"Darwin published in 1859. Natural selection is still the primary means by which changes become fixed in a population. The questions that Darwin didn't answer have occupied researchers since 1859 to such an extent that today evolution stands as the single most thoroughly documented fact known to man. Uniformitarianism gives way to Catastrophism as the defining factor explaining abrupt changes in the fossil record. "
Darwin said that Evolutionary change happens slowly. He was wrong. To counter his error, Evolutionists derived the new Punctuated Equilibrium theory of Evolution, which says that change happens very fast.
Are you familiar with Punctuated Equilibrium, and if so, can you explain why it was needed if Darwinism was correct in the first place?
By the way, "natural selection" only works on existing populations. Natural Selection does not directly inject creativity into the Evolutionary process, which is why mutations are a necessary degree of freedom for Darwinism.
Are you familiar with Punctuated Equilibrium, and if so, can you explain why it was needed if Darwinism was correct in the first place?" -- Southack
Darwin was not wrong. Rate of change depends on the selection pressure and opportunity. Horseshoe Crabs are still here, morphologically unchanged for eons, yet have the highest degree of genetic polymorphism yet measured. The Dinosaurs went extinct in a virtual heartbeat allowing for the rapid expansion of opportunistic survivors. The rate of evolutionary change is not uniform from place to place or over time.
The Punctuated Equilibrium models owe their construction more to the ecologist than the evolutionist. Measurements of island species diversity as a function of land area, age, stability, and proximity to mainland sources of migratory species show significantly different equilibrium points and rates of speciation. Singular events (hurricanes, volcanic eruptions) can completely disrupt (or punctuate) the equilibrium. When life returns to normal there may be a few players missing and a new chance for somebody else to join the game.