Perspectives on Evolution

[bennyboy]

Afaik evolution is not defined via species or speciation, but by changes of gene frequencies in a population. Speciation (splitting up of populations into groups that don't mate anymore) is a higher level outcome of that..?

Yeah even in my OP there's some conflation. To me, evolution is not really a process, but a statistical description of data sets in a context that has members which can interact, and in which different kinds of interactions can persist variably over time. But in talking about for example humans, it's fair to infer I'm also talking about speciation.

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Maybe it would help you to think of a persistent pattern that's changing. After all, you can't step into the same river twice because it contains different water molecules the second time. Even the shape of the river is changing slowly over time. Same with a cloud above a hill. The cells in our body get replaced over time as well. So the pattern that we call human is changing over time because of evolution.

Interesting. Would you describe the process of aging as a kind of evolutionary process? Certainly, the question "Who's aging" is something akin, since 5 year-old bennyboy never died, but clearly does not exist as he did. I think when you say pattern, it's much like the "Archetypal Man" I mentioned in the OP, it's more man-ness, than any individual man (or even collection of men).

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Yearp.  Changes in gene frequency over time is evolution, and evolution + a shit ton of time = speciation.

Is this really how evolution is defined? How would changes in gene frequency over time be measured? Certainly, very much or even most of the evolutionary narrative is based on fossils, no?