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To: From many - one.

No, I'm quite busy today so I don't have time for joke questions. It's a question, plain and simple.


440 posted on 05/04/2005 9:27:26 AM PDT by mlc9852
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To: mlc9852

Good. I think I understand better where you are coming from.

I have to head for work soon, but let me try to clarify something that may have been a big hole in how you were taught about evolution.

You have probably learned about the "kingdoms" of living things (3, 5,7 or more depending on who taught you and when). You are also aware of larger subgroups like insects, mammals etc. and within those groups. sub-groups like canines, butterflies and so on.

Somehow it seems that in presenting evolution to you, it was done in such a way that is seemed as if a cat could evolve into, say, a squirrel. That can't be expected to happen. All a cat can do is change (over millions of years) thusly: a short tailed mutation becomes predominant for cats living in shrubby areas. The shrubs are replaced by trees. Among the short tailed cats another mutation shows up that makes it easier to climb down trees as well as up. This time it's the spacing between the toes so they get a better grip.

Still some kind of cat, right? Short tail and widespread toes, but cattish.

More millions of years. Ice Age. Thick body fat layer mutants survive better (note, the thick body fat mutant would have been deleterious and died off earlier, only now does it preferentially survive.). So now it's rotund, wide toed and short tailed.

Ice melts. trees drown in meltoff and a lake develops. The successful mutations this time lead to webbed feet. Are we sure this is still some kind of cat?


It is still a mammal, though.

It's never going to become a cow or a butterfly, but, wave the time wand again and maybe the hair will kink up and form nodules that the offspring can eat so they can be nurtured past lactating time of the mother. We are now moving away from mammals. And this critter is sure not breeding with cats that stayed cats.

Normally I try to prune these, but my time is short and posting will be spotty today.

If this is at all helpful in seeing how the changes happen...both limitations and potential, I'll be happy to elaborate or clarify...

The theologic position I come from is that God was not writing a biology textbook in Genesis.


453 posted on 05/04/2005 10:01:50 AM PDT by From many - one.
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