness multiple climates and ecosystems form and change or disappear. We have seen how animals and plants adapted to changes in their world. We had to stand firm as we witnessed, without being able to do anything, a cataclysm that decimated many familiar faces. And now we saw not only the survivors that emerged and diversified from the ashes of said catastrophe, but also the first steps of a civilization. Although I wasn't fortunate enough to be here from day one, I do not regret at any time having come across this series or having followed it to the end. Not only I was able to see countless wonders, but I also learned many things that I thought I would never have any answers to. I'm truly grateful that the Alien Biospheres series exists; and I hope everyone feels the same as I do. Thank you for reading this comment, and goodbye.

[@volcryndarkstar3283]

We'll all be together again for the Alien Civilizations series though. See you then, friend.

[@eybaza6018]

I don't want to come off as overtly dramatic or emotional here,(in all honesty that's exactly how I feel right now)but this series has had a great impact on my life and further fueled my almost lifelong passion for science and biology. Discovered the series during the pandemic at around the time episode 4 came out. Back then I was younger and still struggled with English,but it helped me understand evolutionary phenomena and the factors that influence life in a way I haven't seen before besides maybe The Future is Wild. Seeing clades come and go as well as the sheer amount of passion and love by the community made and still makes it something special. It's honestly surreal to think I-and us in general have come this far,but like all good things-Alien Biospheres must come to an end. Thank you -Eybaza

[@fernandotrevinocastro1018]

Dude im tripping here, the way he aproach matters of the mind, from a completly biological source without polution of human assumptions, is truly enlightening. Im having revealing truths about myself every time he explains some facet of human inteligence existing in another way, and my subconsius mind protest.

[@eybaza6018]

@@fernandotrevinocastro1018 Exactly how I felt after watching this video. The fact a video about speculative sapient alien Evolution gave me more hope for myself and humanity as a whole than any movie I've ever seen is... I don't know if beautiful or concerning, perhaps both

[@1Thunderfire]

Inspiration can come from all kinds of places indeed. 😁

[@Elitekross]

An important note, the "25 years of brain development" idea is from a study that stopped measuring at 25. Many studies suggest that development never really stops. EDIT: the reason it's important is that that figure is specifically being used to try to deny even trans adults from transitioning.

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

Yep, though it is likely it slows down around that point, due to many changes in cell division occuring at 20~30 which seem related to minimising cancer in several vital organs (most notably the heart, which rapidly decreases cell division around that point until it has all but stopped [usually only performing a handful more divisions throughout the remainder of a human's life]), which in turn makes brain development largely based around reinforcement and plasticity, rather than neurogenesis, after that point, though H-NGF levels do indicate that some neurogenesis continues right up until death in most cases.

[@eninacur]

That shouldn’t be surprising at all but for some reason it is

[@EchoLog]

Fascinating, you mean that wad of slime mold noodles in my skull continues to adapt to its environments instead of just becoming what you were quantum-destined to be? As in, don't slow down and you never slow down, as in old dogs learning new tricks and surprising doctors? Gee what a thought 😅

[@John_Weiss]

It's worse than that: the original study wasn't about "maturity", but neuroplasticity. And what if found was that decision-making _ossified_ around age _27._ Not "matured", but changed one last time. The whole "matured" thing comes from first _assuming_ that "you aren't capable of decision making because you're not mature if you're under 25" to then use this study to "prove" the very thing you assumed. Completely circular reasoning. And it's being done to explain what basically comes down to Bad Parenting: "responsibility" and good-decision-making and other things associated with maturity _are all _*_LEARNED._* So if people in the US don't have these things by age 25, it's _because their parents did them dirty and never taught them._

[@benthomason3307]

so you're saying that the age of consent should be never?

[@ematic0054]

I don’t know if you’ll ever read this, but this series saved me! I’ve been going through a lot as my mothers heart began to fail her making me her caregiver, having to balance school and the stress that my mom could die led me to burnout, anxiety attacks, and declining grades which fueled my anxiety.. Your video series which I following sence day one helped me in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Thank you so much for this amazing series and this awesome community, I’m truly blessed.

[@shiy6055]

crazy to think I was 13 when this started. this series has kind of become a part of me because it ignited my love for zoology, both speculative and real. Every time I worldbuild I always come back to think about this series, and all the lessons it has taught me. I'm currently doing my biggest project for worldbuilding right now for a game I plan to make, and you bet you're going in the special thanks. without this series I don't really know who I'd be

[@chinmayjoshi3592]

This is a monumental moment in youtube history, and a proud one for the worldbuilding space. Years before, when I first started learning about this as a niche hobby, it was almost non-existent, with biblaridion being one of the few names whom you could count on your fingers. Now seeing this project's first series ending, I feel like I've become witness to something great.

[@ardabaser1349]

This video has broadened my horizon. I knew humans weren't the be-all and the end-all of civilization or intelligence ever since I knew about evolution, but this series of speculative biology have really made it apparent to me that many concepts we take for granted in this life such as morality, which fundamentally affects all our lives, is heavily hit in the metaphorical gut by this so called instinct lag. Learning more about this kind of stuff helps me contextualize parts of humanity that have crossed me as confusing or wrong. It even helps me realize that understanding humanity, and by extension myself, better isn't necessarily that big of a deal, either. I don't need stuff like that to justify the immense worth that I am attributing to these videos. But I got to understand why I am attaching such worth to these videos a tad better. This train of thought also got very existential, which this series has invoked in me a lot. All in all, this series I loved a great deal. It meant a lot to me. Thanks.

[@chickennuggetman2593]

Yep! Our sense of morality is completely subjective, and is something that simply evolved over time for various reasons.

[@BirbMob]

I think seeing this and then looking back at part one has helped me conceptualize and actually understand the last four years of my life. I started watching this as a kid in highschool not knowing what to do and now I'm an adult. In a way that might not make sense on a surface level, I think alien biospheres has helped with the evolution of my mind. I can't wait to see what's next in store.

[@purplesam2609]

The mention of the neotect finding grub-like animals cute gives me the mental image of a helper having one of those animals as a pet and treating it like a baby grub

[@nadri3335]

I would want to add that fire was a very important development for humans as with it they could cook food wich allowed them to decrease their stomach sizes so they spend less energy processing food and more on their brains. A miniscule detail that you passed over in the video, but I think it was amazing, also I don´t think these guys could develop states as their caste system may interfere with it. Thanks for your amazing work, I have loved every video you have published about the topic, and I will like to see more in the future :D

[@Kuba_K]

I believe sth like city states of ancient Greece would be possible

[@nadri3335]

@@Kuba_K probably, but nothing more than that I think is far out of the question

[@Zack-fu4lo]

India has a caste system and they made empires I think their biology will be the bigger limiting factor. I can't Imagine that body creating advanced tools like vehicles, cranes etc You can see it even with the spear. The way they hold the spears look off

[@Gelatinocyte2]

@@Kuba_K how about city states similar to mesoamerican civilizations?

[@user-ey2om4qb9e]

And agroculture

[@necross8770]

This video changed how i viewed sentience and culture. I hope fantasy writers will use this as inspiration to write fantasy races.

[@lexibyday9504]

Thank you very much for aknowleging that the "trekkian" model where every species in the galaxy, with some unnotworthy exceptions, is humanoid is a rediculously unrealistic trope that only persists because it's what we've come to expect to see.

[@mme.veronica735]

Well it also exists for a few other reasons. 1. You can't get non-humanoid speaking actors for aliens. 2. It's harder for the average person to understand the expressions of a non-humanoid alien. 3. It's harder to design and animate non-humanoid aliens even in fully animated mediums. (this one is admittedly a far smaller reason than the other two)

[@lexibyday9504]

@@mme.veronica735 the first and third points are less of an obstacle every passing year but the seccond one is probably more of one. People don't even understand each other's feelings.

[@Ismael-tv3dx]

@@mme.veronica735there’s also a fourth reason. Why? Aliens in media are often an allegory for how we treat other humans that are of a different race, ethnicity, sex, and a humanoid design is most useful for that. Truly alien characters are reserved for hard sci-if, something that you’d find in a cixin-Liu novel, not mainstream science fiction. Where the world building or sci-if concepts are the priority.

[@pills-]

@@mme.veronica735 Sad, that many people see #2 as a barrier to telling a story instead of an opportunity for a new story.

[@pohiena2666]

I discovered this series in my freshman year of high school during the pandemic. Although I got recommended before it, I never clicked because I though it wouldn't like it. But, oh man, how wrong I was. It introduced me to a whole new genre, speculative evolution, that turned into one of my favorite subjects in science-fiction overnight and opened a new window to express my love for biology. I started to await for months for new episode and after the wait turned too great, I joined the discord server. It's a good time to reflect on how much this has evolved from a planet of alien worms and anemones with hydrogen sulfide. Into a complex biosphere with enough material to fill many documentaries. As you can see I loved the series and can't wait for its next installment fleshing more of present day Tira.

[@joshandbrooke]

This show has made me who I am as a person today. Without such an amazing and understandable introduction to so many parts of biology that I would not have learned otherwise, I would not be able to understand the world in nearly as wide of a perspective as I can now. Thanks to this series for introducing me to speculative biology, I now know what subjects I'm gonna get degrees in when I get into college. My biggest passions greatest source: my incredible love and gratitude to you and this series of yours. Thank you.

[@itsalily_lei_lei]

Why is it that every time I rewatch most of your videos that all of a sudden you make a new post. This has been consistent over like the last two-three-four uploads. I keep accidentally summoning you 🔥

[@C9nr9d999]

please continue

[@theoarcher896]

rewatch biblaridion more often please

[@Diesalot-sc9qz]

Why didn’t you watch him more often then? We could’ve had this sooner. Shame on you

[@boredomofboredom]

It might actually be due to patrons. I can't confirm if Bib does this, but a lot of youtubers will post these videos a few weeks ahead on youtube as unlisted, then share them on patreon exclusively for their patrons to view early. KZbin's algorithm sees this and starts recommending older videos of the youtuber to their viewers who aren't patrons. I've noticed the same pattern on YDAW, Extra History, and Overly Sarcastic Productions where a few of their older videos will suddenly pop up into the recommended tab a few days to a week before a unlisted video is released to the public.

[@itsalily_lei_lei]

@@boredomofboredom Yeah I was randomly recommended one of Biblaridion’s videos like five days ago.

[@nathanboyce4451]

1:00:26 This animation left my jaw on the floor dude OMG This is genuinely the most creative and inspirational series that I have ever seen… emphasis on EVER

[@ethanemerson4862]

I don’t know why, I really like the interaction on the right where a worker comes in and hands the other worker the big rock.

[@bloodypigeon]

FULL LIST OF ARTISTS, ANIMATORS & THEIR ARTWORKS TIMESTAMPS Abraham Bhatara: 59:15 Arch/Noodle: 1:22:45 Arlo: 1:17:07 Aspen Aspires: 40:53 Astrovex: 28:19 47:10 1:27:58 Badger3000: 33:41 Baisbo: 48:11 1:00:03 1:01:02 Biegeltoren: 43:48 BitterestBuggy: 48:18 Billiman mcjonnson: 41:31 Bloody Pigeon: 30:48 36:52 Brainz PVZ: 45:10 59:52 1:26:22 BrunoBogdanov: 1:01:29 1:24:26 Burpopo: 29:09 1:00:25 1:37:08 C.M Kösemen: 5:18 58:53 1:00:47 clairevoyant: 1:06:47 1:19:15 ConnectionError: 1:22:22 Cycodude: 41:24 42:55 46:46 Dagoth: 1:13:33 1:14:31 DarkSonne: 41:16 43:10 Defaul7: 33:21 1:06:04 1:06:13 Dilophoraptor: 1:14 Dieguito_f.b: 33:11 DieSnail.F_B: 1:17:07 dinosaur dude: 1:18:21 Divun spy: 1:01:23 dlastriv: 1:11:48 Dragan: 30:16 44:28 1:18:54 Drogon: 1:25:54 DrSabman: 41:02 1:09:25 En: 41:54 Emerald Dragonflame: 29:33 Fact Jecker: 37:37 51:36 1:09:50 1:24:08 1:26:07 1:26:58 1:27:06 Fain: 33:16 Fionna: 1:36:17 Gaps: 31:18 50:29 1:19:31 Go0ober: 41:43 43:34 1:14:45 1:36:28 greeniverse: 1:01:08 1:27:40 Heath: 29:20 Idle Speculation: 1:04:27 1:09:38 1:12:04 1:27:25 1:29:36 1:29:49 1:35:38 jax_draw: 45:00 Junobeillie: 1:37:02 Kajak: 30:06 Kin: 25:13 28:03 30:58 41:48 1:22:09 Kiryu: 40:40 Kiwi the Cartographer: 28:24 36:09 45:05 leifbuildspecies: 29:38 1:36:22 1:36:50 Lilly: 25:03 31:01 42:33 1:35:20 LiketheWind: 29:26 losergod2677: 1:07:33 Luxudus: 37:43 1:35:13 1:35:46 1:37:05 Maarl3D: 43:26 50:16 1:06:40 Margyyn 34: 1:26:15 Max the ape og Ekansa: 31:12 1:07:53 MoonGator (CraftyCroc): 43:15 nature•gnat•iggy: 24:53 42:28 44:02 51:14 1:07:37 1:10:27 1:10:48 1:11:59 1:20:30 1:21:39 1:22:39 1:25:59 1:35:53 NazRigar: 1:18:31 1:24:17 NightSkyNyx: 28:10 48:32 OBUNGA: 1:10:38 1:26:46 OmarSzkarr: 1:14:39 Ordinary Tree Frog: 50:10 Oskatistum: 1:07:42 1:36:45 Otoman scandopod: 1:27:52 Outokana2: 1:26:28 paticipate: 24:59 pipimillion: 1:32 24:22 30:40 36:22 36:42 1:00:18 1:04:40 1:06:56 1:08:53 1:12:10 1:20:16 1:20:24 1:24:36 prehistorickid: 30:31 Project Solarae: 50:39 pumpkin: 1:27:48 Ray: 30:27 Rich Garratt: 1:00:56 1:04:34 1:21:50 1:22:26 1:27:37 1:34:42 RobbedUrchin: 1:34:29 Rohaerys: 1:14:51 Sashed Potato: 24:28 24:38 1:06:25 1:22:00 satan art pfp: 59:40 serjijion: 36:09 43:41 shortmoronicbrontothere: 1:24:29 Shynshylium: 24:18 36:13 40:08 51:47 1:05:58 1:11:37 1:27:32 Starlotte: 1:22 35:37 stretch_da_link: 1:09:53 syfw: 59:05 1:27:56 T.K. Sivgin: 1:00:09 Temeero: 44:39 47:19 51:01 1:22:36 TheOmegaSeal: 59:34 trex zueiro(capibara): 48:26 49:23 51:07 1:07:53 1:18:26 vacoda: 1:36:55 VincesUsername: 24:45 41:35 1:18:16 Wind Elemental: 43:56 1:22:13

[@TheCodemasterc]

This should be voted right to the top. Come on people!

[@bloodypigeon]

@@TheCodemasterc Biblaridion pinned my comments from part 6 to 14, but since he already has pinned his own comment I don't think this comment will make it to the top without likes, and it seems like if that is gonna happen we are gonna need 1000s more.

[@mahns4559]

dont be sad that its ending be happy that bib is free to do so much more

[@ShiniesoftheGanders]

This series carried me through my years as a sophomore in middle school, all the way to my graduation as a high school senior. Sincerely, thank you Biblaridion, for all the memories

[@thewall4069]

You know I never been so proud when these spider-like sapient aliens, while being almost completely different from us in biology, culture, and societal structure, developed so many traits common to us, not just in sapience and intelligence, but also in societal aspects. They so naturally developed beliefs, morality, biases, discrimination, and the potential to overcome these societal issues by following their altruism and reasoning. They're so different from us, and yet, they're just like us. This video kind of puts into perspective on why we do the things we do as people, I think it's interesting.

[@ToaOfFusion]

It's funny how he gives an example of convergent evolution in sapience. While the body plans are radically different between humans and the neotechs, their behaviors and fundamentals for mortality converge on a similar patterns given the environmental and evolutionary pressures needed to develop obligate sapience.

[@yannismorris4772]

@@ToaOfFusion Living in a forest that the climate turned into arid scrubland will do that to a species

[@happyslapsgiving5421]

I've been here since the beginning of time. Since sulfur eating anemones. And I'm here at the end of everything. I have observed the birth of this world, its many cataclysms and changes, the rise of the neotectons and their many falls. Always observing. Never intervening. For I am "the Watcher".

[@KiraiKatsuji]

Well Goodbye Alien Biosphere, it was an amazing ride with you.

[@KiraiKatsuji]

And welcome Alien Civilizations.

[@delenfrazier5727]

I was in 6th grade when I first stumbled across this series, and now I'm a junior in high school. Thank you so much for bringing me joy and knowledge through this series. Without this, I wouldn't be the person I am today.

[@nerdgator1379]

Same

[@hstochla]

Same here, I can’t believe it has been nearly five years since the start

[@Astro_Vex]

I started making illustrations for this series as a freshman in Highschool. The beginning of my art for this series may not have been the best, but it has given me a great opportunity to learn and improve! I'm a senior now, graduating very soon. This series renewed my interests in space as well as gave me new interests in Astrobiology and Evolution. The educational aspect of these videos has also helped me a lot in developing my own alien world building projects! I’m so glad I was able to participate as an artist in this series, and I’m eager to see what the future brings!!

[@quinnballard7050]

@Biblaridion... As a professional biologist this has been the coolest and most imaginative discussion on biology/ecology/and natural history on KZbin! Your work deserves an award of some sort... thank you so much for putting these videos together

[@gamecheatmaster123]

Maybe the lack of thrown projectile technology would encourage them to more quickly invent ranged weapons like bows or slingshots-which would only require the ability to pull back the elastic 'string', which I think they should be able to do fine. Maybe their bows would be held horizontally by their arms and the bowstring pulled back by one of the feeding arms around their head. They might evolve then features to better use those arms for that purpose over time.

[@chrisdaignault9845]

I wondered that too, although it’s also certainly possible that they would still lack the ability to ‘calculate’ arcing projectile trajectories in real time; humans retain that ability from tree-dwelling monkey brains.

[@TheCodemasterc]

@@chrisdaignault9845 True, plus given their comparatively poor distance and color vision being good at aiming would be a rare skill indeed. I imagine skilled archers would be both rare and highly prized.

[@teathesilkwing7616]

@@chrisdaignault9845true, although the advantage of range means I think they’d still make em. Wouldn’t be as good at it as us or use it as much, but, especially if they invent firearms, the range and power factor is huge. Maybe they would end up developing scopes and stuff very early on

[@Taqterra]

I thought so too, could easily align, draw, and shoot a bow type weapon with their ample and specialized mouth arm area

[@Cl-2048]

as someone who's shot a bow before, i cant see these guys being strong enough to be able to make something until they get a fair bit more advanced bows take a lot of arm strength to pull back all the way

[@RecilaRotten]

I've been watching since part one. I coaxed several friends into watching this series with me - only one is still here. This series got me formally beginning my own little speculative planet, really digging into my special interest of spec evo, and urging me to continue my adoration of actual evolutionary studies. I'm so excited.

[@borgshadow13]

34:40 what a way to throw shade ^^ excellent entry into your series, the level of care and nouanced discussion of scientific findings is always a pleasure

[@jondunlap1892]

8:10 this chart alone is going to be SO helpful for worldbuilders

[@thegodofsoapkekcario1970]

Watch as worldbuilders still make boring garbage like humans but with slightly more hair and sharper teeth.

[@naturegnatiggy]

That tanybrachid shade was perfect.

[@SashedPotato]

Hello iggy :))))

[@naturegnatiggy]

@@SashedPotato Hiiii!!!

[@someuser1279]

​@@naturegnatiggy If it isn't iggy!

[@blagageorge3824]

just seemed petty to me, but to each their own

[@voidify3]

Premiering at 4am my time lmao. I’ll rewatch the whole series today to get it fresh in my mind

[@mahns4559]

damn its also premiering at 4am for me aswell

[@Diesalot-sc9qz]

Hell yeah, more Aussies

[@user-bs9vo8eu2s]

Australia?

[@alexthebored4010]

It’s nine pm for me

[@ehoryurchenko5992]

8 pm for me.

[@th3gr1zzlyk1ng8]

Honestly i am quite interested to see how the neotectons would industrialize and how their versions of modern structures such as skyscrapers would differ from ours. one aspect i would be particularly interested in seeing would be what a car/train/plane would look like in their culture.

[@TheSpearkan]

Welcome to Tira 292b, where class warfare is also gender warfare!

[@itsovermyhead940]

This series has made me love how evolution works

[@shitpostgrotto2982]

Thank you to Biblaridion for making this series. A lot of these episodes have sparked my imagination in ways that I don't often experience. Thank you to all the artists, yes every single one you, for bringing this series to life. It's heartwarming to see how this series has had such an effect on so many people, pushing them to create homages to it. Thank you to everyone who watched along with all these episodes. I don't recall how I found the first episodes of Alien Biospheres, but I likely would not have found it if the view counts were low. This whole series was something special and I'm proud of you that you made it. I will be fondly rewatching this entire series at some point I'm sure.

[@LashknifeTalon]

Perhaps the rapid decline in brain size in humans without any clear decline in cognitive abilities is us selecting for energy efficiency in thinking? Like we're adapting to do more with less? If you can arrange your brain to do all the same stuff with like, a couple thousand less neurons, great! We already use SO MUCH energy on our brains, if we can cut some of that budget by improving efficiency, we might end up with stronger/faster/tougher humans that would improve fitness.

[@KrazyKaiser]

Can I haz pattern recognition? To avoid predators? Yees.

[@barituned]

I started watching this series when i was a middle schooler and now I'm in high school full of dreams and aspirations in linguistics, worldbuilding and etc. Thanks Biblardion for being an inspiration to us all. o7

[@OrionTheHunter098]

Me too (:

[@ulyssecohenner9640]

Hi Bib, I just hope you realize that you probably created the most well-known complete speculative biology phylum in recorded history. If it sounds like I'm being dramatic, please reconsider. Many thanks for the years that have just passed. You're outstanding, and I'm looking forward to what's to come.

[@TearsOfLa]

I never knew I needed movie length videos about the evolution of megafaunal spiders and the development of arachnid racism, but watching these videos over the last few years has unexpectedly become a highlight of my internet perusal. Now that the 30 hour introduction to this setting is done, I cant wait to see where the videos go from here.

[@FeralHydra75]

At the start: Oh boy ancient sapients! By the end: RACISM

[@swsamp8397]

Started this series in high school and now I’m studying physics at university. What a wild ride, thank you for continuing to make this awesome series

[@Nazrigar]

Like anticipating the Super Bowl for Spec Evo and Worldbuilding fans, nice!

[@engineerengifar5713]

With the level of intelligence Portia spiders show it comes as no surprise that Adrian Tchaikovsky used them as a model for the intelligent species in Children of Time.

[@thefrenchselkie1401]

yeah!!! great book.

[@Cl-2048]

thats the one book by him i havent read he seems to like invertebrates considering the designs of basically every alien species besides the architects

[@hudsonbakke8836]

One very unique thing about humans that (to my knowledge) doesn't exist at all in other "facultatively sapient" animals is the fundamental disconnection between sapient characteristics and survival/wellbeing. And to be careful not to make an oversimplification, to be clear, most/all of these characteristics do emerge from broader characteristics that are the direct result of survivalist pressure, however they themselves have evolved beyond the point of basic utility, yet still are retained and have even been greatly expanded upon. One quintessential example is music, and art in general. Art gives us seemingly absolutely no direct survival benefit; in fact, if anything, it hurts our ability to survive because it uses up energy on things that could be used for other, more utilitarian tasks. Yet, rather than disappearing, the tendency for artistic expression, and the enjoyment of experiencing other humans' artistic expressions has flourished and expanded, becoming one of the most unmistakable aspects of human culture and society. Another example of sapience disconnected from survivalism would be religion, or just metaphysical worldviews in general. To be clear, part of the idea of religion comes directly or indirectly from very much innate and instinctive characteristics, such as the fear of dying or the desire for community, however humans have extended these things FAR beyond their original "purpose". To be fair, it's hard to tell exactly what other animals think since they don't have abstract language (another highly unique feature of humans), but as far as I'm aware, there's no evidence that any animals other than humans make any attempt to rationalize the world, or speculate at anything beyond what's immediately relevant to their own survival. Other animals don't care if there's a god(s), they don't care if the world was created or not, they don't care if there's any kind of objective morality or ethics, and they don't care if the world has any inherent purpose or meaning, or even the capacity to understand what purpose and meaning are. These are all uniquely human traits. My point in all this is not to elevate humans as special, but rather to give another point of comparison between humans and other highly intelligent animals, and help create a more clear and objective definition of "sapience." I would define it not as something that's obligatory, but rather "sapience" concerning humans instead should refer to our collective ability and desire to reason and understand beyond what's immediately relevant for our survival, to the extent that it fundamentally undergirds our entire society and culture.

[@orbismworldbuilding8428]

The way you define sapience is how i define sophoncy Also orca gain nothing physically from wearing dead salmon, and even cats will play with toys. Why wouldn't creatures find or make toys if they could? Elephants wave branches at the full moon, that serves no survival purpose even if they think it does He talked already about how many facultative sapient animals do things that don't have survivalist purposes. So that isn't something that highlights how special we are either, we are pretty much just a byproduct. We just started making abstractions of abstractions, that's it

[@seal9390]

@@orbismworldbuilding8428You are made in the image of God, you are special.

[@Ismael-tv3dx]

⁠@@orbismworldbuilding8428 cats in specific play with toys, for the same reason young mammals play with each other. It’s good practice for their skills for when they need them. For why humans make art, I think that the tendency to make art is a consequence of creative thinking, as an obligate sapient species we evolved for more creative thinking, even if it leads to us spending our time making nonsense, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

[@GrayXephyr]

@@seal9390 we're special because we exist. we don't exist because we're special.

[@scvannost]

​@@Ismael-tv3dx couldn't non-human animals think that we humans aren't sapient ourselves - most play by children can be read as practice for survival in adulthood, and music and art could be read as ways of communicating and expressing ideas that are too complex for work. Additionally things like working songs for team coordination blur the line of not-survival-required art to survival-important "work"

[@samueltrusik3251]

IT IS FINALLY HERE! The new alien history civilization series is gonna be goated. God bless your work, Brother!

[@PAGai.]

I can't wait to see the multiverse of alien biospheres that are born from this project

[@taliesincoleman6569]

well... that was mindblowning... REALLY PROFOUND ACTUALLY. it's making we me have long self-reflecting thoughts about human nature in general that SO MUCH of it can be attributed to this concept of "instinctual lag"

[@wasolaso1840]

I feel like one aspect that hasn't been explored enough in this episode is domestication and selective breeding. I would love to what plants and animals Neotectons would domesticate and how would they be changed to better suit their needs. I would imagine animal husbandry plays a much more important role to Neotectons as they mostly feed on meat but they would still grow plants for cattle feed as well as spices and seasoning for their food. Also as home decoration is so important to their society they would surely grow and lot of various ornamental plants

[@WasatchWind]

I was hoping he'd discuss agriculture a bit. I think he was trying very hard to not be anthropocentric. An agricultural revolution isn't guaranteed, neither are other things that people are talking about in the comments like an industrial revolution. It would be interesting though investigating what technologies would be possible and less likely or impossible for neotecs though.

[@seretith3513]

Time to watch the whole thing from Start again. It's allways worth it

[@TimParaxade]

A series I feel no shortage of pride to have followed from beginning to end, and one I expect to come back to many a time, if only for the amazingly wild ride it has proven to be these past few years. Thank you for this.

[@TheHortoman]

I love how a basis of the point of the video is avoiding teleological thinking but its so ingrained in the human psyche that its not absent from the video itself either

[@zacharydackerydock5522]

Man, I love a science video that begins with disclaimers. It’s how you know you’re out in the fringes