Evolution is a basic, biological process

sexual selection is probably the reason for the greatly expanded ability of the human brain compared to other creatures -- it is the peacock tail of brains.the theory is that sexual selection involved complex courtship rituals, with song and dance and body adornments, and the individuals that were the most creative got reproduction rights.this ends up as a positive feed-back loop with greater awareness and appreciation of {creativity\complexity} requiring even more {creativity\complexity} in the next generation.this also explains music dance and art and their importance in human culture even today (the rock-band-groupies phenomena).and this awareness of creativity leads to all other awareness issues.

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

let us not forget the woman who actually took those pictures that determined the structure, but who was left out of the limelight ...http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SCfranklinR.htm

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

there are other surveys that show that 80% of people believe that evolution should be taught while only 32% feel that creationism should be (yes there is some overlap).I don't put any stock in surveys without knowing the process by which they were conducted.

you can set up your preferences so that you receive an e-mail for every reply to any and all of your posts. you access your profile from the top menu line and you will see buttons, one for Receive Discussion Board Email (help) ... (_) yes (_) noyou can also set topics you create to send you an e-mail for every post on that thread (this is one of the check boxes at the startup dialog box ... this is available from the {{edit}} button, and you will see it right under the white post box (for original topics only): [_] Email Notification: Registered users can have email sent to them whenever someone replies.there are some glitches in the system right now, but this usually works. you can then sign on to your e-mail and pick all the links to all the replies ... and enjoy the fray.ps ... welcome.

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

and there is some evidence that Darwin's knowledge of Wallace's work impelled him to finally put it all together after procrastinating for several years.have you also read "The SONG OF THE DODO: ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY IN AN AGE OF EXTINCTIONS" by David Quammen? (click for amazon.com review)he has a lot of information of Wallace's work and it is a very readable book.I might look your book up, but may be too old to take advantage of it ... another 50 years might be pushing it ...
(link to amazon.com review of the book -- click here)

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

or he hesitated because he was not sure, not knowing the mechanism ...

a couple of links on the mind development issue and one specifically on the effect of sexual selection on the development of humans:(1) Left Brained Apes (click) Skimpy on real evidence but intriguing.and:(2) Precis of 'The mating mind: How sexual choice shaped the evolution of human nature’ (published April 2000 by Doubleday in U.S., Heinemann in U.K.), by Geoffrey F. Miller (click) The comparison of the human mind to a peacock tail is mine, but this is part of the factual basis for it. (a little hard to read due to the form, sorry).

---

there are two aspects of "natural selection" that are involved, one is the raw survival of the individual -- the survival of the fittest part -- and the other is the ability of the individual to mate -- sexual selection.imho, the role of sexual selection has been largely ingnored due to a (victorian?) bias against talking about sex.that sexual selection has been active in the development of humans can be easily observed from the relative sizes of the sexual apparatus. enjoy

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

consciousness has been exhibited by several apes ... probably the best known instance is when a child fell into a chimpanzee enclosure and one of the females protected him and took him near the door for the keepers.another is listed on my previous post.then there are dolphins that make artistic ring bubbles in the water ... http://www.earthtrust.org/delrings.htmlperhaps there is a critical mass of neural connections that once passed results in conscious thought.This message has been edited by RAZD, 01-03-2005 22:44 AM

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

and the conflict between them is another argument against design.

from Page not found - People For the American Way Note that this fits with the 20%-60%-20% pattern found in many areas, where 20% are advocates of change for the positive, 60% are at different levels of indifferent, and 20% resist change no matter what it is.and from Comparing Christian beliefs in U.S. with those of other countries I have more of this on another board (On Netscape Community Boards) and this should properly be addressed in a new thread.hope this helps.

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

perhaps the "mind" is also a curvature in space-time caused by the electrical activity ... more activity, more curvature

illusion could just be a loose connection ... or a short-circuit through muddy waters.

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

Phi = (5^1/2+1)/2 or 2/(5^1/2-1) and it is also the ratio between the "diagonal" of a pentagon to the side and many other things .... the Parthenon is based on a golden ratio rectangle.just to help a little

heh. I always thought it should be Leonardo Phibonacci ... seriously

my two sense:the discipline of evolution is composed of theories and facts. the theories are the concepts of how things happened, and the facts are the observed instances, both in the labs and in the field, in the present and in the past (fossil records, etc.)thus evolution is {discipline \ theory \ fact} ... all three, but each with different {connotations\overtones}.we could talk about the discipline of evolution and the "law" of natural selection, and all the facts that back it and the lack of exceptions. or we can talk about the theory of natural selection. what we call it has no effect on the behavior of the process: the result is the same.it is semantics at one level of understanding, but it is also true that the promotion of theory to law was arbitrary. no law was passed, and no concept found was absolutely correct.the term "law" was applied in the time when it was felt that everything was knowable and all we needed to do was to determine what the "laws" were that the universe operated under. scientists no longer feel this way.the problem is not trying to promote theory to the level of a universal "law" but that the existing theories that are labeled "laws" don't measure up to that standard.from Law Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com You have to get to #12 before scientific laws are mentioned ... and while {12.a.} is a pretty strong statement, it can certainly be applied to natural selection. The more relaxed {12.b.} can also be applied to many of the theories within the discipline of evolution, such as "punctuated equilibrium" (even though scientists argue about it).Notice that the "law of gravity" does not explain the observed rotation of all galaxies. To make observations fit the "law" we have to assume massive amount of unobserved {"dark"} matter and {"dark"} energy to the point where over 90% of the universe is unknown {"dark"} stuff. Not too good a showing for an invariable relationship ... eh?and we can also go to
Theory Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com I submit to you that there is no difference between {LAW_12b} and {THEORY₁}, that often the {THEORY₁} of today fits the definition of {LAW_12a} (ie - natural selection) and further that these are the definitions used in science.The problem is not the semantics but the connotations most people have of "law" as absolute and of "theory" as conjecture -- both {invalid\incomplete} in the world of science.Making observations fit the {law} is not the scientific process, and thus the preference for theory these days as a descriptive term (albeit one with flaws as well). At least it has the connotation of {changeable based on more complete information or better understanding}.enjoy.This message has been edited by RAZD, 01-07-2005 10:35 AM

---

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}