[teekert]

First of all, "evolving" happens by selective pressures and over generations on a population level. But I see what you mean, you mean changing to accommodate to the environment. But here we are not talking about tanning to compensate for increased UV exposure, we are not even talking about changing to match our environment, we are talking about reducing an illness by evoking memories of the past by physical objects.

Unless this past environment was one that actually kills cancers cells (I don't know how the Big Lebowksi might do that) or perhaps reduces tumor growth I can't imagine any way how this can work.

What I can imagine is going on a time out, reducing stress and thus biological stress responses does have an influence on a tumor. I hope they are compensating for this effect. They should have a control group in a reduced stress environment (or something that mimics all evironmental variables of the back-in-time room but for the back-in-time aspect) perhaps with a bluray disc of Lucy.

Hey or perhaps dumbphones induce less stress. Perhaps you get better sleep in the 2003 environment, light/circadian rithm is known to influence cancer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_factors_for_breast_cancer#...

Et cetera et cetera, et cetera

[sophacles]

Evolve is a word much older than Darwin. It means "develop gradually". My opinion can evolve. My code can evolve. My body can evolve.

It does not now, nor has it ever, meant strictly the biological notion you limited it to above. The GP post used the word correctly.

[comicjk]

If I assert that a man runs, I might mean that he flows under pressure, but you would probably interpret me to mean that he moves quickly on his feet. "An organism evolving" similarly tends toward one particular meaning. When you then say you mean to be "within the bounds of scientific discourse," how can you blame someone for thinking you are using the scientific definition?

[sophacles]

When you then say you mean to be "within the bounds of scientific discourse,"

I said no such thing. I am not the person who used the word "evolve". I merely am capable of understanding that sometimes pedantry doesn't actually help anything.

[saraid216]

So why did you respond to pedantry with more pedantry?

[mrqwerty]

Evolve means gradual change to me. For the more sophisticated amongst us, we are able to take the root meaning of the word and understand it's implication in different contexts.

[sophacles]

My statement sometimes pedantry doesn't actually help anything implies that sometimes it does help things. IMO this was one of those occasions.

[mcguire]

"(The other group at San Miguel will have the support of fellow cancer patients but will not live in the past; a third group will not experience any research intervention.)"