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To: CobaltBlue
I have yet to meet a proponent of Intelligent Design on Free Republic who believes that ANY species evolved from any other.

I recognize that possibility (or certainty, actually, depending on how you're using the word "species")

OTOH, I also recognize the certainty that God exists -- a point some won't concede. I also insist on noting that common descent is not a certainty. And using random chance to explain biodiverstiy is, you have to admit, pretty silly.

2,604 posted on 10/13/2003 8:33:42 PM PDT by Tribune7 (It's not like he let his secretary drown in his car or something.)
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To: Tribune7
And using random chance to explain biodiversity is, you have to admit, pretty silly.

Not exactly random.

I keep bees, and grow plants that bees like, and butterflies like. The smaller flowers are good for honeybees, but the larger flowers are not, because their tongues aren't long enough.

On the other hand, there are a lot of bees other than honeybees that have tongues long enough to get the nectar out of the larger flowers, e.g., many species of bumblebees are larger than honeybees, and have longer tongues.

I haven't studied this in any detail, but if I did, one of the things I'd be looking at is whether the larger flowers are native to the Americas, because honeybees are native to Europe, Africa, and western Asia, not native to the Americas.

But I do know for a fact that after Europeans introduced honeybees to North America, native plants which can be pollinated by honeybees became more common.

Now, you may call this process "random" but I don't. I don't think God was actively involved in pushing it along, either. Something changed in the environment (Europeans introduced honeybees) and that caused something else to change in the environment (the proportion of grasses changed, and more grasses that were pollinated by honeybees became prevalent). The changes are gradual, but they're real.

2,615 posted on 10/13/2003 8:45:36 PM PDT by CobaltBlue
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