[net.origins] spinoffs

rlh@cvl.UUCP (Ralph L. Hartley) (11/13/84)

> For a point in the argument, I need to know if our understanding of the
> first 20 billion yeas of the history of the world has given us any
> practical side effects.

> I'm curious, what do the creationists think about Baby Fae, the human
> baby that recently had a heart transplant from an ape?

In fact, Baby fae probably owes her (rather precarious) life to (a
successfull prediction of) the theory of evolution.  Why do you think
they spent all that time studying tisue types in baboons?  Goats would
be much cheaper.  Creationism gives no reson to expect one animal to be
more similar to humans biochemicaly than any other.  If they had tried
goats first they almost certianly would have found them unusable.  Baby
Fae would never have survived long enough to benifit from their next
try (even if they got it right).  Why do you think they expect that
chimps would be better?

				Ralph Hartley
				rlh@cvl
				siesmo!rlgvax!cvl!rlh