Cambrian Explosion: another article on early brains (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, November 24, 2015, 15:14 (3287 days ago) @ dhw


> DAVID: My point, in the guesswork, is that the organism can initiate independently epigenetically appropriate changes to accommodate some stressful situation. But I believe in theistic evolution, i.e., guided by God. Therefore God controls the ultimate outcomes. Easy! Note the organisms have a degree of initial freedom.
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> dhw: I have noted this litte concession, and am wondering if it heralds a bigger concession. Firstly, though, you emphasized earlier the fact that “some changes and advances are not due to stress, but simple innovation” - which is precisely my point: that evolution advances not by adaptation (accommodating some "stressful situation") but by innovation (exploiting opportunities).-I agree with you. Innovation, without stress as a cause, is obviously seen in the history of evolution. But in the whale series one can see obvious stress in the required physical adaptations of each step. 
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> dhw: And so to the concession: I am painfully aware that you think evolution was guided by God, but the only “guidelines” you have offered so far are the restrictions imposed by nature and the environment. -No, that seems to be your concept. My point is that the guidelines are set within the layers of the genome controls.-> dhw:Restrictions do not offer guidance on how to create something new... Are you instead saying that God gives what I call an autonomous inventive mechanism free rein, but dabbles when he doesn't like what's going on, or when he wants evolution to take a particular direction?-Once again, we see an inventive approach in epigenetic adaptations, which are responses to stress. We have suggested that for simple innovation, an IM might exist in the genome with guidelines, that may well be restrictive and limiting in the extent of the innovation. Again, all guesswork, awaiting more research.