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Member (Idle past 1662 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: |
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Author | Topic: Another IDology challenge -- complete with complaints of harsh treatments ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RAZD Member (Idle past 1662 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: |
This is where I have a problem. In both of these treatments evolution is viewed like it is goal oriented. That was Gingerich's problem with Haldane's darwin measurement, that and that it implied millions of years. Both are historic measurements of what occurred, because they are based on fossil evidence.
Whatever numbers, in darwins or in haldanes, one achieves are arbitrary and meaningless. It took X million years for this A. whosits to grow a widget from # cm ## cm.And it took Y million years for the B. thingies to double the size its whatever. The haldane metric is based on generations and is dimensionless. Gingerich also notes that you can have different results for different traits in the populations.
Neither of these gives a rate to evolution but just a length of time to go from this version to that version. And this is not just semantics since it was not evolution that changed but the inputs to its processes that changed. How would you define a rate of evolution?
My view. Evolution ran, not at any rate, but just ran day by day, generation by generation, for both lineages, but one took longer than the other for some various reasons dealing with chemistry, allele pool, environment, fecundity, luck, and circumstance. So they did evolve at different rates, but the formula/s don't account for all the necessary inputs? If we consider punk-eek, then it is fairly obvious that there are different rates of evolution/change involved.
quote: Is this just semantics on my part? Is the "evolution" of the fruit fly "faster" than that of the elephant? Or does evolution just plod along dependant on the inputs? Partly. If we look at evolution over a time period some species evolve faster because they go through more generations (why fruit flys and bacteria are used in experiments). But if we look at evolution from generation to generation the picture is not so clear. Personally I think evaluating the rate of evolution gives us the ability to see how those inputs affect the process, to what degree each input has effect. And I think haldanes are better indicators of this, being based on generations rather than set amounts of time. Enjoyby our ability to understand RebelAmericanZenDeist ... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ... to share. Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)
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RAZD Member (Idle past 1662 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined:
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Even if mutations galore increased the genetic diversity enormously in a population or gene/allele pool, even to the point that every trait is changed for every individual and every gene has so many alleles you can't identify them, what you'd have is a motley crew of individuals that differ wildly from one another in all those traits, some large, some small, some with purple fur, some with scales instead of fur, and every possible combination. Clearly it doesn't ever happen. But if it did some particular number of individuals would have to be selected in order to get a new breed or species, that is, for evolution of the population as a whole to occur. Which would have to happen to get a new species. Nope. That is not how evolution works. btw you might be interested in koinophilia ...
quote: In a stable ecology where populations are at an equilibrium, selection will tend to favor the most average phenotypes, as they are the best fit for that stable equilibrium condition. It is only when that stable equilibrium is disturbed or the population expands into a new ecology that selection will shift towards varieties/mutations that provide benefits for the new conditions.
And selection eliminates. If you get an isolated new population of all these individuals with all their new characteristics that population will eventually blend those characteristics together until a particular phenotype emerges and it's got a look of its own: a new breed or species. That's what selection does. It will eventually blend tog3ether whatever proportions of traits are in the new set of individuals, their new collection of gene/allele frequencies, and eliminate others from the population. (Of course if mutations really did occur at such a rate as I describe it above you could never ever get a population with its own peculiar characteristics, never a breed let alone a pure breed, which already defeats the whole idea but anyway...) Unless you want to say that getting only a population made up of mutts is evolution, because that's all you'll ever get; you'll never get the specialized new phenotypes ordinarily recognized as a new species or breed, you know a whole population with the same characteristics, a whole population of trilobites that look alike, a whole population of raccoons with identical markings, a whole breed of greyhounds or chihuahuas or Great Danes, a whole population of little green men with antennae on their heads. Again this is not how evolution works. It doesn't blend characteristics. It selects those that are more fit for survival or more attractive for reproduction.
Not only is there no "rate of evolution," there is no evolution as defined by the ToE. Except that it has been defined and measured ... as defined by the (actual) ToE (and not Faith-0-lution). Remember the Pelycodus chart ...
quote: The slopes of those lines show the rates of evolution for each generation, and the divide at the top shows divergence with one group evolving more rapidly to smaller size.
What you call speciation could never happen, which is a population with its own overall characteristics that clearly differentiate it from its parent population. ... Nope. What biological science defines as speciation has been observed to occur, so obviously you are wrong. Both in your definition of speciation (Faith-0-lution) and your denial of actual observed instances of speciation.
... (Of course it would have sufficiently diminished genetic diversity to make further evolution impossible, but anyway.... According to Faith-0-lution, but not according to reality. Enjoyby our ability to understand RebelAmericanZenDeist ... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ... to share. Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)
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Faith  Suspended Member (Idle past 1701 days) Posts: 35298 From: Nevada, USA Joined: |
I rarely use the concept of selection as in natural selection, I think selection is what brings about new subspecies/breeds but that it's usually random. Faith O lution 101.
And there's your favorite Pelycodus again, you do love that creature. And of course I have to answer the way I always do that they were merely buried in the Flood, so that I object to the idea that different sizes at different levels argues for evolution when it's just where they happened to end up. We get Great Danes at the same time we get chichuahuas from the same dog gene pool after all, various sizes are options in the genome of any creature that can be selected and isolated at any time in the present. And besides it may only be the creature at different ages too. So there's the word from Faith O lution for today. Oh. but yes that is interesting about koinophilia. ABE Oh and one more thing. Of course selection itself doesn't blend characteristics, what I meant was that the new population of selected individuals with their many different characteristics would over time in reproductive isolation blend together into a phenotype that becomes characteristic of the population, as a new breed or subspecies. The selection merely isolates a particular collection of characteristics. Edited by Faith, : No reason given. Edited by Faith, : No reason given. Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
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dwise1 Member Posts: 6077 Joined: Member Rating: 7.2 |
Faith writes:
Again this is not how evolution works. It doesn't blend characteristics. It selects those that are more fit for survival or more attractive for reproduction. That's what selection does. It will eventually blend tog3ether whatever proportions of traits are in the new set of individuals, their new collection of gene/allele frequencies, and eliminate others from the population. It appears to me that Faith is making the same mistake as Charles Darwin when he couldn't figure out how new traits could establish themselves in a population. He pictured heredity as being like mixing paint, but that would inevitably result in new traits disappearing as all traits just blended together. But of course, that's not how it works as scientists came to realize through Mendelian genetics (ironically, Darwin had a copy of Mendel's monograph in his library, but apparently never got around to reading it). We now mainly only know about Darwinian evolution (the natural selection acting upon variation part), but we forget about Darwin's pangenetic theory which tried (and failed) to explain heredity. We have reams of creationist quotes of "scientists declaring Darwinan evolution to be false" which are taken primarily from the first part of the 20th century. During that time, research into genetics and mutations did indeed disprove Darwin's pangenetic ideas (which were demonstrably wrong), so you can find many statements of "Mendel proves Darwin wrong!", but that applied only to pangenesis and had nothing to do with the natural selection part. By the 1940's, it was discovered that Mendel actually provided answers to the questions that Darwin couldn't answer himself. What resulted was the Modern Synthesis (AKA "Grand Synthesis"), the combining of genetics with Darwinian evolution which produced neo-Darwinism. So all that Faith has succeeded in doing is in reproducing Darwin's biggest mistake.
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Faith  Suspended Member (Idle past 1701 days) Posts: 35298 From: Nevada, USA Joined: |
I guess if you're going to make a mistake it's nice to make the particular mistake Darwin made, but I think you are missing MY point. I don't mean that different alleles for a particular trait get blended together, I mean that all the traits in the new gene pool blend together in new combinations. You're only going to get, say, mottled gray fur after all the alleles for fur are reproductively mixed over whatever number of generations it takes, depending on what ends up being the dominant element (highest frequency), and each trait will get sorted according to the same principle, but in combination with each other they will produce a different overall look to the new population than the parent population had.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given. Edited by Faith, : No reason given. Edited by Faith, : No reason given. Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
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RAZD Member (Idle past 1662 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: |
I rarely use the concept of selection as in natural selection, I think selection is what brings about new subspecies/breeds but that it's usually random. Faith O lution 101. Wrong on three counts(in one sentence ... WOW). First, selection occurs with every generation:
Evolution is a two-step feedback response system that is repeated in each generation:
Like walking on first one foot and then the next. Selection can either be for new traits -- ones beneficial in non-equilibrium populations -- or for old traits: koinophilia in populations in equilibrium with their ecology and the ecology is stable.
quote: This shows strong selection for maintaining the status quo. Second, selection does not (on it's own) bring about "new subspecies/breeds" as other factors are involved, including mutations that provide the raw material for selection. Third, selection is not random. Mutations are random, but selection is a response to ecological constraints: the ones who survive to breed are selected and the ones that do not survive to breed are deselected (see diagram at start of message).
And there's your favorite Pelycodus again, you do love that creature. And of course I have to answer the way I always do that they were merely buried in the Flood, so that I object to the idea that different sizes at different levels argues for evolution when it's just where they happened to end up. We get Great Danes at the same time we get chichuahuas from the same dog gene pool after all, various sizes are options in the genome of any creature that can be selected and isolated at any time in the present. And besides it may only be the creature at different ages too. And this regurgitated comment still fails to explain the sorting by radiometric age, the sorting by sizes -- especially considering the split at the top and it still fails to explain a purported flood when the evidence does not show one.
Oh and one more thing. Of course selection itself doesn't blend characteristics, what I meant was that the new population of selected individuals with their many different characteristics would over time in reproductive isolation blend together into a phenotype that becomes characteristic of the population, as a new breed or subspecies. The selection merely isolates a particular collection of characteristics. Which sounds like koinophilia again, rather standard evolutionary process for new populations, nothing radical of fanciful there. I would say "The selection merely consolidates a particular collection of characteristics (with better fitness for the new ecology)." You might also be interested in Zygosity. Enjoyby our ability to understand RebelAmericanZenDeist ... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ... to share. Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)
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Faith  Suspended Member (Idle past 1701 days) Posts: 35298 From: Nevada, USA Joined: |
Yes of course. I've made the point myself many times that the wildebeests of Africa are quite homogeneous in their huge numbers, the only clear variation being a separated/isolated herd called the "blue wildebeests." These are also homogenous as a herd, but this herd is characterized by smaller size, different shaped antlers and a bluish tinge to the hide, a result of the combination of some portion of the larger population's becoming reproductively isolated. The isolation would have lasted long enough to bring out this new set of characteristics from the new set of gene frequencies collectively possessed by the founding individuals.
It was in response to anticipating the usual refrain about how I ignore mutations that I described this motley population, postulating the maximum number of mutational differences possible in a large population, and how that would make for a motley crew of differences among individuals. But I'm quite aware that in reality this doesn't happen, populations acquire a homogeneous appearance over time. I don't even think enough mutations happen to affect my usual argument, I merely wanted to make the point that even at the maximum possible I could think of they wouldn't change my argument. Yes I know the ToE assumes a purposeful selection, I think that's very rare, that's all. You don't need to keep arguing with me you know, we're only going to go around in the usual circles, I just like to interject my point of view from time to time so it's on the record. You have my permission to go back to arguing with AZ, his point of view is much more congenial to yours. Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
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JonF Member (Idle past 425 days) Posts: 6174 Joined:
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The ToE does not include purposeful selection. Selection is a reaction to outside influences. No teleology need apply.
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Faith  Suspended Member (Idle past 1701 days) Posts: 35298 From: Nevada, USA Joined: |
Communication is SO difficult. All I meant by "purposeful" was that it has a definite cause rather than being random, while I'm always arguing that the selection that brings about most population changes, subspecies, breeds or whatever, is random.
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JonF Member (Idle past 425 days) Posts: 6174 Joined: |
OK, you used the same wrong word, bu that part is right.
Selection involves selecting. By definition it's not random.
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RAZD Member (Idle past 1662 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined:
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Yes of course. I've made the point myself many times that the wildebeests of Africa are quite homogeneous in their huge numbers, the only clear variation being a separated/isolated herd called the "blue wildebeests." These are also homogenous as a herd, but this herd is characterized by smaller size, different shaped antlers and a bluish tinge to the hide, a result of the combination of some portion of the larger population's becoming reproductively isolated. The isolation would have lasted long enough to bring out this new set of characteristics from the new set of gene frequencies collectively possessed by the founding individuals. Curiously I think you have these switched:
quote: quote: So the black wildebeests were likely a 6th subspecies before they began evolving into a new species while isolated from the parent blue wildebeests parent population. Not the other way around as you have it. The hybrids do show interbreeding is possible, with usually fertile but less fit results (as compared to horses and donkeys that generally have sterile hybrids). So technically they are not as far along as horses/donkeys in the process of complete reproductive isolation, but the "differences in social behaviour and habitats" are likely to keep them apart and continue the process. They are effectively different species for all intents and purposes.
Yes I know the ToE assumes a purposeful selection, I think that's very rare, that's all. Not purposeful (ie not directed), it is a feedback result of the ecological opportunities and challenges: some survive to reproduce and others do not. Those that do pass on their genes, those that do not can't pass on their genes.
You don't need to keep arguing with me you know, we're only going to go around in the usual circles, I just like to interject my point of view from time to time so it's on the record. ... And I'll keep pointing out your mistakes, misinformation and fantasies so that they are on record. Enjoy Edited by RAZD, : .by our ability to understand RebelAmericanZenDeist ... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ... to share. Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)
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Faith  Suspended Member (Idle past 1701 days) Posts: 35298 From: Nevada, USA Joined: |
I tried to read through that material but it's beyond me. Too much irrelevant detail. Which wildebeest is the large herd, in the millions I think? I thought the blue herd was the smaller herd. I get that the blue type is considered to be the parent population. I'm not going to try to read all that again to find out more than that, so please inform me of whatever point you think is important.
And of course it's all irrelevant to the point I was trying to make. I couldn't care less what the evolutionary history is supposed to be since I consider all that to be false, dictated by the theory but utterly out of tune with reality. It only takes a very short time for a new population to become isolated from the main population and develop its own characteristics -- a hundred years could be overkill but give it a hundred, it certainly doesn't need more than that. The millions of years the ToE assigns to such things is all theory, no known history, no known fact, and all wrong based on normal times to develop a new subspecies/breed or whatever. All I meant by "purposeful" was NONRANDOM. Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
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RAZD Member (Idle past 1662 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: |
... Which wildebeest is the large herd, in the millions I think? I thought the blue herd was the smaller herd. ... Both herds have been decimated by hunting, but the blue herd is larger (from wiki link)
... It only takes a very short time for a new population to become isolated from the main population and develop its own characteristics -- a hundred years could be overkill but give it a hundred, ... and in some cases that is correct, but in others not so much. It depends on the selection pressure.
... it certainly doesn't need more than that. The millions of years the ToE assigns to such things is all theory, no known history, no known fact, and all wrong based on normal times to develop a new subspecies/breed or whatever. ... Times given are usually the result of dating fossils. Usually highly accurate radiometric dating is used to determine the actual times between fossils. Actual times are usually much slower than would occur if evolution were directed or if speciation was a goal; neither of these are true, so evolution is a staggering walk rather than a smooth trend. See Pelycodus ... it's nice to have such a good example ... But this is getting way off topic: Message 1 Enjoyby our ability to understand RebelAmericanZenDeist ... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ... to share. Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)
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WookieeB Member (Idle past 206 days) Posts: 190 Joined: |
There are a couple themes being discussed here and I can get fairly verbose in responding, so I'm splitting up my posts into different parts so as to not have one huge message.
RAZD writes: The problem is that we have observed new species developed by the standard evolutionary model
Several places. A quick google turned up these sites: First off, pretty much nobody (that I know of) says that speciation is impossible, or never happens. Secondly, a lot of this also depends on what one uses as a definition of "speciation". If the definition is complete reproductive isolation, then most of your cited examples don't fit. Your main examples come in the fashion of hybridization. Hybridization, I agree can produce something that falls under the definition of speciation (and I would include a couple plants from your 'list'), but then hybridization does not fall under the processes normally associated with the 'standard evolutionary model'. The standard evolutionary model would basically be the normal Darwinian/Neo-Darwinian process of mutation and natural selection. Hybridization (even via polyploidy) is not via that sort of process. The Neo-Darwinian process is what Gelernter was referring to in the phrase you quoted. So I do not agree with you that his statement was "misinformation" or incorrect. Of course, if you want to quibble about definitions, we can. But from the context it is pretty clear on what Gelernter was referring, since he even made a differentiation between what he called "the small adjustments by which an organism adapts to local circumstances" or "the fine-tuning of existing species" with "the origin of species" (which would all fall under your definition of Evolution", vs how a Darwinian process can explain the differences. He's making a distinction that you haven't really acknowledged yet. As for speciation via hybridization, it is rather an underwhelming example to showcase your evolution. Even under an evolutionary paradigm, hybridization would likely be looked at as two species that had recently diverged coming together and making a hybrid. If that was the case, you are looking at really a loss or decrease of genetic diversity instead of adding new stuff. The specific cases of Tragopogon mirus and Galeopsis tetrahit are probably legitimate forms of speciation via polyploid hybridization. But it's all meh, since this only occurs within flowering plants, it relies on pre-existing parent species, and there isnt really any new morphological characteristics. Heliconius butterfly hybrids don't really fall into it this category because it doesn't appear that this is a case of reproductive isolation. It is more accounted for by interbreeding with various lines (including old parental/generational). All the other examples in your list I would not consider speciation, since the reproductive isolation has not been established in those examples. All in all, even though I would concede that speciation (within some limits) via Darwinian processes is possible, but this still has not been demonstrated by your examples. Despite all of this the bigger question remains: this is still not demonstrating anything akin to being able to explain the macro level differences between most organisms.
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WookieeB Member (Idle past 206 days) Posts: 190 Joined: |
RAZD writes:
How are you justifying that the 10^77 number is fabricated? Cause you don't like it? And of course the problem with this argument (from incredulity after fabricating immense numbers -- a typical creationist/IDologist ploy) is that biology doesn't operate this way
WookieeB writes:
The probability numbers. See the old improbable probability problem. First, what specifically are you saying is fabricated? As for you linked postings, I'm not seeing how it relates unless you can be more specific about where the problem is. Your listing is rather vague on it's own, but here is how I would comment on each numbered point with regards to the OP. 1) Um, ok, duh!. Language is odd, as a model of reality is a model of reality. A model of reality NEVER replicates reality, it merely describes reality. So if the reality doesn't conform to the model, no duh, the model is wrong (is missing something).2) irrelevant. We're not referring to the formation of life. But if you want to argue semantics, than yes, this probability is considering all possible pre-existing molecules within the context of what is being discussed. 3) doesn't apply. 4) Nope. The probability calculation is specifically accounting for the combination of molecules related to it's subject. It is accounting for the combination process (that's kinda a central part of it). And just FYI, your mention of peptides is way off. Peptide refers to a bonding type between amino acids, and in nature it occurs about 1 in 2 times (1/2 would be peptide bonds, 1/2 would be non-peptide bonds). But for a protein to work, all the bonds have to be peptide bonds. So if you really want to highlight the peptide bond type, you are adding an additional 10^45 probability to what we already are discussing. 5) This does relate to the probability discussion, but not in a way you think it might. Ya, with the lottery there are a lot of possible ticket combinations and finding a win per ticket (single event) is a low probability. But there is a high certainty of a win event due to the number of tickets bought (events that occur). The same principle kinda applies, but instead we are taking about 10^195 lottery tickets produced, and the rate of winning is 1 in 10^77 tickets, which is very low The problem is though, how many tickets have actually been bought? Even if you consider a trillion (10^12) tickets bought, that even one winner exists is still extremely low. How many tickets have been actually bought is the key question here, and with evolution the answer is (comparatively) very low. 6) The funny thing here is you complained about a model not fitting to reality, and here you go creating such a model. With regards to the probability Gelernter is mentioning, nobody is saying it is technically impossible. But for all practical purposes, if you have a 10^77 chance, with a limited # of events occurring, plus you have to hit this probability multiple times..... it is considered effectively impossible. You can't calculate probabilities without knowing all the possibilities first. If you assume this, then obviously if your end result seems impossible when it has in fact occurred the error is in the assumed numbers.
I suppose this is true if you are looking for an exact probability. But this is not necessarily true when estimating a probability (which is what is being done with the probability mentioned in the OP). You can usually get a fair estimate by looking at the results of manageable sub-groups of the full data set and extrapolate that out. People do it all the time.I have two di -- a pair of dice -- what is the probability that I will throw/roll a seven in one try? The answer to the die question is: 1 in 6
The numbers used only refer to one specific type of mutation - a single replacement mutation. Biology operates on several different types of mutations, from single replacement to full gene duplication, many involving multiple segments inserted or deleted. This vastly increases the numbers of ways DNA is modified in the real world.
No, the numbers are NOT referring to a specific type of mutation. It's not really talking about how mutations occur at all. This cements with me that you do not understand the argument. The argument is NOT saying there is a 1 in 10^77 chance that one mutation will produce a functional fold. There are probably many functional folds that are one (two, three, four even) mutation(s) away from whatever starting protein sequence you have.The argument is saying that for any modest sized protein of 150 AA's (which is 10^195 possibilities), the estimate is 1 in 10^77 will result in a functional fold (whatever function that protein then exibits). And since there are multple proteins needed for life whose sequences are wildly differentiated from each other (granted most are larger than 150 AA's), within the time span known for life on Earth (let alone even the entire age of the universe), the odds of hitting on functional proteins is exceedingly small, effectively 'impossible'. When you only include one specific mutation in your calculations and ignore all the other "myriad ways mutations" occur you are obviously not counting all the possible mutations.... I do not think you understand the critique of the argument. So no, the probability is not concerned with one specific mutation. It is concerned with ALL possible mutations within the context of the parameters of the protein example.I understand your critique of the argument, it's just that your critique of the argument is not addressing the argument.
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