Proof of evolution found in fossils

By Letter to the Editor on November 25, 2017.

Re: Evolution remains an unproved idea, Nov. 20, Medicine Hat News

Can the writer’s imaginary friend create a stone it cannot lift? If so, it is not omnipotent. If not, it is not omnipotent. If it is omniscient, its future is immutable and therefore it is not omnipotent. If it is omnipotent, its future is mutable and therefore it is not omniscient.

Irreducible complexity is based on the mistaken assumption that evolution relies on improvement of existing functions, ignoring how complex adaptations originate from changes in function, and disregarding published research (Scott, Matzke “Biological design in science classrooms” 2007). Evolutionary biologists have published rebuttals showing how systems can evolve (Bridgham et al “Evolution of hormone-receptor complexity by molecular exploitation” 2006), and examples documented through comparative genomics show that complex molecular systems are formed by the addition of components as revealed by different temporal origins of their proteins (www.nature.com).

Many detailed examples of fossils intermediate in form between various taxonomic groups are known. A famous fossil is Archaeopteryx, which combines feathers and skeletal structures peculiar to birds with features of dinosaurs. A flock’s worth of other feathered fossil species, some more avian and some less, has also been found. A sequence of fossils spans the evolution of modern horses from the tiny Eohippus. Whales had four-legged ancestors that walked on land, and creatures known as Ambulocetus and Rodhocetus helped to make that transition. Fossil seashells trace the evolution of various mollusks through millions of years. Perhaps 20 or more hominids (not all of them our ancestors) fill the gap between Lucy the australopithecine and modern humans (Scientific American).

Fred Lewis

Medicine Hat