Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

A bone to pick: Missing link is evolutionists' weakest
Houston Chronical via WorldNetDaily ^ | July 26 | Jeff Farmer

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


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: bone; crevolist; darwinism; evolution; farmer; mediahype; sahelanthropus
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 781-800801-820821-840 ... 1,261-1,265 next last
To: general_re
Yeah...I saw it!

Running joke is 'evo-science'...biggest cult of oxy-moonie-morons---art bells!

Like patrickhenry..."search for the creator via evolution"---

"total--only evolution" too---

The pope encyclical rightwingprofessor-whacks think..."professes evolution"---

Nebullis..."preschool evolution---INTENSIVELY"---

donh..."if the sun can create crystals-snowflakes...human life would certainly follow"---

dominick harr..."just like a ball bouncing down the stairs----evolution created everything"---

jennyp..."anarchist evolutionary capitalism---Christianity is communism"---

and patrickhenry doesn't know..."if prior to darwin if science existed"...

Running sores!

801 posted on 08/06/2002 10:50:58 AM PDT by f.Christian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 776 | View Replies]

To: gore3000
Your post is incorrect because (inter alia) you are assuming that those with a mutation will only interbreed with those without a mutation.

Reading elementary population genetics text may help you avoid these mistakes in the future.
802 posted on 08/06/2002 10:50:59 AM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 752 | View Replies]

To: Doctor Stochastic
Puccini placemarker...
803 posted on 08/06/2002 10:51:10 AM PDT by general_re
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 799 | View Replies]

To: PatrickHenry
He's also proved that men will become extinct. The Y-chromosme has only a 50% chance of being passed to the next generation.
804 posted on 08/06/2002 10:56:19 AM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 761 | View Replies]

To: general_re
A "Slim Megaten and the Angry Blue Planet" placemarker.
805 posted on 08/06/2002 10:56:20 AM PDT by Junior
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 803 | View Replies]

To: Doctor Stochastic
To G3K: ... may help you avoid these mistakes in the future.

ROTFLMAO!

806 posted on 08/06/2002 11:04:18 AM PDT by Gumlegs
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 802 | View Replies]

To: gore3000
Ok, we concede. God, in his infinite wisdom created the platypus. Since you (using your warped previous logic here) seem to accept micro-evolution (citing proof predicated upon the very science you denounce) and since you seem fixated upon the monotremes, I can say that all other species evolved. One day god was bored and decided, *POOF* "I'll create a wacky duck-billed, egg laying mammal on a geographically isolated island full of unique species already. You win.

May I recommend David Quammen's "The Song of the Dodo." It is written in layman's terms and is a great read and might (although it would take an act equally as singular as his magic act with the platypus) give you a little knowledge.
807 posted on 08/06/2002 11:05:57 AM PDT by whattajoke
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 751 | View Replies]

To: gore3000
Favorable mutations do not occur, period.

The mutation that gave S. aureus penicillin resistance is an example of a favorable mutation. A Reading some of the medical literature would help you ravoid making such incorrect pronouncements

808 posted on 08/06/2002 11:13:49 AM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 764 | View Replies]

To: VadeRetro
These are great. Thanks.

The studies I have linked just demonstrate that the genetics necessary to bring about these morphological changes are nothing more than garden variety mutations that easily could have arisen randomly.

809 posted on 08/06/2002 11:16:57 AM PDT by RightWingNilla
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 800 | View Replies]

To: Doctor Stochastic
He's [g3k] also proved that men will become extinct. The Y-chromosme has only a 50% chance of being passed to the next generation.

Yes. We must be ever-mindful of the tremendous 50% chance of not being reproduced.

810 posted on 08/06/2002 11:20:13 AM PDT by PatrickHenry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 804 | View Replies]

To: gore3000
A duplicated gene will do nothing and add no survival advantage until it is transformed after many mutations.

You can avoid making such mistaken comments by reading a bit about banana breeding.

811 posted on 08/06/2002 11:21:12 AM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 777 | View Replies]

To: Doctor Stochastic
He's also proved that men will become extinct. The Y-chromosome has only a 50% chance of being passed to the next generation.

BWAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHA! I like that one.

812 posted on 08/06/2002 11:30:19 AM PDT by balrog666
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 804 | View Replies]

To: Doctor Stochastic
... would help you ravoid making such incorrect pronouncements.

ROTFLMAO!

813 posted on 08/06/2002 11:49:18 AM PDT by Gumlegs
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 808 | View Replies]

To: Doctor Stochastic
You can avoid making such mistaken comments by reading a bit about banana breeding.

*Gasping for breath* Stop it! You're killing me! ROTFLMAO! Please! I can't breathe ...

814 posted on 08/06/2002 11:50:56 AM PDT by Gumlegs
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 811 | View Replies]

To: Gumlegs
Actually, I'm serious.

Bananas are triploid, you know.
815 posted on 08/06/2002 12:00:24 PM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 814 | View Replies]

To: Doctor Stochastic
Yes, and more capable of learning than G3K!

Thanks for the break, by the way. Phew!

816 posted on 08/06/2002 12:33:00 PM PDT by Gumlegs
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 815 | View Replies]

To: f.Christian
That's pretty funny!
817 posted on 08/06/2002 12:46:09 PM PDT by biblewonk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 801 | View Replies]

To: f.Christian
Like patrickhenry... Nebullis... donh... dominick harr... jennyp... and patrickhenry ...

Thanks a lot! PH 2, VR 0! Did my agent neglect to buy you a bottle of Pagan Pink Ripple?

818 posted on 08/06/2002 1:23:59 PM PDT by VadeRetro
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 801 | View Replies]

To: VadeRetro
I feel left out, too. And after I made Megaten Slim famous. I guess f.C considers me just another running sore of evolutionism.
819 posted on 08/06/2002 1:27:00 PM PDT by Gumlegs
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 818 | View Replies]

To: Gumlegs
"Running Sore." Is that your Indian name? Mine's "Argues with Nutcases."
820 posted on 08/06/2002 1:33:37 PM PDT by VadeRetro
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 819 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 781-800801-820821-840 ... 1,261-1,265 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson