RE: [asa] Archaic inbreeding

  Followed you till the last sentence, Debbie, which seems a bit of a jump.
Are you saying that whatever lived before the pole swap was not man because
a lot of evolution took place during the high-UV period & that therefore
what existed before the pole swap was not humanity?

  No, I'm saying that the formulas became whacked. 10,000 years worth of
mutations probably occured in 1,000 years or less due to the increased
radiation. If this occurred a number of times, then the age of man just got
shortened by a lot of years - it doesn't change the overall intent of the
argument - just moves the numbers a bit. I felt ornery.

  Actually, it's more than that. From a mathematical and engineering point
of view, I am always looking for holes in the argument and weaknesses in the
system. Extrapolation is extremely risky. In this case, through my very
limited knowledge, I see the following hole:

  Mutations aren't just random. They are accelerated by a number of effects,
including that of our environment. If the environment was different - then
the rate of mutations will change. What environmental differences of the
past would have been radically different?

  I know of one - so I mentioned the one. Maybe this was all taken into
account and not mentioned for the sake of brevity. Brevity can be a good
thing. I see other potential arguments against extrapolation - but this list
isn't the place to publish a thesis so I shouldn't expect to see the whole
story - so maybe I am just being ornery.

  By the way - I don't like Webster's definition of 'ornery'. I like 'being
obnoxious and argumentative in an aggravating but somewhat lovable way.'

  Puzzled,
  Iain

  On 3/16/07, Debbie Mann <deborahjmann@insightbb.com> wrote:
    But if humanity is 5.5 million years old, then that means that humanity
    precedes the last pole swap. During the switching of the north and south
    pole, the magnetic field drops to nothing for a while. With no magnetic
    field, UV rays skyrocket. If UV rays skyrocket, then genetic mutations
    should increase. If genetic mutations increase - then man would no
longer be
    5.5 million years old.

    To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
    "unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.

  --
  -----------
  After the game, the King and the pawn go back in the same box.

  - Italian Proverb
  -----------

To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
Received on Fri Mar 16 10:01:08 2007