(January 20, 2013 at 8:59 am)Zen Badger Wrote: The best example of evolution is the recurrent laryngeal nerve in the Giraffe.
There is no way that could be the result of intelligent design.
The reason that the RLN is such a good example is not JUST that it's about 15 feet longer than it needs to be in giraffes, which would indeed be a truly stupid design, but it's also the fact that it would make perfect sense when evolution is applied to the situation. The RLN goes from the brain, to the larynx, then loops downwards under the aortic arch, and back all the way up into the brain. The length is excessive not only in giraffes, but actually in all species that have necks and are descended from ocean dwelling fish-like creatures. When the fish evolved the nerve, it went directly from the brain, to larynx, and then straight back to the brain. It just happened to develop underneath the aortic arch, instead of over it which, at that time, would have required a small detour. Of course, as the fish moved onto land and developed necks, the nerve was stretched out to what it is today in all land animals.
The RLN shows, most elegantly, how evolution is a FAR better explanation than: "God dunnit!"
