the peppered moth experiments from the fifties have been re-examined in the
last year or two (not by creationists, of course) and it was discovered that
some errors were in the experiment design. It's very famous because it made
it into all the textbooks, including the picture of the white moth on the
dark treetrunk. The makers of textbooks move slowly and timidly (they are
*not* scientists) and it will probably be a few years before the peppered
moth example is replaced by any of the thousands of other instances of
natural selection that have been observed.
The problem is that creationists generally only read creationist books. I've
met a few who were scientists (usually working in a non-biology field, but
not always) and I've met a few who have read Gould and Dawkins. But
generally they only read stuff that won't disturb their worldview.
>historical time. Yes, natural selection has been observed in the lab and
>in the field. Check the classic:
>
>Endler, John A 1986 Natural selection in the wild. Princeton University
>Press, Princeton, N.J.
there's one chapter of "Beak of the Finch" that mentions several observed
instances of natural selection, and of course, the entire book is a study of
natural selection acting on the Galapagos finches. The book was recommeded
reading by the original Kansas School Board science panel. All mention of
the book was carefully erased by the group of creationists who wrote the
final recommendations.
>A suggestion. Leave the peppered moth and the bombardier beetle
>alone for a while and try to catch up with what's really going on in
>evolutionary biology.
as long as they are popular with creationist authors, they will be popular
with creationist propagandists.
Susan
--------
Peace is not the absence of conflict--it is the presence of justice.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
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