Communication

Contributions from readers who didn't object to having their email published in Vagabond Pages.

Evolution..., Paparazzi..., Vagabond..., Serbs...

Re: Evolution (February 96 issue)

Assuming you mean "biological evolution" when you refer to "the theory of evolution", I am not sure what the theory of evolution is, as there is no one theory. Evolution is generally defined as the change of frequency in an allele in a population. A baby growing up is NOT evolution. That evolution occurs is a fact. One of the best experiments to observe this change of frequency of alleles is to take a colony of bacteria, plate it in agar, watch it multiply and thrive. Now add some penicillin. In a matter of hours, most will be dead (perhaps every visible colony will die). Let it be for a couple of days, and slowly you'll see colonies emerge. This is an experiment I've done hundreds of times as an undergrad, and shows natural selection in action.

Now, evolution occurs and is well-established for anyone who wishes to do the experiment. But HOW it occurs is a matter of dispute. There are many theories of evolution, including Darwinism and Lamarckism. The neo-darwinian view generally is that new function (zero frequency allele to some non-zero-frequency) arises by chance, and is selected for incrementally (low-frequency allele to high-frequency allele). The latter part, which Darwin wrote about, has to have a single hole put in it. That is, ONCE the function arises, how it is selected is explained quite rigorously.

But no one has shown how function arises in the first place. This is the dogma of evolution, and something Popper criticised. Every textbook says this (mutations cause new function) occurs through chance (randomly), but it hasn't been proven either way.

I spend a lot of time doing simulations trying to disprove/prove aspects of neodarwinian theory; someday I may get it $ all together and publish it.

This is an aside:

You write: "Who knows, maybe they caught cancer, but not mutations."

Cancer is caused by mutations. It is in effect a new function (of the proteins mutated); albeit a lethal one. Arising of function is something that occurs in the time scale of millennia for human species. So recorded history could never catch it, but ask yourself this: bacteria evolved resistance to penicillin because they encountered it in fungi thousands of years ago. When humans used penicillin extensively, the population of bacteria that were resistant to it became larger and larger (through natural selection -- the ones that weren't resistant died). So the humans went ahead and created new classes of penicillin compounds, that had NEVER existed in nature before. In a few years, bacteria developed resistance to these also. This is BOTH arising of function and selection that has occurred. No one knows how, but this is a complete example of evolution (not just natural selection).

--Ram
ram@zen.stanford.edu
http://www.ram.org
http://www.twisted-helices.com/th
"I used to trust the media to tell me the truth, tell us the truth.
But now I've seen the payoffs, everywhere I look:
who do you trust when everyone's a crook?"
--Queensryche, Revolution Calling, Operation Mindcrime

Paparazzi

Re: Vagabond

dear william..!!
great site, actualized, taking the pulse of things as they are going and looking at the back issues they do not lose reality nor actual involvement. i would like to receive from you an alert on the newest issue that is on line or if there is any kind of fixed monthly date to look for. again, it's refreshing, straight and imaginative.

bye
arieh
lavoten@ibm.net

Re: Serbs (September 95 issue)

I think your work is a work of propaganda. Jebem ti sve pospisku. Jebo te ja u usta. Black Hand. think about it ... long live serbia

The PROUD MOUNTAIN EAGLE will never dissapear! We SERBS will always exist. Too bad to break the news to you seeing that you hate SERBS so much. Too FUCKING bad ASSHOLE. black hand

Nikole asked me why I publish this garbage; it contains insults and threats and that's why it shouldn't be ignored. It's enough to look at the mentioned article to realise that no Serb could write such a letter. The writer's email is functional but I'm not publishing it because I doubt that it is the true address. WM

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William Markiewicz