From: Michael Roberts (michael.andrea.r@ukonline.co.uk)
Date: Thu Jul 31 2003 - 09:30:24 EDT
Part of the reason Darwin back-tracked over Nat Selection was the shortness of geological time insisted on by Lord Kelvin and others where 100my was seen as the upper limit. Thus there was too little time for NS to do its work.
Kelvin was wrong and also Darwin in giving into a mere physicist.
See Joe Burchfield's books and articles on this
Michael
----- Original Message -----
From: Walter Hicks
To: ASA
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 12:36 PM
Subject: Darwin quote
The following comes from:
http://www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-origin-of-species-6th-edition/chapter-15.html
I have now recapitulated the facts and considerations which have thoroughly convinced me that species have been modified, during a long course of descent. This has been effected chiefly through the
natural selection of numerous successive, slight, favourable variations; aided in an important manner by the inherited effects of the use and disuse of parts; and in an unimportant manner, that is, in
relation to adaptive structures, whether past or present, by the direct action of external conditions, and by variations which seem to us in our ignorance to arise spontaneously. It appears that I formerly
underrated the frequency and value of these latter forms of variation, as leading to permanent modifications of structure independently of natural selection. But as my conclusions have lately been much
misrepresented, and it has been stated that I attribute the modification of species exclusively to natural selection, I may be permitted to remark that in the first edition of this work, and subsequently, I
placed in a most conspicuous position--namely, at the close of the Introduction--the following words: "I am convinced that natural selection has been the main but not the exclusive means of modification."
This has been of no avail. Great is the power of steady misrepresentation; but the history of science shows that fortunately this power does not long endure.
--
===================================
Walt Hicks <wallyshoes@mindspring.com>
In any consistent theory, there must
exist true but not provable statements.
(Godel's Theorem)
You can only find the truth with logic
If you have already found the truth
without it. (G.K. Chesterton)
===================================
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Thu Jul 31 2003 - 11:32:50 EDT