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From: ethan@utastro.UUCP (Ethan Vishniac)
Newsgroups: net.origins
Subject: Re: The Scientific Case for Creation: (Part 17)
Message-ID: <140@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 25-May-85 18:16:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.140
Posted: Sat May 25 18:16:58 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 27-May-85 07:38:07 EDT
References: <359@iham1.UUCP> <552@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 53

> >                Museum of Natural History.   In  a  talk  he  gave  on
> >                November  5,  1981  to  leading  evolutionists  at the
> >                American Museum of Natural History, he presented  some
> >                new  data  on amino acid sequences in several proteins
> >                of a number of animals.  The  relationships  of  these
> >                animals,  according  to  evolutionary theory, has been
> >                taught in classrooms for many decades.  Dr.  Patterson
> >                pointed  out  to a stunned audience that this new data
> >                contradicts the theory of  evolution.  In  his  words,
> >                ''The  theory makes a prediction; we've tested it, and
> >                the prediction is falsified precisely.''  Although  he
> >                acknowledged  that  scientific  falsification is never
> >                absolute, the thrust of his entire talk  was  that  he
> >                now  realized  that ''evolution was a faith,'' that he
> >                had ''been duped into  taking  evolution  as  revealed
> >                truth  in  some  way,''  and ''that evolution not only
> >                conveys  no  knowledge  but  seems  to  convey   anti-
> >                knowledge,  apparent  knowledge  which  is  harmful to
> >                systematics  [the  science  of  classifying  different
> >                forms   of  life].''  [''Prominent  British  Scientist
> >                Challenges    Evolution    Theory,''    Audio     Tape
> >                Transcription  and  Summary by Luther D. Sunderland, 5
> >                Griffin Drive, Apalachin, New  York  13732.  Also  see
> >                Luther  D. Sunderland and Gary E. Parker, ''Evolution?
> >                Prominent Scientist Reconsiders,'' ICR IMPACT, No.108,
> >                June 1982.]
> 
> You boys are going to get real SOMEday, right?  What the h*ll kind of
> SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE is this crap?!?!  "Somebody else (a "Prominent
> British Scientist" no less!) says that there's a prediction made by a
> theory and there's data that contradicts it."  Well what the h*ll is
> the prediction, and what the h*ll is the data, and why the h*ll does
> the unspecified data contradict the unspecified prediction?!?!?!?!  If
> you really do have evidence, then post it.  But direct the above
> garbage to /dev/null.  Get it out of here.
> 
Actually, we've been through this before in this newsgroup.  The quoted
evidence is that the biochemical affinities of snakes (and lizards), 
alligators and birds showed that the birds were slightly more closely
related to the alligators than the two groups of reptiles were to each
other.  I'm sorry to say that I don't remember the exact experiments
quoted.  The statement that this contradicts evolutionary predictions is one
of those lovely flights of fancy that enliven this newsgroup.  The above is
just what one would expect after perusing (for example) Colbert's
"Evolution of the Vertebrates".  If one wants to be picky, take an early
edition that predated any of the biochemical work.  It doesn't make much
difference.  I don't know much about Patterson, but the way he's quoted in
this newsgroup makes him sound like a complete bozo.

"Don't argue with a fool.      Ethan Vishniac
 Borrow his money."            {charm,ut-sally,ut-ngp,noao}!utastro!ethan
                               Department of Astronomy
                               University of Texas