Loosening Darwin's Grip

Citizen Magazine ^ | March 2003 | Clem Boyd

[Junior]

Your comment makes no sense. Gould never used the word "lack" (meaning absence of) when speaking of transitionals. VadeRetro did not contradict me with his statement. You, though, evidently can't see the difference between "lack" and "dearth."

[Bryan24]

If you had an infinite amount of money for travel expenses, and started now, and spent the entire rest of your life, you could probably travel from university to university, museum to museum, to look at every transitional fossil, and you'd be lucky to see 10% of them before you died.

So if a person can only see 10% of the evidence, how can they be sure that the other 90% doesn't contradict the 10%? If you think about your statement for a moment, you'll realize that you're making the data fit the theory, not proving the theory from the data.

[VadeRetro]

(To Dataman:) Your comment makes no sense. Gould never used the word "lack" (meaning absence of) when speaking of transitionals. VadeRetro did not contradict me with his statement. You, though, evidently can't see the difference between "lack" and "dearth."

"Twist and Shout" science.

[VadeRetro]

Might as well anticipate the next twist and add that neither does Gould contradict me (or you) nor am I (or you) arguing with Gould.

[f.Christian]

Tautology ... stretch // pull // pound -- conjure --- evolution myth and magic !

Shake -- slop -- stack them bones -- feathers -- whitewash !

[Bryan24]

I'm adding a couple of rooms to my house. They just delivered the sand, mortar and blocks.

I wonder, if I placed 4 items (blocks, mortar, sand and water) next to my house footings, how long would it take for those 4 simple items to mix themselves up and arrange themselves into a concrete block wall?

I'll even let earthquakes, sun, wind, rain, ice and any other naturally occuring force come into play. BTW, we would also have to include erosion and decay.

Wonder how long it would take?

[f.Christian]

Evolutuion is proof that an empty mind collects vermin --- rubbish !

[Remedy]

>>>how long would it take for those 4 simple items to mix themselves up and arrange themselves into a concrete block wall?<<<

Breaking News : Egyptian pyramids evolved.

Concrete block wall- religiously pronounced as missing link.

[Junior]

False analogy. Bricks and mortar don't reproduce themselves.

[Remedy]

• "Contrary to what most scientists write, the fossil record does not support the Darwinian theory of evolution because it is this theory (there are several) which we use to interpret the fossil record. By doing so, we are guilty of circular reasoning if we then say the fossil record supports this theory." [Ronald R. West (evolutionist), "Paleontology and Uniformitariansim." Compass, Vol. 45 (May 1968), p. 216.]

• "Established species are evolving so slowly that major transitions between genera and higher taxa must be occurring within small rapidly evolving populations that leave NO LEGIBLE FOSSIL RECORD." [Steven M. Stanley, Macroevolution and the Fossil Record, Vol. 36, No. 3, 1986, p. 460. (emphasis added)]

• "The known fossil record fails to document a single example of phyletic evolution accomplishing a major morphologic transition and hence offers no evidence that a gradualistic model can be valid." [Steven M. Stanley, Macroevolution: Pattern and Process. San Francisco: W. M. Freeman & Co., 1979, p. 39.]

• "...Every paleontologist knows that most new species, genera, and families, and that nearly all categories above the level of family appear in the record suddenly and are not led up to by known, gradual, completely continuous transitional sequences." [George Gaylord Simpson (evolutionist), The Major Features of Evolution, New York, Columbia University Press, 1953 p. 360.]

• "Few paleontologists have, I think, ever supposed that fossils, by themselves, provide grounds for the conclusion that evolution has occurred. The fossil record doesn’t even provide any evidence in support of Darwinian theory except in the weak sense that the fossil record is compatible with it, just as it is compatible with other evolutionary theories, and revolutionary theories, and special creationist theories, and even ahistorical theories." [David B. Kitts (evolutionist), "Search for the Holy Transformation," Paleobiology, Vol. 5 (Summer 1979), pp. 353-354.]

• "Missing links in the sequence of fossil evidence were a worry to Darwin. He felt sure they would eventually turn up, but they are still missing and seem likely to remain so." [E.R. Leach (evolutionist); Nature 293:19, 1981]

Among the most well-known proponents of evolution (and a fierce opponent of Creationism), even Steven Jay Gould admits:

"At the higher level of evolutionary transition between basic morphological designs, gradualism has always been in trouble, though it remains the "official" position of most Western evolutionists. Smooth intermediates between Baupläne are almost impossible to construct, even in thought experiments; there is certainly no evidence for them in the fossil record (curious mosaics like Archaeopteryx do not count)." [S.J. Gould & Niles Eldredge (evolutionists); Paleobiology 3:147, 1977]

"The extreme rarity of transitional forms is the trade secret of paleontology ... The history of most fossil species includes two features particularly inconsistent with gradualism: 1. Stasis. Most species exhibit no directional change during their tenure on earth. They appear in the fossil record looking much the same as when they disappear; morphological change is usually limited and directionless. 2. Sudden appearance. In any local area, a species does not arise gradually by the steady transformation of its ancestors; it appears all at once and ‘fully formed.’" [S.J. Gould (evolutionist); Natural History 86:14 (1977)]

The Fossil Record

Certain Fossils, Geological Features & Phenomena

[Remedy]

>>>False analogy. Bricks and mortar don't reproduce themselves.<<<

When did evolutionists abandon belief in spontaneous generation?

[Bryan24]

Neither do amino acids...

[Remedy]

Head bone connected to the tail bone

And the missing bone connected to the funny bone

With the Fish bone connected to the wish bone

Evolutionist dreaming at home alone.

[f.Christian]

Liberals !

Reminds me of the hillary healthScare scam ...

"we can save a 20 billion bookkeeping surplus" (( if we incur a 30 trillion liability )) !

No reality -- FREE science // money !

[Dataman]

Sorry I don't have time to help you with reading comprehension. It would be a fun challenge!

Regardless, I don't know what all your panic is about. Like the article says,

Federal legislation has given Christians nationwide a boost in their battle to allow evidence against Charles Darwin's controversial theory into public school classrooms.

With all the proof you have, alowing criticism couldn't possibly shake you...... could it?

[Dataman]

What I want to know, Mr. Morality, is how the term "murder" came to be discussed in relation to my post?

I explained it once and you didn't get it. I'm not sure explaining it twice would help. Regardless, this is an excellent quote from the article:

"It is time for defenders of Darwin to engage in serious dialogue and debate with their scientific critics," said Jed Macosko, a research molecular biologist at the University of California, Berkeley. "Science can’t grow where institutional gatekeepers try to prevent new challengers from being heard."

[Dataman]

I think Remedy put you two to bed rather nicely in #90. Pleasant dreams.

Another great quote from the article:

Chemist Henry "Fritz" Schaefer of the University of Georgia, a five-time Nobel nominee, commented, "Some defenders of Darwinism embrace standards of evidence for evolution that as scientists they would never accept in other circumstances."

[js1138]

Be careful or you will get what you wish for. I for one, would love to see a history of science class taught -- one that teaches how science is done and how scientists think about problems.

[Dataman]

False analogy. Bricks and mortar don't reproduce themselves.

Wait a minute Joonyer, give me one reason those bricks couldn't come alive like they did 3.5 million years ago. I believe it was you that said there was no such thing as the law of biogenesis. If living things don't have to come from other living things, then why couldn't the house assemble itself? Please tell me it's because houses have never been observed assembling themselves-- Just like life has never been observed coming from non-life.

[Dataman]

When did evolutionists abandon belief in spontaneous generation?

I didn't read far enough down. You beat me to it.

Nice work on #90.