Re: Polar Bear Challenge for AAH opponents

Pat Dooley (patdooley@aol.com)
18 Dec 1994 22:50:25 -0500

In article <3cttee$kqs@rebecca.albany.edu>, pn8886@csc.albany.edu (Phil
Nicholls) writes:

<< deletions>>

>Your constant emphansis on convergence ignores that fact that it
>is not all that common and is certain not the driving principle
>of evolution.

Sometimes you betray a woeful ignorance of evolutionary theory. To quote
one sentence from Dawkins' The Blind Watchmaker:

"Australia, South America, and the Old World offer numerous further
examples of multiple convergence".

His chapter "making tracks through animal space" has many wonderful
examples of convergent evolution, including vertebrate eyes and Octopus
eyes.

If a zoologist is investigating a feature and wants to explain how it
evolved
then she or he is very likely to look for similar features in other
species.
Evolution is very good at filling niches with good designs; not
surprisingly,
the same designs get reused. Is hairlessness an example? I think so
since evolution has never had any use for it in land-based animals.

Pat Dooley