dubois@uwmacc.UUCP (Paul DuBois) (04/24/85)
> [Mike Huybensz] >>>> e) ''A rule that all breeders recognize, is that there >>>> are fixed limits to the amount of change that can be >>>> produced.'' [Lane P. Lester and Raymond G. Bohlin, THE >>>> NATURAL LIMITS TO BIOLOGICAL CHANGE (Grand Rapids: >>>> Zondervan, 1984), p. 96.] >>> >>> What evidence does this creationist text (note the publisher) supply, >>> other than his bare assertion? >> >> Poison the well, Mike. A creationist text, therefore wrong. Yes, >> some additional corroborative material would have been useful. But >> have you got something other than a bare assertion that the statement >> is incorrect? > Therefore suspect. If I wanted declare him wrong because he is a creationist, > I would do so. It's very impolite for you to imply otherwise. > But (once again) the only thing breeders can talk about is the RATE at which > change can be produced. Okay, fine. A creationist text, therefore suspect. Still poisoning the well. Yes, some additional corroborative material would have been useful. But have you got something other than a bare assertion that "the only thing breeders can talk about is the RATE at which change can be produced"? -- | Paul DuBois {allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!dubois --+-- | "Danger signs, a creeping independence" |
mrh@cybvax0.UUCP (Mike Huybensz) (04/25/85)
In article <971@uwmacc.UUCP> dubois@uwmacc.UUCP (Paul DuBois) writes: > Okay, fine. A creationist text, therefore suspect. Still poisoning > the well. Yes, some additional corroborative material would have been > useful. But have you got something other than a bare assertion that > "the only thing breeders can talk about is the RATE at which change can > be produced"? Flavoring the well at worst: making sure people check the quality before imbibing. Guess what my major was for my first three years at Cornell? Plant breeding. Must I get out and reread my plant breeding texts to say that they don't discuss long-term limits to change? Breeding of domesticated plants and animals has been going on for 10,000 years (at most, roughly.) On the evolutionary scale, that's brief. On the scale of human lifetimes, that's long. An individual breeder may not see much change during his lifetime. But he has no plausible reason for believing in long-term limits. -- Mike Huybensz ...decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!cybvax0!mrh