Re: Neo Darwinism's utility.
- From: "Dana Tweedy" <reddfrogg@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2005 22:12:46 GMT
<bimms@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1128893601.013972.92310@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>> biological evolution, and most scientists understand the difficulty in
>> determining just how much influence natural selection has had on the
>> diversity of life.
>>
>
> Natural selection is an empty concept. It boils down to this:
>
> "The strongest survive."
That's not correct. Natural selection is the concept that in a population,
there will be a difference in the reproductive success of the members of
that population. Sometimes it's the strongest that survive, sometimes it's
the quickest, sometimes it's the most intelligent, best camoflaged, etc....
>
> Any kindergarten child could have told you that. Just look at a
> kindergarten playground. As soon as the teacher looks the other way,
> the bully pushes the weakling down to the ground.
But that does not mean that the bully survives to reproduce.
>
> If evolutionists wish to stake their reputation upon such an obvious
> concept as "the strongest survive" they are welcome to it.
But natural selection does not mean that the strongest always survive.
>
> But it is a gigantic leap from saying "the strongest survive" to saying
> "all living organisms are descended from a single ancestor."
It would be, if anyone ever made that claim.
>
> This, of course, is the critical difference between Micro- and macro-
> evolution. Any idiot can see that micro-evolution happens everyday,
> from bacteria to the kindergarten playground.
Microevolution is genetic change in a population below the level of species.
It's not a bully pushing kids in a playground.
>
> The question is whether SPECIATION occurs. And it does not. Has not
> been observed.
Sorry, but you are incorrect. Speciation does happen and has been observed.
> Unless, of course, you decide to arbitrarily define a
> "species" in such a manner that when a bacteria mutates, it
> automatically is a new "species."
When a population of bacteria becomes genetically distinct from it's parent
population, that is speciation. It's not usually a single mutation that
causes speciation.
>Yep, we've seen that kind of shell
> game before.
We have indeed seen Creationists who don't understand the concept of
speciation make the claim that it doesn't happen.
>
> It takes a special kind of ideological hubris to make the giant leap
> from survival of the fittest WITHIN a species, to saying that ALL
> SPECIES are descended from a single ancestor. Thanks, Darwin.
Darwin did not make such a "leap". Darwin pointed out the evidence that
showed the relationship of species, and proposed a mechanism by which
organisms have diverged from ancestrial species. Natural selection is
part of that mechanism.
DJT
.
- References:
- Re: Neo Darwinism's utility.
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- Re: Neo Darwinism's utility.
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