[dsc]

Well, if a group of 2000 Africans could not "mutate and provide the world with White people, Asian people, blondes, red-heads, Watutsis, pygmies, and Eskimoes...in such a short time-frame, how did 8 do it?

[ClearCase_guy]

I'm really not trying to turn this into a Creationist thread. Really.

But my view is that whenever some surprising dinosaur find is announced, one that stands evolution on it's head a little bit, the scientists say "Evolution is still valid. We have new evidence, and science knows how to deal with new evidence. We will tweak our theory of evolution and accomodate this new evidence." To me, they seem to jump through a lot of hoops in order to hold on to their precious theory of Evolution.

We recently had a thread (from a science journal) that cast some doubt on carbon dating. Maybe the world isn't as old as we thought. Now, this thread indicates that all humanity comes from a small group that lived some thousands of years ago.

Some people might be persuaded that the Creationist view, in which God had a hand in Man's existence, is being justified by recent findings.

Your mileage may vary. But I don't think standard Evolutionary Theory is being boosted by the stuff I see lately.

[MalcolmS]

In just a few hundred years, likely no more than a thousand, you can breed every variety of dog, from Chihuahua to Irish Wolf Hound, starting with some common mutts.

I would guess it would take about 16X longer for humans, given the likely age at onset of sexual maturity.

That would be if someone were directing the breeding program. A bit longer if left to themselves with geographic isolation, etc. as the diversity drivers.