29 Evidences for Macroevolution

Closing remarks

Copyright © 2000-2002 by Douglas Theobald, Ph.D.

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hese previous points are all evidence of macroevolution alone; the evidence and the conclusion are independent of the gradualistic explanatory mechanism for the origin and evolution of macroevolutionary adaptations. This is why scientists call universal common descent the "fact of evolution." None of the 29 predictions directly address how macroevolution has occurred, how fins were able to develop into limbs, or how the vertebrate eye evolved; nevertheless, the validity of the macroevolutionary conclusion does not depend on whether Darwinism, Lamarckism, or something else is the true mechanism of evolutionary change. The macroevolutionary conclusion still stands, regardless.

This point has an interesting parallel in physics. Newton's law of gravitation describes a behavior of matter, just as macroevolution describes a behavior of life. Newton never gave a mechanism for gravity. Why does the force between two masses follow the inverse square law and not another (perhaps an inverse cube law)? It took nearly 300 years before a mechanism for gravity was proposed, partly by Einstein and partly by the contributors to quantum chromodynamics (QCD). This mechanism still lacks any experimental support. Charles Darwin is considered such a great scientific mind because, unlike Newton who proposed only a descriptive theory, Darwin proposed both a descriptive theory and a plausible mechanism. That mechanism is, of course, heritable variation with natural selection.

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Brett Vickers, John Wilkins, Wesley Elsberry, Edward Max, Jim Foley, Laurence Moran, Ashby Camp, Cornelius George Hunter, Richard Harter, Matt Silberstein, Neil Rickert, Larry Handlin, Mike Goodrich, John Harshman, Paul Gans, Sarah Clark, Paul Danaher, Howard Hershey, Adam Noel Harris, Rich Daniel, Wade Hines, Chris Nedin, Peter Nyikos, Gavin Tabor, Andrew McRae, Ken Cox, Ken Cope, Mike Hopkins, Norm Pace, Scott Classen, Tom Schneider, Steve Schultz, and Catherine Theobald (and others I am surely omitting) for their helpful comments, corrections, suggestions, discussion, and criticism. All remaining errors are mine and mine alone. Oh yeah - I must not forget maff.

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