Re: Haldane's Dilemma -- talk.oriigns rehash

Pim van Meurs (entheta@eskimo.com)
Wed, 18 Jun 1997 19:43:12 -0400

JQ: ----I dont think a program is neccesary to see that the most complex
device
in the world was not made from random.

That is an interesting assertion John, but totally without evidence. Of
course evolution is not randome.

JQ: Since natural selection cannot influence or help propogate those
"favorable" mutations that are not part of the phenotype, any mathematical
model(and evolution itself) has even more problems.

But it can propagate favourable mutations. That's all that is required.
Mathematical modeling might have problems but it is far more proof than an
assertion like yours above for instance. It can show how selection forces
can propagate advantageous mutations.

JQ: Somehow a highly ordered randomly mutated sequence of genetic material
would have to arise without the effects of natural selection.

Huh? It is the natural selection which is the reason why advantageous
mutations are selected for. So this somehow is natural selection. I can
see why you want to take it out of the equation because then you have a
truely random mechanism. But evolution is not random