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Author Topic:   Evolution doesn't make sense.
Taq
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Posts: 9973
Joined: 03-06-2009
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Message 76 of 80 (652565)
02-14-2012 3:59 PM
Reply to: Message 73 by caffeine
02-13-2012 9:26 AM


They'll always be Heterocera, the moth clade, but if they evolve into a form that doesn't look like a moth they're not really moths any more.
Hence the problem with colloquial naming traditions. We arbitrarily decide what is an isn't a moth based on our feeling at the time.
Is a chihuahua a wolf? Most would say no. Did chiahuahuas evolve from a wolf-like ancestor? Most likely. We will say that chihuahuas and wolves are still dogs, but when did those wolves stop being wolves and become chihuahuas? That dividing line would also be an arbitrary one.
The system that science has settled on is cladistics, and in that system you never evolve out of your clade. This differs from the colloquial method where species are arbitrarily assigned to different groups based on shifting notions of what is or isn't indicative of a group.

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 Message 73 by caffeine, posted 02-13-2012 9:26 AM caffeine has replied

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Taq
Member
Posts: 9973
Joined: 03-06-2009
Member Rating: 5.7


Message 77 of 80 (652567)
02-14-2012 4:02 PM
Reply to: Message 74 by jar
02-13-2012 10:02 AM


Re: annudder question
For example, if a invertebrate evolved a backbone would it be classified as a vertebrate?
If a mammal evolved wings would it be classified as a bird?

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 Message 74 by jar, posted 02-13-2012 10:02 AM jar has replied

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