Re: Where are the zoologists?
loopy (lmm5@cornell.edu)
17 Dec 1994 21:01:37 GMT
In article <3ctrs5$2ap@newsbf01.news.aol.com>, patdooley@aol.com (Pat
Dooley) wrote:
> Evolution can't invent new features out of thin air.
> if the most primitive
> vertebrate ancestor got its eyes mis-wired then all vertebrates are
> condemned to share the same fate. But look what has been built
> on that base - the acute vision of birds of prey; color recognition;
> near night vision...The subsequent develops are pure evolution.
what on earth is "pure evolution" and what does it have to do with the
argument? You have this idea that features XYZ in humans _must_ be
explained by adaptation, they all _must_ be explained together, and on top
of it all they _must_ be explained by a complex, completely unobserved
behavior. You are a pure adaptationist, which is a dangerous way to think
about evolution. You really, really, need to read Gould. I believe the
piece you want is the "Spandrels of San Marco."
> And, in the case of human evolution, time had a good few million years
> at its disposal.
You treat time as if it is some sort of guiding force. Here is how I see
your understanding of natural selection and the AAH:
miocene ape fossils
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[NATURAL SELECTION, WHICH HAS A WILL OF ITS OWN, ACTS SO FAST WE CAN'T SEE
IT]
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no fossils at all, but insert aquatic apes that engage in complex,
specialized activities
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[NATURAL SELECTION KEEPS WORKING HERE, REALLY FAST, ON EVERYTHING BUT THE
SKELETON, BUT STOPS WORKING JUST IN TIME FOR US TO DISCOVER THE....]
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...Australopithecine fossils! No evidence of aquatic activity at all. Of
course, they were lousy bipedal apes, so that's why we need to insert...
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[NATURAL SELECTION AGAIN! IT SUDDENLY STARTS ACTING ON THE LEGS AND BRAIN
FOR NO APPARENT REASON, SINCE PAT HAS PROVEN THAT APES ARE NO GOOD ON THE
SAVANNAH AND BY RIGHTS THIS POOR HOMINID SHOULD BE DEAD! WELL, OKAY MAYBE
NATURAL SELECTION TOLD THE APE TO STAY IN THE WATER A LITTLE LONGER, BUT WE
CAN'T PROVE IT. SO WHAT THE HEY, SOME OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES STICK
AROUND FOR NO APPARENT REASON. ALL OF WHICH EVENTUALLY LEADS US TO...]
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Modern humans.
Natural selection is not a magic wand you wave when you run across a
feature you don't understand.
Lucie
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L.Melahn, lmm5@cornell.edu MYN GLAS LOOPT RAS
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