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So in the absense of a time machine, we'll just have to concede that evolution is wrong.

We don't need a time machine. This is another common misconception.

If evolution is a gradual, steady-state process, we should be able to look around us and see it occuring everywhere right now. It doesn't matter how long it takes to occur because it is occurring constantly.

Here's a couple of examples to illustrate the point. The life span of a typical G5 star is about 6 billion years. Yet, we don't have to wait 6 billion years to see the entire life cycle. Why? Because G5 stars are being born and are dying and are at every stage in between NOW. All we have to do is take a snapshot of a representative population, and we'll see G5 stars at every stage of their life.

Another example: A human being typically lives for 75 years and goes through various stages of development at that time. However, we don't have to wait for 75 years to document the life cylce of a typical human being because there are millions of humans alive now all at different stages of the cycle. All we need to do is take a snapshot of a representative population. As an exercise, go to Disney World some day and walk the streets. Within two hours, you will be able to document every stage of the human life cycle.

The same should be true with evolution. We should be seeing transitional forms NOW. We should be seeing large amounts of speciation NOW.

The funny thing is, most evolutionary biologists are aware of this serious flaw in evolution, which is why the theory of punctuated equilibrium is constantly revived (I believe it is in its third iteration right now).

Punctuated equilibrium solves the problem of not observing any macro evolution occuring because we can conveniently say we are simply between punctuations. However, the theory inevitably fails after a brief period because it has even more flaws than the steady state model of evolution.

If evolution is a gradual, steady-state process, we should be able to look around us and see it occuring everywhere right now. It doesn't matter how long it takes to occur because it is occurring constantly.

We do see evolution happening all around us, and we do see speciation happening. Check out ring species.

Good post!

The life span of a typical G5 star is about 6 billion years. Yet, we don't have to wait 6 billion years to see the entire life cycle. Why? Because G5 stars are being born and are dying and are at every stage in between NOW.

When astronomers look skyward, please tell us how many different frames of time they are looking at? From our sun which we see a few minutes after light leaves it, to the furthest reaches many thousands of light years away, we are looking at a VAST time scale all at once.

While you didn't mean to do so, you have actually done a fine job drawing a parallel to exactly what fossils and the geologic column tells us, in much the same way.

A human being typically lives for 75 years and goes through various stages of development at that time.

Right, and 75 years is such an incredibly tiny time frame to observe the type of speciation you'd like to see.

We should be seeing transitional forms NOW.

We most certainly ARE. Then again, you are probably hoping to see the ol' lizard with one wing or some such silliness.

We should be seeing large amounts of speciation NOW.

We most certainly ARE! All over the place. Avian flu, AIDS, fish in the SW US...