Posted on 07/29/2002 6:35:04 PM PDT by Tribune7
Printer-friendly format July 26, 2002, 6:11PM
A bone to pick: Missing link is evolutionists' weakest By JEFF FARMER
It has been said that if anyone wants to see something badly enough, they can see anything, in anything. Such was the case recently, but unlike some ghostly visage of the Madonna in a coffee stain, this was a vision of our ancestral past in the form of one recently discovered prehistoric skull, dubbed Sahelanthropus tchadensis.
Papers across the globe heralded the news with great fanfare. With words like "scientists hailed" and "startling find" sprinkled into the news coverage, who couldn't help but think evolutionists had finally found their holy grail of missing links?
For those of us with more than a passing interest in such topics as, "Where did we come from? And how did we get here?," this recent discovery and its subsequent coverage fall far short of its lofty claims. A healthy criticism is in order.
Practically before the fossil's discoverer, the French paleoanthropologist Michel Brunet, could come out of the heat of a Chadian desert, a number of his evolutionary colleagues had questioned his conclusions.
In spite of the obvious national pride, Brigitte Senut of the Natural History of Paris sees Brunet's skull as probably that of an ancient female gorilla and not the head of man's earliest ancestor. While looking at the same evidence, such as the skull's flattened face and shorter canine teeth, she draws a completely different conclusion.
Of course, one might be inclined to ask why such critiques never seem to get the same front-page coverage? It's also important to point out that throughout history, various species, such as cats, have had varying lengths of canine teeth. That does not make them any closer to evolving into another species.
A Washington Post article goes on to describe this latest fossil as having human-like traits, such as tooth enamel thicker than a chimpanzee's. This apparently indicates that it did not dine exclusively on the fruit diet common to apes. But apes don't dine exclusively on fruit; rather, their diet is supplemented with insects, birds, lizards and even the flesh of monkeys. The article attempted to further link this fossil to humans by stating that it probably walked upright. Never mind the fact that no bones were found below the head! For all we know, it could have had the body of a centaur, but that would hardly stop an overzealous scientist (or reporter) from trying to add a little meat to these skimpy bones. Could it not simply be a primate similar to today's Bonobo? For those not keeping track of their primates, Bonobos (sp. Pan paniscus) are chimpanzee-like creatures found only in the rain forests of Zaire. Their frame is slighter than that of a chimpanzee's and their face does not protrude as much. They also walked upright about 5 percent of the time. Sound familiar?
Whether it is tooth enamel, length of canines or the ability to walk upright, none of these factors makes this recent discovery any more our ancestral candidate than it does a modern-day Bonobo.
So why does every new fossil discovery seem to get crammed into some evolutionary scenario? Isn't it possible to simply find new, yet extinct, species? The answer, of course, is yes; but there is great pressure to prove evolution.
That leads us to perhaps the most troubling and perplexing aspect of this latest evolutionary hoopla. While on one hand sighting the evolutionary importance of this latest discovery, a preponderance of these articles leave the notion that somehow missing links are not all that important any more.
According to Harvard anthropologist Dan Lieberman, missing links are pretty much myths. That might be a convenient conclusion for those who have been unable to prove evolution via the fossil record. Unfortunately for them, links are absolutely essential to evolution. It is impossible for anything to evolve into another without a linear progression of these such links.
The prevailing evolutionary view of minute changes, over millions of years, is wholly inadequate for the explanation of such a critical piece of basic locomotion as the ball-and-socket joint. Until such questions can be resolved, superficial similarities between various species are not going to prove anything. No matter how bad someone wants to see it.
Farmer is a professional artist living in Houston. He can can be contacted via his Web site, www.theglobalzoo.com
Among the most common faith groups in the U.S., Protestants have the highest suicide rate; Roman Catholics are next; Jews have the lowest rate.Source: Some facts about suicide. (You have to scroll down when you get there and click on "Suicide".)Followers of religions that strongly prohibit suicide, like Christianity and Islam, have a higher suicide rate than those religions which have no strong prohibition (e.g. Buddhism and Hinduism.)
We invariably put self interest over cooperation.
Not necessarily. Psychological studies show primates, including chimps and humans, are far more "successful" (become leaders, get more mating opportunities, get fed) when they cooperate with one-another. Animals (and by extension, people) who act in a selfish manner and refuse to cooperate with the rest of the group most often find themselves to be outcasts and end up far less successful. To make a long story short (too late), for me to get mine I have to make sure you get yours too.
The mutants are the only survivors in the lactose environment. Only an complete idiot would call this “adaptation for the worse”.
Further, the article did not show anywhere that there was any gene duplication.
The article never claimed any gene duplication occurred. Like everything else you write, you pulled that out of your posterior.
The specificities for the biologically selected substrates generally increased by at least an order of magnitude via increased Vmax and decreased Km for the substrate. These changes were very specific for the selected substrate, often being accompanied by decreased specificities for other related substrates.
The ebgA is a cryptic enzyme. There is nothing here saying the mutants did not survive just as well in the original conditions (It was probably never assayed since it is totally irrelevant to the study). The ebgA mutations were unquestionably favorable in that now they survive in the lactose only growth medium. There just isn’t any way to get around this fact.
Cooperation is good. It can lead to success. On the other hand, so can lying, stealing and murder.
Consider our last president. Consider the people who voted for him on the presumption he will get them things that they never earned.
You can argue they cooperated. Of course you can argue that conspiracy is cooperation, too.
My theology concerning human nature is fairly conservative. We are fallen and need a savior.
In the short run, maybe. In the long run you'll be shunned by the rest of the group, which can prove to be quite fatal for critters with the limited natural weaponry and protection enjoyed by humans.
I already provided the links several times.
These are from the Nature papers:
Mutations in homeotic (Hox) genes have long been suggested as potential causes of morphological evolution, and there is abundant evidence that some changes in Hox expression patterns correlate with transitions in animal axial pattern.
Our observations provide direct evidence that major morphological changes in arthropod body plans are associated with changes in Hox gene regulation.
Our results suggest that Ubx, and Hox genes in general, independently and selectively regulate genes that act at many levels of regulatory hierarchies to shape the differential development of serially homologous structures.
There’s lots more in the literature on HOX and evolution.
However, you need evidence for your statements
All the evidence points to biological redundancy. Check the mouse genetics database. Hundreds of individual gene deletions result in no detectable change, let alone a “disasterous” result.
perhaps over a thousand posts by now:
Does anyone else here think the possibility exists that Gore3000 is just a relentless creationist strawman?
HOW DO YOU CHANGE A PROGRAM BY RANDOM MEANS IN AN EVOLUTIONARY MANNER?????
Random mutations to the HOX gene cluster is one way (among many). I think you need to take a break your starting to lose it.
This is a total aside, but in the context of this discussion it made me ponder…
Are there any Jewish YECs? I can’t think of a single Jewish person I know (even strict orthodox) who rejects science in favor of a literal interpretation of Genesis.
Is there an obvious explanation? Maybe Im just tired this morning.
I think the basis for "young earth" theology is an interpretation of OT geneologies that became ingrained as dogma for a time in Western Europe.
A related question are there any YEC among the Orthodox?
I've sent your questions to a mailing list I run that contains a somewhat diverse group of Christians. I'll let you know what they say.
‘I am the truth. . ..’(John 14:6)
For most of time, men and women have assumed that the truth was there to be found out. This began to change in the 19th century and the change gathered pace in the 20th. As people began to question the existence of God, it became obvious to some, that the existence of truth requires the existence of God. With God dismissed, it became impossible to conceive of truth in any absolute sense. This has resulted in the humiliation of truth. Truth is now whatever you would like it to be.
Truth's demise has filtered down through the great centers of learning, the arts, and on into streets and homes. Everything is possible with truth gone. Everything is permissible. Musicians make music that doesn't sound musical. Painters paint pictures that are incomprehensible to normal folk. Playwrights write plays that are nonsense, and architects design buildings that no one can understand. All this is put forward as legitimate, but what does it all mean?
No matter how much... popular culture---is encouraged to believe in the relativity of truth, no one can build a decent life on such a notion.
Inevitably proponents of freedom from God, and from absolute truth, are obliged to reach outside of their own system, and borrow something from theism in order to make their lives work. The person who believes that everything is valid, will soon find that he is condemned to meaninglessness. Christ is a standing offer of escape from such a hell as this To believe that truth is like Christ, is salvation indeed.
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