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Originally Posted by SixT4
Yes, species could be limited to a particular amount of cumulative change. However, you have absolutely no reason to think this is true.
Well, from the point of view of science, something never having been observed can be a reason to at least suspect it of not being a reality.
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To the best of our knowledge, there is nothing to stop a species changing so much that it is no longer considered the same species.
Careful, you're nearing the so very unscientific
argumentum ad ignorantiam danger zone.
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A species is not some strange, concrete thing, but merely a way we classify organisms.
Defining a species as a reproductively compatible population defines a barrier that has never been crossed (in a manner shown to be extendable to produce this "evolution" business).
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From our observation of evolution over short time frames, it's perfectly logical to conclude that as this process continues over a longer period, it would often produce more significant change.
Scientific propositions need to be more than just logical. They must also be reducible to exclusively observable (i.e. measurable) processes. Macro-evolution falls short of this criterion.
Observing (micro-evolution) processes change
each of A1 to A2, B1 to B2 and C1 to C2 does not imply there exist (macro-evolution) processes that change
all of A1, B1 and C1 to A2, B2 and C2.
Etc.
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Originally Posted by Arouet
By the way: is there anything that's NOT compatible with common design? Is the hypothesis of common design falsifiable?
By "common design" I basically mean "creationism" (though I dislike -isms) such that common descent and common design are mutually incompatible.
Confirmation of common descent would falsify common design (as I have been using the term), but don't hold your breath. Evidence of similar genomes among species that resemble each other is what we would expect given either common descent or common design, which is why a "broken" gene argument doesn't help us here.
Last edited by Concerto; 08-10-2010 at 10:49 PM.