Logic and evolution (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, July 16, 2016, 20:16 (3050 days ago) @ David Turell
edited by David Turell, Saturday, July 16, 2016, 20:29

To continue my research on information and adaptation, I've looked into Spetner's book, The Evolution Revolution, and on page 74, after discussing a lizard adaptation, he concludes: "Evolution through a built-in response to an environmental input does not generate new information. The built-in mechanism was already in the lizards but it was latent." -Further on page 110 he states: "The scientific literature records no example of even one random mutation that adds heritable information to the genome." And follows with examples. One is antibiotic resistance: "No example of antibiotic resistance in bacteria adds information to the biosphere. To become resistant, the bacteria either pick up ready-made resistance genes from other bacteria [from me: horizontal transfer] or they undergo a mutation that destroys information."-Obviously I have developed an overall impression about genetic information. Spetner is obviously under the opinion that evolution started with all the information needed.-What information an organism picks up from the external environment is only stimuli and then epigenetic modifications of existing DNA occurs. We know what genes do by learning what they control, but no one has shown how they exert that control.-It may be logical to you that organisms can add info to their genes from the external stimuli, but that has not been shown. Methylation only modifies existing function.-So I am changing my claim about genetic information, to this: that it is either modified or destroyed with adaptation, not added. Not knowing how speciation occurs, I cannot comment on how information might be added.