Register | Sign In


Understanding through Discussion


EvC Forum active members: 64 (9164 total)
2 online now:
Newest Member: ChatGPT
Post Volume: Total: 916,902 Year: 4,159/9,624 Month: 1,030/974 Week: 357/286 Day: 0/13 Hour: 0/0


EvC Forum ⇒ Science Forums ⇒ Biological Evolution ⇒

Evolution Must Happen, it is logical

Thread ▼ Details

Email This Thread
Newer Topic | Older Topic
  
Author Topic:   Evolution Must Happen, it is logical
MangyTiger
Member (Idle past 6383 days)
Posts: 989
From: Leicester, UK
Joined: 07-30-2004

Normal Thread Display
Message 44 of 60 (179667)
01-22-2005 1:30 PM 		Reply to: Message 42 by crashfrog
01-22-2005 10:54 AM

There are many living transitional species, like amphibians, or even the hippopotamus, clearly in a state of transition between land and water life.
​
Is this really true (I'm asking for information/opinions from the many people here who know more about this stuff than I do rather than actually challenging the statement) ?
​
Since evolution is undirected can we really say something is clearly in a state of transition - couldn't it just as well :
  1. stay the same as it currently is forever - or until extinction at least
  2. reverse "direction" and end up going back to being fully aquatic or terrestial
​
Aren't we limited to saying it is in a state where it could potentially transition from being aquatic to terrestial or vice versa ? If I'm wrong then why - what am I missing ?
​
Confused ? You will be...
This message is a reply to:
 Message 42 by crashfrog, posted 01-22-2005 10:54 AM crashfrog has replied
Replies to this message:
 Message 46 by crashfrog, posted 01-22-2005 2:40 PM MangyTiger has replied
  
MangyTiger
Member (Idle past 6383 days)
Posts: 989
From: Leicester, UK
Joined: 07-30-2004

Normal Thread Display
Message 47 of 60 (179876)
01-23-2005 8:47 AM 		Reply to: Message 46 by crashfrog
01-22-2005 2:40 PM

Thanks for the clarification crash
For certain we can say that the hippo is a transition between the hippos of the past and the hippos of the future. When we say that it's a transition between terrestrial and aquatic forms, we're making a prediction about where it appears to be heading in the future. You could certainly be right that it could revert to terrestrialism, or maintain as a sort of land/water half-assed hybrid. It would still be a transitional between its parents and its offspring.
​
That answers my query thanks (and was pretty much what I thought). It was just your original post seemed to suggest we knew for certain where it was headed whereas all we can really say it is a transitional between its parents and offspring - or more generally the future and past of the species.
​
Confused ? You will be...
This message is a reply to:
 Message 46 by crashfrog, posted 01-22-2005 2:40 PM crashfrog has replied
Replies to this message:
 Message 48 by crashfrog, posted 01-23-2005 11:13 AM MangyTiger has not replied
  
Date format: mm-dd-yyyy
Timezone: ET (US)
  
Newer Topic | Older Topic
Jump to:


Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved

™ Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024