Source: Page 24 of White Noise Keywords: "river," "earth," "analogy"

From: "David L. Rosen" <d-j-rosen@erols.com> Subject: Re: Flat Earth Synthetic Genetics Date: 9 Nov 1998 Newsgroups: sci.bio.evolution

Actually, I would compare "gene centrics" to fluid mechanics. In fluid mechanics, we start knowing that everything is made of quantum mechanical atoms. However, we describe the system as made of droplets that are ruled by classical mechanics. However, these droplets aren't molecules. They are compressible, change size and shape, have small but arbitrary sizes, etc. The rest of physics can be absorbed by properly defining these droplets. However, no one can really do fluid mechanics by starting with Shroedingers equation. And no one can do evolutionary theory without some form of gene centrics. The flat earth analogy is a little forced. Assuming that the earth has a surface is really the only approximation a builder uses. If there is a hill or river or valley or rock, he takes it into account. He doesn't insist that the earth is a perfect sphere on the local level. Your Selecton model is like that: you assume that the individual organism is a stable unit when in many cases it is not. It is like you are using a Smooth Earth model. So you are also introducing an approximation. David Rosen ******************************************************** John Edser wrote: > > Gene centrics is exactly the same as the flat earth conjecture. > Today, house builders all assume the earth is flat, to build a house. > Fine, that is all they need to assume. The flat earth was an important > previous evolutionary step in thought, and is a finite testable truth domain > that is important and still used today. However it is refuted when building > long roads or navigating. Because it was refuted in favour of the spherical > earth means that it is a deduction from the spherical earth. VERY small bits > of the earth will appear as flat bits and thus A VERY SMALL amount of truth > resides in the flat earth conjecture. Gene centrics is like a house builder > who runs about the place saying, we all use the flat earth and it works well > for us, thus the earth REALLY IS FLAT. NO, IT IS NOT, this is just a useful > oversimplification OF THE KNOWN TRUTH. > > > John Edser >

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