Story of evolution can be seen as comedy of errors (The Ancient Hiccup, Male Hernias, and more)

Philadephia Enquirer via Houston Chronicle ^ | Saturday, April 26, 2008 | Faye Flam

[canuck_conservative]

"Oh what a piece of work is man," wrote Shakespeare, long before Darwin suggested just how little work went into us. Somehow, that same process that gave us reason, language and art also left us with hernias, flatulence and hiccups.

One argument scientists often make against so-called intelligent design — the idea that evolution cannot by itself explain life — is that on closer inspection, we look like we've been put together by someone who didn't read the manual, or at least did a somewhat sloppy job of things.

Viewed as products of evolution, however, our anatomical quirks start to make sense, says University of Chicago fossil hunter and anatomy professor Neil Shubin, author of the recent book Your Inner Fish. And by focusing on our less lofty traits, evolutionary biology can help dispel one of the most egregious and even tragic fallacies surrounding Darwinian evolution — that it moves toward perfection, with man at the apex of some towering ladder.

Evolution of Hiccups

That misreading of evolution has been connected to the eugenics movement of the early 20th century, with the Nazis extending the man-as-ideal notion to blue-eyed blond German-man-as-ideal notion.

"Darwin didn't believe it, but some, who saw it through a more religious light, tended to want to interpret evolution as a steady march toward the pinnacle of humanity," says University of Pennsylvania ethicist Art Caplan, who has written extensively on the eugenics movement.

By today's understanding, evolution by natural selection doesn't march toward anything — it just modifies existing creatures to better compete in ever-shifting environments.

Understanding something as seemingly trivial as the evolution of hiccups can help clear up some profound misperceptions on the nature of life and humanity.

The sound of a hiccup echoes back to our very distant past as fish and amphibians some 375 million years ago, says Shubin. It's really just a spasm that causes a sharp intake of breath followed by a quick partial closing of our upper airway with that flap of skin known as the glottis. It's best if you can nip it in the first couple of hics, he says.

It's much harder to stop once you've let yourself get up to 10. By that point you've reverted to an ancient breathing pattern orchestrated by the brain stem that once helped amphibians breath, letting water pass the gills without leaking into the lungs.

"Tadpoles normally breathe with something like a hiccup," Shubin says.

The theme of his book is that we owe much of our anatomy to our animal ancestors. "Parts that evolved in one setting are now jury-rigged to work in another," he says. "When you look at the human body, you see layer after layer of history inside of us."

The first layer is what we share with chimpanzees and gorillas. The next goes back to mice and cows, while further down, you get to the relatively underappreciated layers we share with fish — which include the backbone and basic layout of the body.

Fishy news about hernias

Our descent from fish explains why men are so much more prone to hernias than women. In fish, Shubin explains, the testicles lie up near the heart.

(Had they remained there, he said, it would give a whole new meaning to the Pledge of Allegiance.)

The budding gonads still form up high in a human embryo, but male mammals reproduce better with their sperm kept a bit cooler than body temperature. And so during gestation, human testicles take an incredible journey down through the body to their destination in the scrotum.

The trip downward puts a loop in the cord that connects the testes to the penis, leaving a weakness in the body wall where the cord attaches that never quite repairs itself.

Hence the trouble with hernias down the road.

The matter of milk

No good story about human design flaws can pass up a discussion of flatulence — and science has addressed the kind that would occur if everyone in the world drank a tall glass of milk at the same time.

Geneticist Pragna Patel of the University of Southern California said one of her favorite examples of evolution in progress involves the gene that determines who can digest the sugars in milk and who cannot.

From genetic studies it appears that so-called lactose intolerance was our ancestral state.

A few people, however, were genetically gifted with an enzyme called lactase, which breaks down lactose, and in groups that started drinking lots of milk around 10,000 years ago, that version of the gene started to take over.

Scientists recently sequenced the lactase gene and found 43 different variations that allow adults to drink the milk of other animals.

"It's the first clear evidence of convergent evolution," Patel said, though it's not known whether those lacking this innovation failed to pass on their genes because they suffered from lack of nutrition or just didn't get invited to any parties.

[Rudder]

Thanks.

Well, at one point our ancestors were cold-blooded, some were aquatic, some had photoperiod-regulated gonads. I guess all these changes that led to a warm-blooded mammal didn't happen all at once nor by the same mechanism. Descended testicles could be just one mechanism for temperature regulation (there are other ways) of an organ, it worked and it stuck.

But when the statement says, "..for no good reason..." I take it to mean, "for no good reason."

[HerrBlucher]

It’s quite a leap of faith to lay all to blind chance.

They can't get past irreducible complexity, even Dawkins admits that when he speculates aliens "seeded" the earth with life.

The premise set forth in this thread that Evolution and God are mutually exclusive is simply wrong. God's creation is subject to physical laws which is why we get very odd things like the Grand Canyon and Carlbad Caverns. These laws apply to life also, and so we get odd things like hiccups. The premise of ID is that evolution, or at least Man's evolution has been guided by an intelligent being for a specific purpose.

Saying that hiccups indicate against ID is like saying that the arrangement, size, and composition of the planets indicates against ID, or black holes, or comets and asteroids. Even beyond that though, the story of Genesis is in part the story of how creation, i.e. man, by the Free Will God gave man, can go against God's will. From that it is not much of a stretch to believe that God allows His creation to go its own way, so to speak, including letting the physical laws control the universe without His intervention, except on very rare occassions which Christians know as miracles. One of these miracles would be Man.

[CarrotAndStick]

This reminds me of the theory that wings evolved because of the natural advantage that flight gave birds. However, unless one generation of birds emerged with fully functional wings, those many many generations with partially formed non functional wings would have been at a serious disadvantage, and yet we have birds all over the place.

Have you seen gliding squirrels? They can't fly, but the bits of skin they have that stretch taut when their limbs are extended, provide enough resistance for safe landings from very high positions.

This feature gives the squirrels amazing advantages, when it comes to escaping predators. The concept could also be extended to swooping down on prey, for carnivorous creatures.

Why can't the same apply to the ancestors of modern birds?

[xmission]

But when the statement says, "..for no good reason..." I take it to mean, "for no good reason."

I'm not a scientist, and I understood the meaning.

We have to wonder why the process would continue for millions of years if it wasn't "working and sticking".

[grjr21]

This website has hiccups, not the posters fault.

I have always believed that FR was very intelligently designed :) 

[WildcatClan]

I think the answer to your question is obvious. Monkey-Men realized the guys who worked making cups in the future would be unemployed. So, being the good Monkey-Men citizens they were, a concerted effort was made to get things out in the open, as it were. Thanks to the complexity and intellect(?) of time and random chance, and pulling, tugging, dedicated Monkey-Men, thousands of jobs were saved and we fellows can all be kicked in the nads. Surely you can see how this little bit of random selection has worked to our extreme advantage?

[Ka-leo-lani]

Thanks Canuck! I appreciate rationality.

[xmission]

and we fellows can all be kicked in the nads.

A definite advantage if I ever heard one.

[CarrotAndStick]

I had a friend demonstrate the TOE for me. He took an old pocket watch and placed it in a cloth bag. He laid it on a table and beat the bag with a hammer, destroying the watch inside.

He then shook the bag, and shook the bag, and then poured it onto the table. His statement still rings true..." there is a better chance of the watch coming out whole, than man having evolved from a spark in the ether..."

That is a very naive demonstration of evolution.

Firstly, the process is extremely slow. The processes that set it running in the first place, even more so. Think millions of years. Multiply that by thousands.

Secondly, the watch is made of more-or-less chemically inert substances, and do not have microscopic complexity. By that, I mean that the individual parts of the watch do not have the versatility to maintain shape and size, when subjected to physical phenomena, as do the parts of a living cell, which are at the molecular level- which can, ironically, despite the smaller sizes involved- come out in better shape than individual macroscopic parts of a watch.

In simpler words, it's harder to split an atom, or molecule, than it is to break the tooth of a watch gear. I can give you a pinch of salt, and a watch component. Hammer the two as violently as you can. What do you think will disintegrate better? The molecules of salt(NaCl) into Na and Cl atoms, or the watch component?

Thirdly, the inertness of the watch materials prohibits the range of interactions and combinations that organic, lifeless molecules are permitted to have, with the surrounding environment.

[WVKayaker]

I've been sitting here, looking out my back door (actually the front) looking at the mountain behind me. There is so much green and spring color popping out, and it is getting more so every day.

I have been watching a red-headed woodpecker coming back to my feeder. I have numerous "guests", but he is special. He reminds me of my youth (he-he-he-he). I have a flock of cowbirds daily dining, and have identified at least 7 different male cardinals. I was surprised at their color diversity, yet not...

We have had some good rains in WV, and the North River has swollen numerous times. I have pulled some nice trout from it, placed upriver by our state hatchery folks (thanks, guys!). Trout taste fine, with just a little salt and pepper, rolled in corn meal, and fried in oil of your choice. I prefer olive, but have used gallons of many others. I drink red wine with everything. I like potatoes with everything as well. I guess there is a reason, besides the fact they taste so good fried in butter, or baked, or...

Spot and I walk on these mountains every week, and often every day. I am easily persuaded as I walk among them. I am persuaded that it couldn't have just happened. I began that persuasion a long time ago.

I lay in the nets of our destroyer, gliding through the nights, in the South China Sea. Below the water line, as we moved through it, the phosphorescence was brilliant. It lit the waters nearby, and we could see sea creatures swim past. Snakes, fish, and an odd assortment of jellyfish were amusing us for many nights.

Others, we lay on our backs, and marveled at the grand universe of stars and sky before us. It was overwhelming, to assume we had some role in this vast thing. There are just too many stars, and stuff. Now, I amuse myself watching and distinguishing satellites, since I accept that God has a plan... and it may have sounded like a bang, if there was an atmosphere to allow it, when He said... "light be!"

[CarrotAndStick]

My understanding is that there is no CONTINUOUS evidence.

We have fossils of snakes with tiny hind limbs and birds with clawed forelimbs.

[Rudder]

Not the design but some bugs in the server, possibly. 2-3 weeks ago, double posts were much more common, but it’s improving.

[Rudder]

We have to wonder why the process would continue for millions of years..."

Everything in the environment is constantly changing, organisms adapt to these changes, or they don't. Adaptation is a continuous, and a continuing, process. When it stops we're all gone.

[Raycpa]

1 Then the LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:
2
Who is this that obscures divine plans with words of ignorance?
3
2 Gird up your loins now, like a man; I will question you, and you tell me the answers!
4
Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
5
Who determined its size; do you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it?
6
Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid the cornerstone,
7
3 While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8
And who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb;
9
When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
10
When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door,
11
And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!
12
Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place
13
For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
14
The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment;
15
But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered.
16
Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
17
Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness?
18
Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all:
19
Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness,
20
That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths?

Job 38

[Raycpa]

Penicillin has cured more people than all of the saints combined

But has neither healed or saved one person. Only Christ can do that.

[WVKayaker]

Most amusing discourse, but you failed to address the probability factor. You just mumbo-jumboed the party line. I have a party line as well. It starts out "in the beginning..."

My specific party is Christian, meaning I believe there was an earthly appearance of my God. He walked among men, and did some amazing things. There were witnesses. Can you change water into wine? Does your garment heal a woman, just by touching it. Or, is that some spontaneous adaptation that happened? It was witnessed, it was recorded. I prefer to call it a "miracle".

Some people go to school, and learn vast quantities of knowledge. They use that knowledge to help others. I took my claritin this morning. This greening also brings pollen. Is claritin an adaptation?

Proverbs 23

1 When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what [a] is before you,

2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

3 Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.

5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

6 Do not eat the food of a stingy man, do not crave his delicacies;

7 for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. [b] "Eat and drink," he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.

9 Do not speak to a fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words.

10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

11 for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.

12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.

14 Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death. [c]

15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad;

16 my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.

18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path.

20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,

21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.

24 The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.

25 May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice!

26 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways,

27 for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well.

28 Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!

32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.

33 Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things.

34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.

35 "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?"

NIV

[alexander_busek]

We have fossils of snakes with tiny hind limbs and birds with clawed forelimbs.

The Animal Kingdom offers countless examples of vestigiality - not just in fossils, but also in currently living species.

Vestigial structures have been noticed since ancient times.

The blind mole rat (Spalax typhlus) has tiny eyes completely covered by a layer of skin.

The undeveloped hind legs of a baleen whale.

Boas and pythons have vestigial pelvis remnants which are externally visible as two small anal spurs on each side of the cloaca.

Etc., etc.

Regards,

[CarrotAndStick]

I’ll just reply with this:

If Chriss Angel or David Blaine were to perform their acts 2000 years ago, a lot of people would have believed them to be God.

We have millions of people believing in this 1800s “prophet” that founded the LDS, what makes you think a much tinier number of people 2000 years ago would have been any wiser? Leave alone the fact that most were illiterate, and oppressed, and easily manipulable.

As for probability, a one-in-a-million chance looks pretty good when you give the event billions of trillions of chances.

[xmission]

Yeah, adapt and overcome works. Adapt without any foreseeable benefit over millions of year though? That amounts to “It just happened”

The anti - ID folks here hammer the ID guys for using “God just did it”, but the other side of the coin “It just happened” on extreme change like this, is about as illogical, and should be questioned.

[Raycpa]

the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. Gen 2

The hiccup reminds us of our need to have God blow the breath of life into our lungs.

Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, [a] because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."Gen 32

Hernia's and other struggles remind us of our imperfections and our need for a savior despite our hatred of God and His ways.