Question about Evolution

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

That's not really how it works, though.

We don't know how it really works, but mathematical models have been created. IIRC Haldane was the first, and came up with a probability of fixation of 2s, where s is the reproductive advantage given by the mutation. More complex models for different population dynamics have been produced since. Genetic drift can cause beneficial mutations to be lost, and deleterious mutations to fix, despite the effects of natural selection. That isn't a creationist position.

If even marginally beneficial mutations were 'lost in the shuffle', there would be no natural selection at all. Since natural selection is an observed fact, then even small mutations are preserved (beneficial ones, at least).

WTF? Saying that small beneficial mutations can be lost in the shuffle doesn't preclude natural selection, as:
- Not all are lost in the shuffle
- That doesn't preclude the possibility of mutations with larger benefit

I mean, really, your logic there is just a WTF moment.

Maybe we're talking at odds about what we mean by 'small' and 'large' mutations. Probably my own fault, as I'm used to talking with creationists who look upon 'mutation' as the sudden appearance, for example, of a fully functioning eye.

By 'marginal' I mean a mutation which imparts a small - but still measurable - advantage to a particular organism. Sorry for the confusion.

Boru