From: Jim Armstrong (jarmstro@qwest.net)
Date: Tue Oct 14 2003 - 20:28:30 EDT
I'm still sorta baffled that Wells is used in the Christian community as
an authority, given his Unification church affiliation. I guess the
suitably prebiased position with respect to evolution takes priority.
http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Talks/Wells/DARWIN.htm
JimA
Keith Miller wrote:
> I guess it was this thread where you asserted that criticisms of
> the "Icons" were offtrack. What is your take of Jerry Coyne's
> review written in Nature 1998 where he states:
>
> Finally, the results of Kettlewellís behavioural
> experiments were not replicated in
> later studies: moths have no tendency to
> choose matching backgrounds. Majerus
> finds many other flaws in the work, but they
> are too numerous to list here. I unearthed
> additional problems when, embarrassed
> at having taught the standard Biston story
> for years, I read Kettlewellís papers for the
> first time.
>
>
>
> Wells' critique of the work on evolutionary change in the peppered
> moth was substantially drawn from the work of Michael Majerus
> (Melanism: Evolution in Action" by Michael E.N. Majerus: Oxford
> University Press,1998).
>
> Wells quotes the following sentence from Majerus' book: "The findings
> of these scientists show that the precised description of the basic
> peppered moth story is wrong, inaccurate, or incomplete, with respect
> to most of the story's component parts."
>
> However, the next sentence reads: "When details of the genetics,
> behaviour, and ecology of this moth are taken into account, the
> resulting story is one of greater complexity, and in many ways greater
> interest, than the simple story that is usually related."
>
> Furthermore, a couple sentences later Majerus states: "First, it is
> important to emphasize that, in my view, the huge wealth of additional
> data obtained since Kettlewell's initial predation papers (Kettlewell
> 1955a, 1956), does not undermine the basic qualitative deductions from
> that work. Differential bird predation of the typica and carbonaria
> forms, in habitats affected by industrial pollution to different
> degrees, is the primary influence on the evolution of melanism in the
> peppered moth."
>
> Jerry Coyne in a letter to a newspaper or journal says that Wells also
> misrepresented him. I have been trying to trace that letter down, but
> have not yet found it. I will post it when I find it.
>
> Keith
>
>
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