Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 12:08:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Matt Dennis <corwin3083-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Steve's Castles in the Sand







---John Duryea <jtduryea-AT-dmv.com> wrote:
>
> 
> >>It seems to me that a species may,
> >>in fact, suddenly disappear, but it is difficult to see how a new
species
> >>might quite so easily suddenly *appear*.
> 
> 
> Hmmm, why so difficult? Is there a bias at work here? Seems to me that
> nature does most of its evolutionary work in an all of a sudden
fashion;
> earthquakes, comet strikes, volcanoes, why not too the creation of a
> species? Rather than gradual evolution we have quantum of evolution,
step
> change so to speak. Unfortunately for the Marxists, with this
realization,
> their entire Utopian ideal of achieving a stateless society through
the
> gradual evolution of the perfect herd man within the dictatorship of
the
> prolietariat becomes simple bullshit.

Punctuated equilibrium. Look it up, dammit, so I don't have to keep
repeating it!

> >Sorry for any confusion. The notion is that a new species that
appears is
> >liable to have already been on the scene for some time, possibly as a
> >subgroup within the main population, or as a marginalized (isolated?)
> >outgroup. Repeat this enough times and you're liable, thus, to end
up with
> >chimps in one part of the world, orangatans in another part, but both
> having
> >stemmed from some other transitional form or forms (we, of course,
have no
> >reason to consider any evolutionary form as other than
transitional, as was
> >pointed out).
> >
> >Steve
> 
> There goes the science of genetics out the window, jettisoned like
so much
> excess baggage. Gee, wonder why sharks haven't evolved for 200 million
> years? Steve just keeps on building his castles in the sand. Note
once again
> that Steve's latest "theory" cannot rule out that apes evolved from
men,
> need to add on another wing to the castle Steve. Uh oh, watch out,
there's a
> tsunami on the horizon...
> 
> John T. Duryea

Not to disappoint you, but sharks have evolved in the last 200 million
years. Try comparing fossil shark skeletons to modern shark skeletons
sometime. Just because a species doesn't change externally, you should
not draw the faulty conclusion that it is not evolving. Sometimes it's
just refining itself

-Matt
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