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Oeh Bramhodoulos Send a noteboard - 07/08/2011 01:54:19 PM
Well, as you can see I'm trying to keep up with several people at the same time and hopefully I'm not confusing your arguments with them and thereby answering questions you didn't ask.

But your example of C. difficile is interesting, for I think it actually proves my point.
You claim that they have objectively "low biological fitness" because they have a very low poplulation, especially compared to other bacteria.

This does not actually have anything to do with the gene pool, unless you would say that all species of bacteria share the same gene pool (and besides, bacteria have a different type of gene pool anyway, since they don't sexually reproduce).
None the less, your clasification of "having low biological fitness" is principally based on their low frequency, not based upon their internal genetical code, or their strong phenotype in and of itself, but only on their frequency.

Next you say that when anti-biotics are applied they are the only ones (or one of the very few) who can survive and therefor increase their numbers.
And once antibiotics are stopped things go back to normal.
You conclude: "That is an example of natural selection. It does not necessarily select for any particular characteristic."

Great, but that's my point!
My problem is not with the notion that nature selects, or that the survivers contribute more to the gene pool or anything, but my question is that if NS does not select for "any particular characteristic", how can that knowledge help us understand NS?

Now you can come with a specific example where NS does select for trait X, but the problem is that NS as a whole cannot be "tested". It can be (and if you ask me: must be) assumed, but I can't think of a non-tautologous formulation of NS that is explanatory.
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Natural selection - 06/08/2011 03:51:26 PM 1082 Views
selection for suitability - 06/08/2011 04:18:51 PM 729 Views
Thanks for your responce - 06/08/2011 04:41:20 PM 844 Views
I can't speak for LadyLorraine and won't try, but here's how I see it: - 06/08/2011 06:49:49 PM 789 Views
Just a question - 06/08/2011 07:18:09 PM 771 Views
Yes it can - 06/08/2011 07:41:59 PM 648 Views
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Okay, I think I see what you're saying - 08/08/2011 05:30:43 PM 661 Views
Close - 08/08/2011 05:41:46 PM 860 Views
Re: Just a question - 06/08/2011 07:49:21 PM 865 Views
I'm not sure I understand you - 06/08/2011 08:20:44 PM 769 Views
All tautologies are truisms, but not all truisms are tautologies. - 06/08/2011 09:38:12 PM 790 Views
Then it is still a tautology - 06/08/2011 09:45:33 PM 799 Views
You can know it's beneifical to a particular individual, but it's harder to say for populations. - 06/08/2011 10:18:16 PM 902 Views
Maybe... - 07/08/2011 01:55:54 PM 754 Views
As I understand it - 06/08/2011 06:04:44 PM 720 Views
Better... - 06/08/2011 06:36:38 PM 701 Views
Actually - 06/08/2011 10:13:51 PM 792 Views
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Re: Actually - 06/08/2011 11:38:52 PM 857 Views
Oeh - 07/08/2011 01:54:19 PM 707 Views
Hmmm... there's some truth to that - 06/08/2011 06:36:35 PM 801 Views
Re: Hmmm... there's some truth to that - 06/08/2011 07:08:25 PM 803 Views
Re: Hmmm... there's some truth to that - 07/08/2011 12:46:23 AM 797 Views
The complexity of the problem makes it all but impossible to falsify... - 06/08/2011 08:26:06 PM 825 Views
The questions go deeper - 06/08/2011 08:38:31 PM 817 Views
Re: The questions go deeper - 06/08/2011 09:10:32 PM 807 Views
I think I know why you don't understand my question. - 06/08/2011 09:38:41 PM 827 Views
TalkOrigins addresses this at length. - 06/08/2011 11:14:52 PM 881 Views
Not very much, but interesting none the less - 06/08/2011 11:38:36 PM 874 Views
Re: Natural selection - 07/08/2011 03:00:30 AM 801 Views
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Re: 2 things - 07/08/2011 05:48:26 PM 738 Views
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