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From: beede@hubcap.UUCP (Mike Beede)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Why are Humans as Smart as They Are?
Message-ID: <373@hubcap.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Aug-87 19:09:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: hubcap.373
Posted: Fri Aug  7 19:09:43 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Aug-87 07:10:15 EDT
References: <3058@blia.BLI.COM>
Organization: Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Lines: 25

in article <3058@blia.BLI.COM>, heather@blia.BLI.COM (Heather Mackinnon) says:
> 
> [ much deleted ]
> 
> It's also possible that evolution is preprogrammed to some extent, like
> the flowering of a plant.  At which point our cleverness could be a
> growing towards an end we can only dimly envision.
> 
A lovely thought, but ``destructive to the logical faculty.''  If we
allow magical explainations, we lose the incentive to understand what
really happened.  There is absolutely no evidence (that I am aware of :->)
that there is a mechanism underlying evolution that is directing it in
some particular direction.  Indeed, looking at all the false starts
that good old Parent Nature (the ERA version of Mother Nature) made
is very convincing.

BTW, for those interested in evolution and related stuff, but who are not
professionals (as I am not), Stephen J Gould's new book,
_The Flamingo's Smile_, is very good (as were the earlier ones in the
series).
-- 
Mike Beede                      
Computer Science Dept.          UUCP: . . . !hubcap!beede
Clemson University              INET: beede@hubcap.clemson.edu
Clemson SC 29634-1906           YOUR DIME: (803)656-{2845,3444}