Title Author Date

query on this discovery of in you seal it they will evolve David, Andie Baruch Jun 11, 2006

How does the discoverry of the sealed of cave in israel prove evolution ???
The quote:
"Every species we examined had no eyes which means they lost their sight due to evolution," said Dimantman.

Losing eyes is not the same as making eyes ? Is this not devolution rather than evolution ? Losing information is not really evolution proof in theis case.

I would be intrested in feedback on this at andiedavid@hotmail.com.

Title Author Date

query on this discovery of in you seal it they will evolve TalkReason , Jun 11, 2006

Dear Andy David:

Your question implies that in your interpretation evolution is a synonym of "progress," that is, a development directed at a certain goal - for example, a development of
vision. Therefore the loss of vision is, in your understanding, a "devolution." In fact, devolution is a meaningless term within the framework of evolutionary biology. Evolution, as it is understood in evolutionary biology, is a targetless process. It is a process wherein organisms change and automatically adapt to their changing environement. The underlying
mechanisms of this process comprises various genetic changes, including mutations, horizontal genetic drift, and a variety of other processes wherein the genome changes its composition. Natural selection culls those features which fit the changed environment and routinely eliminates such features which are useless or deleterious in the changing environment. In the environment where vision is advantageous for the organism's survival and hence producing progeny, evolutionary process favors development of vision. In a dark cave vision is useless, so the blind process of evolution gradually leads to the loss of the useless eyes, while other senses, useful in the dark environment, naturally evolve. This is a process predicted by
the theory of evolution, and therefore legitimately referred to as evolution. In a cave the absence of eyes is not a shortcoming, so the term "devolution" is simply meaningless, as the organisms without eyes are not "less evolved," or "less advanced" than those with eyes. Organisms that survived in the cave have adapted to the dark environment, which is the
essence of evolution. One of the definitions of evolution is "descent with modification" and there is no ladder of "better" or "worse" organisms, but just an accumulation of features making consecutive generations better
adapted to their changing environment. Loss of certain characteristics is as much an ineliminable part of evolution as is acquisition of new characteristics.

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