Changes

:::::I think Learn together makes a good point about the resources required, and the response to that just goes to show how flexible evolution is:  if evolution gets rid of something, it is because it was a disadvantage, but if it doesn't get rid of something, it must be because it wasn't that much of a disadvantage.  It's a tautology, really (how do you know if it was a disadvantage?  By whether or not evolution got rid if it), and by being so flexible that it explains everything, it really explains nothing, but is a "just-so" story.  [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 08:00, 28 May 2007 (EDT)

:::::I think Learn together makes a good point about the resources required, and the response to that just goes to show how flexible evolution is:  if evolution gets rid of something, it is because it was a disadvantage, but if it doesn't get rid of something, it must be because it wasn't that much of a disadvantage.  It's a tautology, really (how do you know if it was a disadvantage?  By whether or not evolution got rid if it), and by being so flexible that it explains everything, it really explains nothing, but is a "just-so" story.  [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 08:00, 28 May 2007 (EDT)

::::::It is not that natural selection won't ever get rid of things that don't provide an advantage, it's just that it might take a while.  You can't expect these things to happen in one generation.  Also, keep in mind that sometimes changes happen that are clearly not advantageous due to purely to chance, founder effects, etc.  For example, humans have a defective gene for the enzyme that makes vitamin C, while all apes have functional copies of the gene.  This is why humans are susceptible to scurvy while apes are not and why we must take in vitamin C in our diet.  Looking at the current iterations of animals, especially humans, is probably not the best way to study evolution because the influence of humans and modern society has changed the game so much.  Evolution is best studied over millions of years. [[User:GodWarrior|GodWarrior]] 09:57, 29 May 2007 (EDT)

::::::It is not that natural selection won't ever get rid of things that don't provide an advantage, it's just that it might take a while.  You can't expect these things to happen in one generation.  Also, keep in mind that sometimes changes happen that are clearly not advantageous due to purely to chance, founder effects, etc.  For example, humans have a defective gene for the enzyme that makes vitamin C, while all mammals, except apes and guinea pigs, have functional copies of the gene.  This is why humans are susceptible to scurvy while other mammals are not and why we must take in vitamin C in our diet.  Looking at the current iterations of animals, especially humans, is probably not the best way to study evolution because the influence of humans and modern society has changed the game so much.  Evolution is best studied over millions of years. [[User:GodWarrior|GodWarrior]] 09:57, 29 May 2007 (EDT)

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