In a message dated 1/12/01 8:45:49 PM, d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au
writes:
>At 06:49 PM 12/01/01 -0800, johnn marlow wrote:
>>If memory serves, Darwin himself
>>conceded his theory had fatal flaws (the eye, for
>>example; too complex, too soon); they have not, as
>>yet, been corrected.
>I love it! The major theory underlying all today's science is fundamentally
>wrong, and here's the evidence: a bright guy who died 119 years ago missed
>some of the subsequent supporting evidence and lines of development.
That's an old chestnut. Actually Darwin said it *seemed* like his
theory had fatal flaws like the development of complex parts. Then
he took the most difficult example he could think of (the eye) and
showed how it *could* arise by evolution. His outline has stood up
nicely; we now know the eye has arisen over 40 independent times
(with exactly the variations Darwin would predict and thoughtful
design would avoid). Dawkins calculated that 500,000 generations
would suffice to generate an eye, based on known typical genetic
variation.
Creationists *love* to quote Darwin out of context on the eye
business, when he actually solved the issue 140 years ago.
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