Download Vol 1 Flood,Blind cave fish

Blind
Cave
Fish
Noah’s Flood: A
Local Event?
The Purpose
• Science education and the media present
evolution as fact
• The idea is so widespread that even many
Christian believe that the first 11 chapters
of Genesis are “myth,” and then they are
very careful to define “myth” in a way that
leaves the rest of the Bible intact.
A Definition
Myth: n. 1.) a traditional or legendary story,
usually concerning some being or hero
or event, with our without a
determinable basis of fact or natural
explanation
2.) any invented story or concept
3.) an unproved or false collective
belief that is used to justify a social
institution
The Purpose
• Is there a viable, scientifically sound
alternative?
• That is: are the Bible’s claims really
unproved or false, or can scientific
techniques really offer a determinable
basis for biblical claims?
•What do
you call
a fish
with no
eyes?
Evolution: The definition
Biological evolution, simply put, is descent
with modification. This definition
encompasses small-scale evolution
(changes in gene frequency in a population
from one generation to the next) and largescale evolution (the descent of different
species from a common ancestor over many
generations). Evolution helps us to
understand the history of life.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_02
Evolution: The explanation
Biological evolution is not simply a matter of change over
time. Lots of things change over time: trees lose their
leaves, mountain ranges rise and erode, but they aren't
examples of biological evolution because they don't involve
descent through genetic inheritance.
• The central idea of biological evolution is that all life on
Earth shares a common ancestor, just as you and your
cousins share a common grandmother.
• Through the process of descent with modification, the
common ancestor of life on Earth gave rise to the
fantastic diversity that we see documented in the fossil
record and around us today. Evolution means that we're
all distant cousins: humans and oak trees, hummingbirds
and whales.
Not Evolution
no genetic inheritance
small-scale evolution
• changes in gene
frequency in a
population from one
generation to the next
large-scale evolution
• the descent of
different species from
a common ancestor
over many
generations
Natural selection
• Natural selection is one of the basic
mechanisms of evolution, along with
mutation, migration, and genetic drift.
• Darwin's grand idea of evolution by natural
selection is relatively simple but often
misunderstood. To find out how it works,
imagine a population of beetles:
1. There is variation in traits.
For example, some beetles are green and
some are brown
• http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_25
2. There is differential reproduction.
Since the environment can't support
unlimited population growth, not all
individuals get to reproduce to their full
potential. In this example, green beetles
tend to get eaten by birds
and survive to reproduce
less often than brown
beetles do
3. There is heredity.
The surviving brown beetles have brown
baby beetles because this trait has a genetic
basis
4. End result:
The more advantageous trait, brown
coloration, which allows the beetle to have
more offspring, becomes more common in
the population. If this
process continues,
eventually, all individuals
in the population will be
brown
A Mindless Mechanism
The population or individual does not "want"
or "try" to evolve, and natural selection
cannot try to supply what an organism
"needs." Natural selection just selects
among whatever variations exist in the
population. The result is evolution.
• http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_32
Astyanax mexicanus
One form is a surface-dwelling fish, silvery in colour with a
black band that extends along each side to the tail (4) (5).
The tail and lower fins of some individuals may be tinted
yellow or red (4). The other form has evolved to inhabit
caves, which has resulted in a loss of colouration and,
most significantly, the loss of functioning eyes (3)(6).
Both forms of the Mexican tetra have a forked tail, a small
dorsal fin (4), and an anal fin that, on breeding males,
possesses tiny hooks (5). It has comparatively large and
strong teeth (4) (5).
http://www.arkive.org/mexican-tetra/astyanax-mexicanus/
Note: I added the boldface
• Fish species that live in completely dark
caves have vestigial, non-functional eyes.
When their sighted ancestors ended up living
in caves, there was no longer any natural
selection that maintained the function of the
fishes' eyes. So, fish with better sight no
longer out-competed fish with worse sight.
Today, these fish still have eyes — but they
are not functional and are not an adaptation;
they are just the by-products of the fishes'
evolutionary history.
• http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_31
The Big Question
Are blind cave-fish blind
because they live in caves?
OR
Do blind cave-fish live in caves
because they are blind?
An Alternative
• A mutation creates a population of fish
with underdeveloped (“vestigial”) eyes.
• That mutation is part of the gene pool so
occasionally blind fish are hatched.
• In the open waters, they cannot compete
with sighted fish and are eaten or starve
(this is called “local extinction”)
• The fish that find themselves born in dark
places are at no disadvantage, and
proliferate.
Noah’s Flood:
Local or Global?
• Deepest point in the ocean: Mariana
Trench -11,033 m or -36,198 ft
• Highest point above sea level: Mt. Everest
(Himalayas) 8848 m or 29,028 ft
• Average elevation: 2750 ft
• Average depth of the oceans: 12,500 ft
12,500 ft below sea level
- 2750 ft above sea level
9750 ft still below sea level!
• There is easily enough water on the planet
to flood the whole thing.
• Especially if the mountains were not as tall
or the oceans as deep
Blind
Cave
Fish
Noah’s Flood: A
Local Event?