amd athlon processor 2468 Amd Athlon Processor
Related Topics:
amd
amd athlon processor
processor
amd processor
CPU
Athlon
memory
turion
sempron
amd athlon 64
Newegg.com
opteron
AMD Athlon
Newegg
Slot A
athlon 64
XP
amd turion
amd sempron
amd 64
amd store
overclocking
cluster
amd64
Reviews
toms hardware
Tom
chips
pinouts
amd opteron
amd laptop
amd duron
ram
review
athlon 64 x2
buy amd processor
support
buy online
amd computer
hardware
where to buy amd
microprocessor
pictures
identification
information
intel
ATI Radeon
dual core x2 athlon 64
barebone
Intel Core 2
networking
Barton
Devices
bbs
Product
Benchmarks
Micro
Radeon Xpress 200
Kingston HyperX
help guides
heatsink
Athlon MP
Athlon overclocking
hardware review
Athlon XP
frostytech
Geode
Lenovo
forum
Processors
Biostar
oc
chipset
Corsair XMS
Core
online shopping
cooling
Compaq
PC
cool
|
2468 Amd Athlon Processor amd athlon processor
.
2468 Amd Athlon Processor amd athlon processor Information
Gradualism versus Punctuationism
Although modern evolutionists are
thought to be divided on the issues surrounding evolutionary theory, a close
look at the evidence suggests that both the gradualist school of thought and the
punctuationist school of thought share many characteristics in common. This is
especially true when evaluating their beliefs about the fossil record,
disagreement with the theory of saltation, and the misinterpretation of the word
"rapid" in terms of punctuationist theory. Although this may be the case, the
two theories do diverge on one important point, the notion of periods of stasis,
but when taken as a whole, the evidence suggests that punctuationism is not as
radical as it has been hyped up to be.
In terms of evaluating both
arguments, it is important to dispel the some common myths about punctuationist
theory. First, there appear to be many large gaps in the fossil record (Dawkins,
1986). Both gradualists and punctuationists agree that the only explanation for
these apparent gaps, besides the notion that there are gaps in the record, would
be creationism. Creationism holds that the reason for the appearance of largely
different organisms in the fossil record, without organisms that display
intermediate amounts of change is the presence of a divine creator. Neither
gradualists nor punctuationists agree with this assumption.
In addition,
when comparing the theories of gradualism with punctuationism, it is important
to evaluate the theory of saltationism. Although punctuationists have often been
confused with saltationists, this is a huge mistake. Saltationism holds that
macromutations are the cause of evolutionary change (Dawkins, 1986). This could
make sense when viewed in the context of the fossil record. Saltationists would
argue that there really are no gaps in the fossil record. The dramatic changes
noted in the fossil record would be products of macromutations which are signs
of natural selection. This cannot be the case for two distinct reasons. First,
large macromutations are considerably maladaptive for an organism. In this
sense, the size of a mutation will determine whether the organism will survive
and pass on the mutated gene. Larger mutations will be less likely to be
selected, because they will produce large behavioral abnormalities in the
organism, which will significantly impair the organism in carrying out normal
species-typical behaviors for survival. In turn, the organism will probably die
before it is able to successfully reproduce. In addition, some mutations that
are termed macromutations are not really macromutations at all, but instead
small changes in the genetic instructions that produce large changes in the
individual.
It has also been argued, that gradualists believe that evolution
proceeds in a constant fashion. This is also a myth. Both gradualists and
punctuationists believe that evolution proceeds in a somewhat jerky fashion with
periods of evolutionary change being mixed with periods of stasis, or no change
(Dawkins, 1986). The main point at which the two theories diverge is on the
issue of stasis. Although both believe that periods of stasis do in fact occur,
punctuationists take this a step further. Punctuationists argue that during
periods of stasis, "There are genetic forces in large populations that actively
resist evolutionary change" (Dawkins, 1986) During these periods of stasis, no
evolutionary change can occur. Eventually though, after a long period of stasis,
the resistant genetic forces are weakened by the forces of evolution, and a
brief period of rapid evolutionary change is allowed to occur. It is also
important to note, that "rapid" in terms of evolution is often misinterpreted.
Even in terms of punctuationist theory, changes are really not rapid in the
general sense of the term. Evolutionary changes are rapid in terms of geological
standards, but by normal standards these changes are very gradual. In this
sense, punctuationists really are arguing from a gradualist perspective. As
Richard Dawkins (1986) put it, punctuationism should be characterized as
"'gradualistic, but with long periods of "stasis" (evolutionary stagnation)
punctuating brief episodes of rapid gradual change'.
Therefore, the theories
of gradualism and punctuationism share many elements in common with one major
issue on which they diverge. First, both agree that there are gaps in the fossil
record, and in doing so, they reject the theory of creationism. Second, neither
gradualists nor punctuationists agree with the tenets of saltationism, because
scientific evidence refutes the major premises of this theory. In addition, both
gradualists and punctuationists agree that evolutionary change does not proceed
in a constant and smooth fashion. Both theories assert that evolutionary change
is followed by a period of stasis, but the punctuationists believe, that this
period of stasis is marked by an active resistance against evolutionary change.
Thus, theorists of the punctuationist school should quit looking to completely
discredit the gradualist school of thought, because they share many premises in
common with each other. Instead, the focus should be placed on identifying the
strengths and weaknesses of both arguments in terms of the fundamental
difference concerning periods of stasis.
Reference
Dawkins, R. (1986). The Blind
Watchmaker. New York: W. W. Norton.
|
