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To: b_sharp
Mutation itself isn't truly random. It occurs more frequently in some parts of the genome than in others.

That may still be truly random, only that the underlying distribution isn't uniform. Having a uniform distribution isn't all that important as the distribution may be changed by looking at things differently.

For example; atoms undergoing radioactive decay have a uniform probablity for within a given time interval is constant (depending on the length of the interval, not the starting point of the interval); however, the waiting time for an atom to decay is exponentially distributed. The number of atoms decaying in an interval is Possionly distributed.

It's not a big point, but I have seen some papers by economists who think only a Normal distribution is random or some who think only a uniform distribution is normal.

What's Normal for one may be Poisson to another.

106 posted on 11/04/2005 11:03:56 AM PST by Doctor Stochastic (Vegetabilisch = chaotisch ist der Charakter der Modernen. - Friedrich Schlegel)
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To: Doctor Stochastic
What's Normal for one may be Poisson to another.

ROTFLMAO!

108 posted on 11/04/2005 11:11:10 AM PST by RadioAstronomer (Senior member of Darwin Central)
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To: Doctor Stochastic
Mutation itself isn't truly random. It occurs more frequently in some parts of the genome than in others.

"That may still be truly random, only that the underlying distribution isn't uniform. Having a uniform distribution isn't all that important as the distribution may be changed by looking at things differently.

And if it happens in the same areas across related species?

172 posted on 11/04/2005 1:28:29 PM PST by b_sharp (Science adjusts theories to fit evidence, creationism distorts evidence to fit the Bible.)
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