Re: The scientific method and the AAH
Pat Dooley (patdooley@aol.com)
6 Dec 1994 00:15:22 -0500
In article <lmm5-061194163057@132.236.78.29>, lmm5@cornell.edu (loopy
lemon) writes:
>unwebbed --> webbed. We start out with webbed fingers. It is the original
>state, not a special adaptation. Like hairlessness, it can easily be
>explained by a very simple mutation that doesn't really mean anything.
It's
>a simple reversion.
Hairlessness a simple mutation? So how come we can just about divide
mammals into three categories:
1. Hairy land dwellers.
2. Large hairless aquatic and wallowing mammals.
3. Small oily haired, multi-coated semi-aquatic mammals.
For a savannah animal, hairlessness is just about the stupidest mutation
possible. It removes protection from the tropical sun; it reduces the
efficiency of sweating, and it removes thermal insulation against
surprisingly frigid savannah
nights.
Now, once an animal has lost its hair, it takes a lot of evolutionary
pressure to
get it back. The AAT provides a plausible explanation for hairlessness,
The
savannah theory, in all its mutations, has never actually come up with a
plausible explanation for hairlessness.
Pat D trying out AOL for the first time.
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