At 10:31 PM 9/1/05 EDT, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > If you define evolution as whatever survives, then, > whatever survives is, ipso facto, evolution!
You've nailed it! Except "evolution" simply means "change"; a "theory of evolution" is an explanation of the mechanism behind the change. We refer to the random-change theory as "the theory", rather than "a theory", because all other theories have dropped out of serious consideration; so far all our epicycle analogs have fit right in, without becoming un-needed complication, so the random-change theory of evolution hasn't needed replacing the way the perfect-circle theory of planetary movement did. This theory states that there isn't any grand design, and there is no progress toward a perfect ideal: it's just that in any given environment, some changes tend to die out, and some changes tend to multiply. Critters well adapted to their environment are more likely to be among those that tend to multiply -- but it's quite possible to have a critter that lives a long and prosperous life but leaves no offspring; I'm an excellent example. So is the pet cat, which is healthier and longer-lived *because* it has been neutered. Changes happen a lot faster than Darwin supposed. Recent work shows that "static" species are actually vibrating: certain birds get a little bigger or a little smaller every generation, but can't go very far before a dry season or a wet season slaps them back the other way. If the climate changed, the birds would grow or shrink to fit it in a geological eyeblink. This is called, if I recall correctly, "punctuated equilibrium". These random changes usually create finely-tuned critters that *appear* to have been designed. An excellent illustration of the process happened when my spouse planted grass on raw new soil dredged out of the lake: when the grass came up, I said "I see that your new seeder sows the seed in rows." He answered, "No, it broadcasts. The seeds rolled down into the furrows left by the drag I used to smooth the sand." The seeds flew out of the broadcaster at random, but the environment they encountered imposed a pattern on them. Which is why some kangaroos have faces like deer, leave deer turds on walkways, and jump out in front of cars just like deer. Don't taste much like venison, though, and I haven't heard of them invading suburban gardens to eat the tomato plants. It's also why the area around Chernobyl looks like a wildlife preserve despite increased rates of mutation. The genes are hopping about more, but they are still rolling down into the same furrows. -- Joy Beeson http://home.earthlink.net/~joybeeson/ http://home.earthlink.net/~dbeeson594/ROUGHSEW/ROUGH.HTM http://home.earthlink.net/~beeson_n3f/ http://www.timeswrsw.com/craig/cam/ (local weather) west of Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A. To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
