WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! (Sorry, just beating a dead horse here) WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Quoted bits are from Canopus56(Kurt). Natural selection asks:
Does the randomly created mutation result in a increased survival benefit to the organism that increases the probability the organism will reproduce?"
One of the main problems I have with the theory of an intelligent agent driving evolution is that if there is designer - he's got to be one of the worst engineers in recorded history. Some examples include:
A) Men have nipples but don't nurse children.
How are male nipples a survival benefit? To me as a software designer, this is evidence of object-oriented design. The designer is obviously re-using a base plan that works and modifying it slightly. :)
B) Women give birth by a uterus and do not lay eggs. Why would a purposeful designer select the mammalian uterus as a design for human reproduction? Without significant medical support the odds of death and/or dehabilitating infection are quite high due to the placenta tearing away form the uterine wall. Wouldn't a purposeful designer have simply stuck with egg - a design that inherently has much lower risks associated with childbirth?
Again, this seems to be an argument against survivability. So it could not possibly have evolved that way, right? This is all mostly tongue-in-cheek, but the case just does not seem to be as open-and-shut to me as it does to others here. I think we all will just have to agree to disagree. There is a lot of data out there that can be interpreted many ways. This question of Kurt's is very good:
1) What are the key components of the theory of intelligent design that proponents want taught in Utah public secondary schools?
We should all probably understand what is actually being proposed before we dismiss or endorse it. I doubt if there are many on this list who have read the curriculum proposed for ID. I know I haven't. I just don't worry about it that much. I have always been fond of Mark Twain's saying, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." If all that a kid learns is from the public school system, he or she has more problems than just science deficiency. :) Aaron