[metacognative]

I'm still waiting for observable evidence of a beneficial mutational step toward a new species

[narby]

I'm still waiting for observable evidence of a beneficial mutational step toward a new species

The opposite can be observed. Most liberals think the world is overpopulated, humans are evil, and therefore have abortions or practice good birth control.

Thus, there are fewer little liberals being raised and the human race is improved.

Ain't Evolution great!

[NJ_gent]

" I'm still waiting for observable evidence of a beneficial mutational step toward a new species"

Evolution isn't a walk from one town to the next, it's a slow and random meandering that sometimes leads to extinction, sometimes leads nowhere, and occassionally leads you to a whole new place. That's like asking a chaos theorist for concrete evidence of an actual instance of chaos. You want someone to point out the butterfly. No complex theory works like that, unfortunately. If we had millions of years to sit back and watch, we could get a better idea of whether evolution accurately explains what happens when genetic mutation, genetic variation, and natural selection interact over time.

Unfortunately, the closest thing we have to that is the fossil record, which lends credence to the theory of Evolution in most cases while raising some interesting questions in others. What you asked for before was a 'beneficial mutation'. I provided a page listing several observed beneficial mutations. Now you want one that's a "step toward a new species". If I delve into that, you'll simply raise the bar once more and continue to do so until you can say "ah ha! gotcha!" and declare victory. If you want to attack evolution, the best way I can see is to attack the things that drive it. The theory of Evolution depends on the driving forces of genetic variation, genetic mutation, and natural selection interacting in specific ways over time. Without any one of those, the theory crumbles.