Posted on 04/02/2009 8:38:05 AM PDT by GodGunsGuts
Tail-gliding Bugs Are Not Evidence for Flight Evolution
by Jeffrey Tomkins, Ph.D.*
Researchers recently announced that they have unlocked some of the mystery surrounding the evolution of insect flight.1 Their observance of a certain wingless insect led them to hypothesize that its “directed aerial descent” might be an important stage in flight evolution. But is it?...
(Excerpt) Read more at icr.org ...
Ping!
It happened by magic! Duh! Silly scientists.
Everybody knows that just because a species launches htemselves into the air, for hwatever reason, that htis action sparks biological creativity, foresight, planning and intelligent design created of course wholly by nature. All a species need do is enjoy gliding, or ‘feel the need’ for flight, and hte whole creative process begins just like majic- aint nature grand?
Silly scientists indeed
That article had not one shred of debunking evidence. It dives back into the lack of transitional forms which is patently unsupportable. There are transitionals with incomlete flight processes that currently in existence today. There are flying squirrels, snakes, lizards and even fish. These are top down gliders without developed sustained flight mechanisms.
The study cited makes a hypothetical assertion, not a definitive claim.
Forward thinking bugs willing to sacrifice themselves for wings of their proginy. LIke the moths who wonder; if they climb up a tree and wrap themselves in silk will they some day turn into butterflies?
Makes sense to me.... /sarc
==It dives back into the lack of transitional forms which is patently unsupportable. There are transitionals with incomlete flight processes that currently in existence today. There are flying squirrels, snakes, lizards and even fish. These are top down gliders without developed sustained flight mechanisms.
What do you ladies call what FormerRep is talking about again?...Quantization of the continuum?
Oops...and gentlemen!
Sorry, GGG.
But life is a continuum.
Don’t forget the flying squirrel, why they dive from tree to tree and “fly” between, ON PURPOSE!
Thanks for the ping!
Where’s the beef? The author makes a great many statements, and then refuses to back them up with evidence or citation.
The fact that morphological intermediates exist in the present is not proof that they evolved (we find morphological intermediates among designed artificts all the time - i.e., the spork); indeed the fossil evidence testifies against the idea of a series of intermediates leading to flight. I think this is a divine joke of sorts - that you can point to intermediates in the present - where they can't be used as evidence of ancestral flight - but you can't find such intermediates in the fossil record where they are actually needed.
I’m trying to get my brain around the quantum language they use, so I thought I’d ask if your reply is representative of what they consider to be the fallacy of quantizing the continuum.
I notice Dr. Tomkins doesn’t mention the “gill slits evolved into wings” theory. Is that one still advocated by evolutionists or have they abandoned it? (No, I’m not making that up... I read it some years ago in Science, no less. Oh yeah, they said they didn’t have any fossil evidence for that notion either.)
[[They were observed using the little barbs sticking out of their tails to guide their descent, thus increasing their chances of landing in a neighboring tree.]]
Deceptive statement- How many MISSED the trees DESPITE waging their tail during descent? How many landed in trees purely by accident due to being blown around by winds? Are htese mindless creatures even able to comprehend flight paths, adjustments and corrections during descent?
Anbd, did htese ‘researchers’ follow hte insects that missed the trees to see if it negatively affected the species when the bugs landed o nthe ground? Did they perhaps note fear on those that floundered around on the ground after missing their mark? Was this ‘fear’ what drove the species to evolve wings from hteir tail barbs?
What about al lthe other ground dwelling bugs? What drove this particular bug to fear loss of species enough to ‘evolve wings’ to apparently ‘escape predators’ that apparently didn’t bother other ground dwelling species? So many questions, so little time.
[[The scientists then cut these barbs off and determined that this markedly reduced the numbers of bristletails reaching nearby tree trunks.]]
No doubt because htey DROPPED LIKE ROCKS without hteir rudders
[[After this research was published in a prestigious journal, the scientific press and evolutionary community thought this discovery could help explain the evolution of flight.]]
Yes, after all, we all know that wings evolved from tail barbs- but mind you, since it was published in a ‘prestigious journal’ it must therefore be correct- one would htink the scientists would be embarrassed even suggesting such a think, but alas- it’s impossible to embarrass ‘prestigious scientists’ apparently
[[In fossilized animals, there are no undisputed transitional forms that have wings that are partially developed and considered to be “precursor wings.”]
Aherm- tailbarbs are ‘protowings’ lol
[[The evolution of fully-functional wings would have required hundreds of beneficial mutations to have occurred simultaneously in both genders via massive changes in complex developmental gene networks. Random processes don’t stand a chance of accomplishing such a feat.]]
Oooo now you’re just being a bunch of ‘science haters’- oh ye of little faith! Dont’chaknow nature is capable of hte impossible?
[[Another consideration is that wings of all types in the animal kingdom must have proper support structures, bone structures, and accompanying musculature as well. It is not just enough to have a set of wings—the entire frame of the animal must be geared for flight.]]
Nah- Mutation + billions of years is enough to ‘make it all work’- after all, there are myriad examples of countless flying creatures flundering around for billions of years with burdensome ‘protowings’- oh wait- no there aren’t!
[[Natural selection would actually cull out animals with partially developed structures because such features tend to hinder survival in the wild.]]
The protowings had other functions during those billions of years- they could have served as servign trays when other insects came over for diner, as flags to wave to other insects passing by, as hugging devices durign courtship, as warnign signal devices during high traffic times of hte day- what we have here is a lack of faith and imagination- just think of all the posible uses for useless protowings, and don’t let hte fact that the fossil record is missing actual examples of protowings slow down your imagination! They must have been used for something while the millions of ‘soon to be’ flying creatures waited aroudbn helplessly on the ground (or in trees, just contemplating hte day when evolution got it’s act in gear and evovled al lthe other necessary structures for flight) awaiting hte day, billions of years down hte road, when they could take to hte skies like little rocketment without a care in the world.
‘Want’ apparently is enough to drive nature to create non species specific info resulting in major non species specific structural changes
That’s right. They were created by a magic spell. It’s positively pooftastic.
[[There are transitionals with incomlete flight processes that currently in existence today. There are flying squirrels, snakes, lizards and even fish.]]
Yep- I saw last night several flocks of flying squirrels, flying snakes, flying lizards and flying fish heading north to Alaska- flapping their extra skin like their was no tomorrow- swooping, diving, doing barrel rolls- obviously enjoying hte fact that they could ‘fly’- it was quite a sight to behold
Hmmm...I thought it was a very well written article which did an excellent job of summarizing the argument against wing evolution from a design perspective.
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