johnsuth{at}nospam.com.au wrote in
news:20031019060131.D3A8ADF035{at}mail1.acenet.com.au: 

> This is my hobby horse, the inconsistent and confusing use of the
> jargon of evolutionary   biology in textbooks and the popular press. 
>  
> From Curtis & Barnes; Invitation to biology, 5th edition, p 344. Worth
> Publishers.    "Natural selection results in adaptation, a term with
> several meanings in biology.  First, it   can mean a state of being
> adjusted to the environment.  Every living organism is adapted   in
> this sense, ....  Second, adaptation can refer to a particular
> characteristic, ....  Third,   adaptation can mean the evolutionary
> process,  ..." 
  
> The authors consistently describe natural selection as a process, but
> I suggest that a   process must be definable before it is undertaken
> and that the result should be predictable.    Natural selection cannot
> be defined in advance of implementation, and the result  is no   more
> predictable than the result of a dice game, therefore natural
> selection is not a   process. 

There is considerable discussion in the field about the predictability of 
the path of evolution, but I think there is considerable evidence for 
some predictability. My favorite example in this regard is a comparison 
of seals and penguins. While the detailed history that led to each 
species is very different, the parallels in form and behavior are far too 
extensive to be the result of coincidence. There are numerous other 
examples of convergent evolution.

  
> I am concerned not for those who are able to acquire a Ph.D. in
> biology, but for those who   have no prospect of getting to
> university, yet are obliged to understand the basics of   evolutionary
> biology in order to demonstrate their fitness for any kind of
> employment. 

I own a small engineering firm, have interviewed and hired many people, 
and have never once asked them a question about evolutionary biology 
during the interview.

  
> High school students need to state facts concisely in their answers to
> questions in public   examinations, so that the markers can clearly
> assess the answers.  

One of the problems with standardized tests, but I agree with your point.

>Teaching multiple   meanings confuses students
> and turns them off education. 

This is an interesting assertion, but I would like to see some research 
to back it up. While I was at school, I along with many other students 
were intrigued by multiple meanings - they made the class much less 
boring and turned the students on to education. (This question may be 
getting us astray from the charter of the newsgroup)

> Consistency in spelling,   grammar and
> meaning are just as important as the underlying science. 

Consistency in spelling? In English?? How do you pronounce "ough"??? :-)

  
> Suppose I were to present the following to my class:- 
  
> "Evolution is the outcome of a mutant feature in one or more
> individuals being inherited by   descendants because the feature was
> benign or apt in the environment of the time. 

You should leave out everything after the "because". You got the first 
part right - evolution depends on heritable variation. 

  
> Depending on the degree of competition for resources in the
> environment, the mutant   population may survive at the expense of the
> unchanged population (survival of the fittest),   or both populations
> may coexist and ultimately diverge into two species. 

As described by Darwin, there _will_ be competition, because there _is_ 
excess reproduction. Diverging into two species may be a result of the 
competition but doesn't really diminish it. 
  
> When the environment changes, features that were apt may no longer be
> apt, and the   competition is restarted under new rules." 

Very true - and an excellent lesson for students entering the world of 
employment outside academics!
  
Yours,

Bill Morse
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