Darwin-L Message Log 7:49 (March 1994)

Academic Discussion on the History and Theory of the Historical Sciences

This is one message from the Archives of Darwin-L (1993–1997), a professional discussion group on the history and theory of the historical sciences.

Note: Additional publications on evolution and the historical sciences by the Darwin-L list owner are available on SSRN.

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<7:49>From bsinger@eniac.seas.upenn.edu  Wed Mar 16 18:33:57 1994

From: bsinger@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Bayla Singer)
Subject: Re: Humanoid fossils in Time
To: darwin-l@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 19:33:46 -0500 (EST)

Thanks to Kent Holsinger for his explanation, but it doesn't quite speak
to my real problem.  The <amount of time involved> had been cited as the
main issue in dismissing the spread-and-evolve scenario; the assumption
that species arise at a single point is exactly what is being challenged
in this case.  We all know that mutations can arise in several independent
places; the case of hemophilia (in all its types) is an example of this.
If the genetic difference between -erectus- and -sapiens- is small, it
seems plausible that in the course of geologic time -e- could have made
the transition to -s- in more than one place, by the mutation of a few
labile sites.

Populations of -e- and -s- could even have been contemporaneous, though
separated in space, in this scenario.

If <species arise at one point> is dogma, then time is not the issue.  If
species -may- arise at multiple points, I still need an explanation of why
the timescale is a discrimination point between evolve-and-spread vs
spread-and-evolve.

--bayla

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