"Reason"  wrote in
news:cli0tq$qqs$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org: 

> 
> "Country Loon" 
wrote in message 
> news:cl65sn$b03$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org...
>> Is there such a thing as backwards evolution or is it all form fits
>> function - if the environment changes then so do we. I was wondering
>> for instance if we use our brains less would the size reduce!
>> Also is evolution a step by step process or are there times when
>> there is a
>> giant leap.
>> I mention this as this happens in technology.We go for years with
>> incremental improvements and then suddenly 'bang', somebody comes up
>> with a
>> revolutionary idea.For instance the invention of the transistor or
>> general relativity - whatever.
>> Another question I have is this, when gene therapy is perfected is
>> this just
>> another f orm of evolution - we are part of nature so it must be
>> natural selection?

> Since there is no "forwards" in evolutionary terms, it's a difficult 
> question to answer.  If you mean "forwards" to mean more complexity,
> then it is generally evident in the fossil record that such steps do
> occur.  If an organism becomes more survivable with less complexity,
> it may in fact be a step forward.  It depends only on whether a
> simpler organism is more likely to survive and reproduce, nothing
> more.  "Direction" is a human attribution to a directionless process. 

No. The process has direction, it just doesn't have a goal. There are 
very clear individual directions: flight, vision, dexterity, sociality, 
communication, intelligence, and size (both extremes) to name a few. 
These are not coordinated in any overall direction, and may well compete. 
And simplicity is as much a direction as redundancy. But there are 
directions.

Yours,

Bill Morse
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