On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:52:50 -0500 "Debbie Mann"
<deborahjmann@insightbb.com> writes:
> Response to Dick:
>
> <"Isn't it just inaccurate to use the term "evolution" to mean
> "change"?
>
>
>
> <It's more accurate to call evolution "descent with modification" if
> you
> like a nice short definition.
>
>
> 'Descent'? Doesn't evolve' indicate 'ascent'? Evolution bothers me
> theoretically because it defies the law of entropy. Change by
> simplification
> wouldn't bother me - but change by complication does. I'd love it if
> your
> definitiion was the only 'evolution' there was.
>
> Debbie Mann
> (765) 477-1776
>
Debbie,
Did it ever occur to you that you have descended from your parents and
grandparents, not ascended from them? This is not the same as applying
the terms to stairs and mountains. "Descent" is not a synonym for
"degeneration." Note also that the simplification of parasitic organisms
is as much evolution as the development of "higher" species.Sacculina's
embryology shows that its ancestors were free-living barnacles. Now the
female matches its name. Of course, if you want to blame God for the
instantaneous creation of tapeworms, which are little more than connected
bags of reproductive organs that are injurious to their hosts, I won't
join you.
You've been lied to about entropy. The second law applies only to
isolated systems. If you were encapsulated in impervious plastic, you
would not last very long. But even then you would not be totally
isolated, not even with thick layers of insulation. As it is, you
represent an open entity, taking in food and oxygen, and continuing to
live. The earth is an open system, getting energy from the sun. This
energy is usable for changes of many sorts. Of course, the entropy of the
sun increases as it shines.
Dave
Received on Fri Mar 24 22:07:49 2006
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