Replies

Are you contending that the fitter individuals don't more frequently survive and pass their genes to the next generation?

I have made no such statements. However, some others (advocates of evolution on this thread, I assume) have done so, at least indirectly. To wit: … Species evolve regardless of selection pressure…

Please don't quote me out of context again. That comment of mine was in response to a specific question of yours, not a general statement that natural selection isn't an important driver of speciation.

I am starting to understand the outrage that scientists feel when they are the victim of quote-mining. In future, Lucky Dog, please re-quote your complete question to me, and my complete response, or don't quote me at all. I've never had to ask anybody that before. Usually I am happy for bits and pieces of my words to be used in ongoing threads, but my views have never been so outrageously misrepresented before.

Thatcherite, Please accept my apologies.

From post 689:

From Lucky Dog: The implication of your statement is that species come into existence purely randomly. Is this what you meant to imply?

From Thatcherite: No. That isn't what I meant to imply, and it isn't the implication of my statement. For a more accurate reflection try bracketing the word species with "some" and "occasionally" and you'll be closer to the mark. I never said that genetic drift of separated populations was the only driver of speciation. Why on earth would you draw that conclusion?

As note not in the post cited above: Lucky Dog never said that all species come into existence in said manner. There was no such conclusion drawn.

The apparently offending portion of post 626 restated:

From Patrick Henry: Are you contending that the fitter individuals don't more frequently survive and pass their genes to the next generation?

From Lucky Dog: I have made no such statements. However, some others (advocates of evolution on this thread, I assume) have done so, at least indirectly. To wit: [Some] …Species [occasionally] evolve regardless of selection pressure…

I trust that this has restatement has removed the cause of your offense.