(May 7, 2016 at 6:16 pm)Mudhammam Wrote:(May 7, 2016 at 5:55 pm)bennyboy Wrote: Another implication is that evolution could be much faster than we normally think of it. If there were a real benefit to having a different number of fingers, we wouldn't see people with stumpy little 6th fingers, then slightly more defined 6th fingers over millions of years. We'd see x% of the population having 6 fingers, with that % spiking pretty rapidly depending on the genetic fitness advantage it would give.How is that different from the manner in which evolution is typically understood to have occurred? A sixth finger might not have any other particular advantage except perhaps those with six fingers tend to attract more sexual partners. And then the five digit creatures, to compensate for the attractiveness that the sixth little finger bears to the other gender, have to work harder, and thus the population would result in many stronger, faster, five digit creatures, in competition with those that are moderately weaker and slower but more attractive given their sixth little finger. Then wouldn't the spread of the gene pool for six digits remain more or less unchanged, or result in only a very gradual, moderate increase over long periods of time, given whichever consistently retained a slight edge?
It's not really at odds with evolution at all. My point is that like our mental understanding of things, the DNA represents a collection of ideas which are reworked or recycled, rather than a "set piece" for a species.
