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From: rlp@cbosgd.UUCP (Bob Platt)
Newsgroups: net.origins
Subject: Re: Catastrophic Evolution
Message-ID: <1403@cbosgd.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 15-Aug-85 20:16:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.1403
Posted: Thu Aug 15 20:16:07 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 18-Aug-85 02:23:23 EDT
References: <369@imsvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: rlp@cbosgd.UUCP (Bob Platt)
Distribution: net
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus
Lines: 31
Keywords: dealing with Irish Elk

>From: ted@imsvax.UUCP (Ted Holden)

>The nastiest problem which Darwinists face, in my estimation,
>explaining  the  development  of  ancient  animals INTO a
>situation of size and  weight  which  would  totally prohibit
>their very  existence on this planet
>The basic  manner in  which this  problem is now
>handled by "scientists"  like Mr. Jefferys is to hope that it
>goes away or that nobody notices it.

A rich analogy for dealing with supposed problems like this comes
from hydrodynamics. Water follows the principle of always seeking the
lowest level,  yet a stream's course is determined solely by local
conditions. A stream does not "know" if the valley it is flowing
into is actually rising (due to plate tectonic forces). Moreover
once a course is taken, it becomes ingrained. Likewise, as a species
courses through "fitness space" always seeking the highest fitness,
its evolution also follows a local determinism. It doesn't know if
by going through a slightly less fit intermediate form, it may end
up more fit in the end, or if the very evolutionary ground it is
relying on may break up due to some cataclysm. In this light, many
anti-Darwinian arguments become isomorphic to silly statements
like "Lake Tahoe is compelling evidence that water does not tend
to flow downhill."  If this were the main problem with evolutionary 
theory, we would be fortunate, but many more serious ones need to be
tackled.

P.S. I'm looking forward to your article on legendary sources of
information that bear on evolution.

					Joe Knapp (cbosgd!nscs!jmk)