Gradualism in Evolution not supported by genome studies (Agnosticism)

by dhw, Wednesday, October 14, 2020, 12:36 (1280 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: We have long since agreed that Darwin was wrong to say that there are no jumps in Nature. Shapiro’s theory is that intelligent cells do the engineering, and it takes into account the research of others into cellular intelligence. I have offered you a proposal concerning the role of new genes, old genes and discarded genes in speciation, and although like all the other theories, it is not proven, I still don’t know why you object to it.

DAVID: You know full well I think a designer is required for all advance in evolution at the speciation level.

That is not an answer! Your designer would have created the mechanism in the first place, but even if he dabbled, the process of inventing, restructuring and discarding cells would have been the same. So why do you think speciation cannot possibly have been caused (whether dabbled or not) by a combination of new genes with old genes taking on new functions, while other old genes are discarded because they are no longer of any use?

DAVID: As we study it, it should require a careful definition of species. We have noted the differences in bears by fur color as not really species set apart.

I made that point myself earlier in this discussion. It makes no difference to the feasibility of my proposal, and no matter how we define speciation, it would still leave wide open the question of how loss of genes can create anything new. Why do you think it is not feasible that the loss of genes RESULTS from speciation, as above?