Mike Koller <koller at erols.com> wrote in article
<01bc43c1$209adb60$864da1ce at koller.erols.com>...
> > > The fact is this: sex is *not* a problem for evolutionary biology.
> > > Theories regarding why sex persists (a separate question from how sex
> > > arose - which is also not a problem) are covered by any decent
> > college-level
> > > evolution text.
> > >
> > > Rich Kliman
> > > Dept. of Biology
> > > Radford University
> > > *standard disclaimer*
> > >
>> Yup. I'm taking biology 1 and it's right there in plain english. Not
hard
> to grasp or understand. It makes a whole lotta sense, scientifcally
> speaking of course.
>> Some tidbits:
>> "Darwin's first point - that evolution occurs - can stand on its own,
> whether or not natural selection is the cause".
> (What vs. How)
>> "Natural selection involves interactions between individual organisms and
> their environment, but individuals do not evolve. Evolution can be
> measured only as changes in relative proportions of variations in a
> population over a succession of generations."
>> Why sex is better than no sex (regarding survivability):
>> "On average, those individuals best suited to the local environment leave
> the most offspring, transmitting their genese in the process. This
natural
> selection results in adaptation, the accumulation of those genetic
> variations that are favored by the enironment. As the environment
changes
> or a population moves, the population may survive if in each generation,
at
> least some of its members can cope effectively with the new conditions.
> Different genetic variations may work better than those that prevailed in
> the old time or place. SEX and mutations are the two sources of this
> variation."
>> All quotes from "Biology (4th ed.) by Campbell (Benjamin/Cummins Publ.)
>>
Mike, you seemed to have missed the point. I did not write that sex makes
no sense (even after 25 years of marriage it does :-) ), I wrote that Dr.
Eldredge (1995 book) wrote that sex is a paradox from the ultra-Darwinist
(as in Dr. Dawkins) point of view.
Read his book, it will serve you well in your studies. (Eldredge is a
major player, if you did not know)
Regards, Joe
