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From: jiml@cavell.UUCP (Jim Laycock)
Newsgroups: talk.origins
Subject: Re: Dead Brain Weight - reply to 'Stuart' 24 Jun
Message-ID: <897@cavell.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Sep-86 21:59:13 EDT
Article-I.D.: cavell.897
Posted: Thu Sep 18 21:59:13 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 25-Sep-86 00:28:23 EDT
References: <5387@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Reply-To: jiml@cavell.UUCP (Jim Laycock)
Organization: U. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Lines: 41

In article <5387@decwrl.DEC.COM> arndt@lymph.dec.com writes:
>Can someone give a
>SINGLE fact in support of the Theory of Evolution????
>
>Remember, "vertibrates evolved from invertibrates", and "thumbs evolved to
>make it easier to handle toilet paper" are tautologies, not 'facts'.
>
>Remember the 'creationists' silly listing of points that seemed to go on and
>on forever?  Let's hear it from the Evolutionists!!
>
>Go ahead.  Make my day.
>Ken Arndt

There is a great deal of corroborative evidence for the Theory of Evolution--
evidence that one would have great trouble explaining in other models of how
we came to be here.

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny."  What
it means is that fetal development (for the individual) mimics what we believe
to be the evolutionary development (of the species).  At early stages in the
womb, the human fetus has gills, a tailbone, and other structures that our
evolutionary forebears possessed.  Even as adults, humans possess many
vestigal features.  The appendix and the ear-wiggling muscle (some people
have it, others don't) are two examples of out-moded structures in humans.
Can you suggest in non-evolutionary terms, Ken, why such structures might
be present?

Evolutionary adaptation can be clearly seen in organisms with much shorter
life-spans.  We are constantly changing our medicines in response to changing
bacterial and viral strains.  A certain species of bird has turned from
white to grey to survive in industrial cities.  The domestication of dogs
and horses over the past few centuries attests to a human influence over
species adaptation, but the changes would just as surely take place under
natural conditions.  But I babble.  Chow.
-- 
  Jim Laycock
  decvax!bellcore!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!alberta!cavell!jiml
    OR
  alberta!Jim_Laycock@UQV-MTS
 
  Philosophy major, University of Alberta (5th year)