Re: late entry into Lynn and Stephen's conversation

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: : I'd like to make a late entry into the conversation : : between Lynn and Stephen regarding the origins of the : : universe and evolution. Lynn asked several times for : : an explanation of how an orderly universe could arise : : from the chaos after the big bang. True, a universe : : full of aimless particles and lawless energy would never : : produce order "of itself." But the gases and energy of : : the early universe had to answer to the laws of physics. : : Cosmologists don't know exactly how gravity and : : quantum mechanics formed the stars and the planets : : and the pulsars -- but none doubts that it happened. : : Forgive me for beating a dead horse, but how did gravity and quantum physics come to be? : : As for evolution, Lynn says she doesn't know of any case : : where a mutation actually helped an organism. In her : : opinion, any adaptations are merely a case of recessive : : genes rising to dominance. Let's examine the case of : : Adam and Eve, the first humans. As depicted by the : : Christians, the first humans were white humans. White : : skin is clearly adaptive for people living in Europe. : : But the descendants of Adam and Eve that migrated to : : Africa developed dark skin, a very effective defense : : against skin cancer. Did Adam and Eve carry : : unexpressed recessive genes for dark skin? If so, one : : in four of their children would have been dark-skinned. : : If Adam and Eve were the first humans, a genetic : : mutation must have crept into their bloodline, giving : : rise to a race of people well-equipped to live in the : : tropics. By the way, I happen to think that the story : : worked the other way around, that the first humans had : : dark skin and a mutation gave rise to a race of people : : that could thrive in Northern Europe. But the point : : remains the same. : I was unaware that christians professed the first humans to be white. There is absolutely no way of knowing. I believe Adam and Eve must have carried all the genes necessary to breed every race. If this is scientifically IMpossible, I would appreciate it if you would clear me up. : : Many mutations are meaningless, some are lethal, but : : some mutations are clearly beneficial. The short-necked : : ancestors of giraffes did not have recessive genes for : : extremely long necks. Mutations that made the neck : : incrementally longer tended to get passed on to future : : generations until modern giraffes could reach the very : : tops of the trees. Penicillin used to be extremely : : lethal to infectious bacteria, but mutations made many : : strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The : : examples of beneficial mutations are endless. : I wasn't aware that developing resistance to something was the equivalent of a mutation. Also, I wonder how you know that giraffes didn't carry the gene for a long neck. : : Sorry I entered this discussion so late. I only : : discovered this site a few days ago. Looks like a : : great place to hold a conversation. Happy remainder of : : the holidays.

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