[Vision2020] Evolution's Sky

[Phil Nisbet]

Michael

Its common for most people to think of what has been termed the Missing 
Links in a chain of slow but gradual evolution and then to sally forth into 
the field and try to find locations which contain fossil evidence of these 
'gaps' or use them as a means of claiming that evolution does not exist.

Darwin's gradualism requires there to be an almost unbroken chain of slowly 
evolving creatures along any species line and if his work were correct, 
there night just be a point to that exercise.  But we live in an evolution 
which simply does not work that way.

The reason that there are 'gaps' is that off in the edges of a habitat, 
where the feeding is not as good and the climate is not so nice and the 
conditions are simply tougher, the members of the species have a chance to 
adapt and evolve.  Those areas are a very small part of the range and one 
that can be easily lost and not preserved in the geological record.  We have 
'gaps' because that’s how it works.

Unfortunately, kids are taught Darwinian Gradualism in school.  That concept 
is as dead as the Dodo.  But unfortunately, biologists are not often 
required to take Paleontology and learn the concepts of punctuated 
gradualism and not too many Geologists or Paleontologists head over to teach 
school.

Phil Nisbet

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! 
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/