We seem to have forgotten "The Blind Watchmaker" by Dawkins.
It only takes 1 monkey to randomly replicate Shakespeare because the
process is only partially random as Barney points out..
Randy
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RK Bangert, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Biological Sciences
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On Feb 15, 2009, at 4:57 AM, William Silvert wrote:
The problem in addressing this kind of argument is that scientists
(especially astronomers, physicists and gelogists) are used to
dealing with large numbers that are incomprehensible to most people.
The argument about random changes to watches sounds reasonable, just
as the idea that a room full of monkeys would never replicate
Shakespeare's writings makes sense. But what about billions of
watches with a generation time of several days or months over
biollions of years? All kinds of strange permutations could occur!
Although unsuccessful "natural experiments" are hard to document
since they tend to go extinct, the fossil record still contains many
examples of interesting evolutionary dead ends. The pre-cambrian
creatures in the Burgess Shale are amazing, so totally unlike the
ones that survived. Some of these dead ends are still with us, as an
appendix or coccyx.
Of course directed evolution would get us where we are much faster,
and we wouldn't have to deal with so many powers of ten. But it
isn't necessary.
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Harvey" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2009 2:06 AM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Gallup poll on evolution
When I studied genetics I learned that natural mutations were
largely random. The creationists' scorn of improving a watch by a
random change is strong. I would like to see studies showing how
environmental parameters can direct chromosomal changes so that
they are not random and that adaptation will occur and makes
sense. Without such demonstration, we are all asked to "believe"
evolution.
I don't work in this field and may have missed such reports but I
have not seen them.
--
Michael Harvey
Victoria, BC
