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From: jeff@rtech.ARPA (Jeff Lichtman)
Newsgroups: net.origins
Subject: Re: Ahhhhh.  thank you Padraig Houlahan!!
Message-ID: <301@rtech.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 20-Apr-85 04:25:53 EST
Article-I.D.: rtech.301
Posted: Sat Apr 20 04:25:53 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Apr-85 01:20:51 EST
References: <1732@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: Relational Technology, Berkeley CA
Lines: 37

> 
> YOU replied:  "By your own admission it's Bunk. (cutting off rat's tails
> producing changes)  Evolution can't be induced by severing limbs, since 
> such gross actions will not alter the GENETIC (italics mine) make-up of the
> creature.  Evolution requires a change in genetic structure."
> 
> BUT you see, Padraig, that is indeed MY point, BUT that is not the point of
> the Evolutionists I quoted in the posting (Jay Gould among them).  THEY
> see behavior as a MAJOR (99%) factor in the anatomical evolution of the
> human form!!!!!!  
> 
> Ken Arndt

First of all, it is easy to conceive of a situation in which cutting off rats'
tails could cause evolution.  Imagine a colony of laboratory rats in which
every rat's tail gets cut off when it reaches adulthood.  Any rat which was
born without a tail would have a higher chance of survival because it there
would be nothing to cut off, thus it wouldn't have to undergo an operation
which could cause fatal bleeding or infection.  Each rat born without a tail
would have a greater chance of passing on its genes to the next generation.
Eventually, the last rat born with a tail would die from bleeding or infection,
and all the only ones left would be genetically tailless.

It's also easy to imagine a situation in which behavior could influence
evolution.  Suppose that a tribe existed in which tallness was considered
to be extremely important in selecting a spouse.  Tall people would be more
likely to get married (and thus have children), so eventually everyone in
the tribe would be tall.

Remember that evolution requires genetic differences between individuals
and some form of selection.  Behavior and external physical factors normally
can't change genes, but they can provide selection.  I say "normally" because
it external physical factors (including ones influenced by behavior, like
diet) could conceivably affect the mutation rate.
-- 
Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.)
aka Swazoo Koolak