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From: colby@bu-bio.bu.edu (Chris Colby)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Paranormal phenomena and evolution
Message-ID: <73087@bu.edu.bu.edu>
Date: 24 Jan 91 23:55:27 GMT
References: <2523.2796bb60@verifone.com> <72753@bu.edu.bu.edu> <1435@gtx.com> <6735@harrier.ukc.ac.uk>
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Reply-To: colby@bu-bio.UUCP (Chris Colby)
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In article <6735@harrier.ukc.ac.uk> sss3@ukc.ac.uk (S.S.Sturrock) writes:
>In article <1435@gtx.com> al@gtx.UUCP (Alan Filipski) writes:
>>In article <72753@bu.edu.bu.edu> colby@bu-bio.UUCP (Chris Colby) writes:
>> 
>>>	We, as in humans, are not evolving. Given that just about
>>>about everyone lives to reproductive age and reproduces, natural
>>>selection is not acting on our species. Also, the population size
>>>of human beings is such that genetic drift does not take place.
>> 	
>>>	To be a little more accurate,
>>>some small amount of selection and drift is most likely occuring,
>>>but it is negligible compared to other living species and our exposure
>>
>
>How the hell can you make such a stupid statement as 'We, .., are not
>evolving.'  Sheesh, that's as bad as the time I had an argument with
>a Catholic about evolution and she stated that evolution could not
>possibly happen because if it did, why has it stopped?

	I never claimed all evolution stopped, merely that the
rate of change of human evolution is at the slowest point it
(probably) ever has been. Look in the newsgroup talk.origins
for my full argument. I did not transfer the small part of
my post you quote to this newsgroup.

>Your time frame is totally insignificant.

	An instantaneous rate of change can be calculated for
evolutionary processes. The rate is equal to the amount of
additive genetic variance in fitness (Fishers Fundamental
Theory of Evolution).

[Natural History "lesson" omitted]

	I am well aware of the timescale of evolution.

>GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE BUCKET!
>
>Evolution takes a long time, but wait, I am 6'3" tall, much taller than
>people were 500 years ago, you try walking around in a Medieval house
>without stooping.  The average height is much greater than it was then,
>so that is evolution is it not?

	No, actually it is not evolution. Better diet and medicine
have caused an increase in human height. If you ate and had the same
medical attention as people did 500 years ago you would be their
height. The increased hieght is not heritable.

>Do I smell the foul odour of a Christian pervading the atmosphere of
>a science newsgroup?  :-)

	No, you smell the foul odor of a graduate student studying
evolutionary biology. Look in talk.origins or sci.skeptic and
see my full line of reasoning before you try to teach me evolutionary
theory jerk. And while you are at it, aquaint yourself with various
mathematical models of evolution such as the Hardy Weinberg eq-
uilibrium, Wrights Adaptive landscape model and (as I mentioned)
Fishers Fundamental Theory of Evolution.

>Hmmmm?
>
>Shane Sturrock, Biol Lab. Canterbury, Great Britain.