Revisiting convergence (Introduction)

by dhw, Thursday, June 18, 2015, 08:27 (3446 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Convergence ( chief proponent Simon Conway Morris) is back in the news. Spider and centipede venom looks the same in structure. This is the pattern planning I think was used by God in directing evolution:-http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/43251/title/Spider-and-Centipede-...-"Spiders and centipedes don't have a whole lot in common, at least in terms of evolution. The eight-legged arachnids diverged from other arthropods, including insects, about 400 million years ago, developing structures, behaviors, and ecological niches all their own. But a team of researchers has found that at least some spider and centipede species share molecular architecture in their venom proteins thanks to convergent evolution...”-Why on earth convergence should be regarded as evidence of “pattern planning” I don't know. If all forms of life developed from earlier forms, it stands to reason that regardless of divergence, there will be similar solutions to similar problems. If you insist on interpreting every variation (divergence) and every similarity (convergence) as evidence of God's planning, I shall have to insist on asking you why each example - in this case the venom of the centipede and the spider - was essential to the production of humans. So just add it to the weaverbird's nest, the monarch's lifestyle, the plover's navigation, the whale's blowhole, the spider's silk...This could go on forever. I have a proposal: if you stop harping on about planning, I'll stop asking you how the plans fit in with anthropocentrism. But please don't stop telling us about Nature's Wonders. These are a revelation in themselves.-****************-Many thanks for keeping the website going during my absence. I'm pleased to report that the productions of the two plays were excellent. A tribute to human planning and what can be achieved by the process of convergence!