Comments on: The Problem of Innateness http://anadder.com/the-problem-of-innateness Wed, 23 May 2012 09:26:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: michael http://anadder.com/the-problem-of-innateness/comment-page-1#comment-14412 michael Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:26:39 +0000 http://anadder.com/?p=1518#comment-14412 Well, I think the problem with the chicken and the egg -- and this is probably a common mistake in lay thinking about evolution -- is that the analogy is one of individuals and not population groups. Ray Comfort makes a stupid argument: how did the first dog find a mate? If that was how it really worked he'd be right though -- the problem is that "firsts" are population batches. But we can't visualise the enormous genetic mess that's floating out there in the world. Well, I think the problem with the chicken and the egg — and this is probably a common mistake in lay thinking about evolution — is that the analogy is one of individuals and not population groups.

Ray Comfort makes a stupid argument: how did the first dog find a mate? If that was how it really worked he’d be right though — the problem is that “firsts” are population batches. But we can’t visualise the enormous genetic mess that’s floating out there in the world.

]]> By: Griffiths on Human Nature, report « Evolving Thoughts http://anadder.com/the-problem-of-innateness/comment-page-1#comment-14313 Griffiths on Human Nature, report « Evolving Thoughts Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:40:11 +0000 http://anadder.com/?p=1518#comment-14313 [...] 14, 2009 · Leave a Comment I see that Michael Fridman at a Nadder! has given a short rundown of Paul Griffiths’ lecture on Human Nature. I feel very guilty not to have done my own [...] [...] 14, 2009 · Leave a Comment I see that Michael Fridman at a Nadder! has given a short rundown of Paul Griffiths’ lecture on Human Nature. I feel very guilty not to have done my own [...]

]]> By: keddaw http://anadder.com/the-problem-of-innateness/comment-page-1#comment-14291 keddaw Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:16:00 +0000 http://anadder.com/?p=1518#comment-14291 We are innately stupid, I know that much. On the biology side, the question that muddles anyone that doesn't get evolution is, "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" Understandable as all chickens lay chicken eggs and all chickens come from chicken eggs. However, the egg came about long before the chicken and the first recognisable chicken egg was laid by an animal very similar but not quite identical to a chicken. So the failure in their reasoning is that they miss the point that not ALL chicken eggs are laid by chickens. Similarly the first actual human (albeit we are pedantically drawing an arbitrary line in the genetic sand) was not technically born of a human mother or father. We are innately stupid, I know that much.

On the biology side, the question that muddles anyone that doesn’t get evolution is,

“What came first, the chicken or the egg?”

Understandable as all chickens lay chicken eggs and all chickens come from chicken eggs.

However, the egg came about long before the chicken and the first recognisable chicken egg was laid by an animal very similar but not quite identical to a chicken.

So the failure in their reasoning is that they miss the point that not ALL chicken eggs are laid by chickens.

Similarly the first actual human (albeit we are pedantically drawing an arbitrary line in the genetic sand) was not technically born of a human mother or father.

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