Posted by Scott L. Schofield on November 20, 1999, at 8:20:54
In reply to calculus; monkeys (Scott), posted by Elizabeth on November 20, 1999, at 5:31:27
Oh, so now you're calling me a monkey!?
Damn. I had hoped no one would find out.
I'm not sure if you were prompting me to comment on the room full of monkeys analogy. I had thought to when I first saw it posted. I figured that Bob was either joking or perhaps lacks an appreciation for the immensity of time.
The "theory" of evolution is not a theory at all. It is fact. I smile when I think about what motivated Darwin to begin his journey in the first place. The concept of evolution had existed for some time before he set foot on the Beagle. He was determined to *disprove* the theory of evolution. Thank God he was a true scientist. After making careful observations, like those documenting the radiation and diversity of Darwin's Finches of the Galapagos islands, he was forced to give-in.
I remember hearing of an instance of speciation documented in the southwest. A population of gray coyotes became separated by a canyon as they migrated southward. After several years, a mere nanosecond relative to geological time, one of the populations had begun to show a trend towards having a red coat. Red or tan coloring made for better camouflage in that locale. Perhaps sexual-selection was the driving force. Regardless of the dynamics, this thing was actually observed with human eyes. Fact.
As for the monkeys, there are some things that can be conceptualized that are excluded from existence because of the laws governing the Cosmos. Bob's analogy sound like one of them.
- Scott
poster:Scott L. Schofield
thread:14368
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991108/msgs/15563.html