From: rokimoto557@gmail.com   
      
   On 2/22/2026 12:32 AM, MarkE wrote:   
   > Evidence is emerging that Dawkins' "Mt Improbable" is not Mt Fuji but   
   > rather "rugged in all directions" [1]. Neat textbook depictions give way   
   > to the reality of a "lack of viable evolutionary pathways among the   
   > major optima."   
   >   
   > Beneficial mutations do not work together, rather, "individually   
   > beneficial mutations are often mutually incompatible, leading to   
   > ruggedness on the fitness landscape."   
   >   
   > This is at the molecular level with an empirically determined ribozyme   
   > fitness landscape. The paper's conclusion?   
   >   
   > "Nevertheless, in the absence of such mechanisms, the emergence of a   
   > globally optimal sequence is likely to result from chance events rather   
   > than natural selection."   
   >   
   > An appeal to chance of this magnitude is a deal-breaker: "We can accept   
   > a certain amount of luck in our explanations, but not too much." (The   
   > Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins)   
   >   
   > A similar situation applies for proteins: "...an emerging picture of   
   > pervasive epistasis" within proteins [2].   
   >   
   > "Both types of interaction are rampant, but specific epistasis has   
   > stronger effects on the rate and outcomes of evolution, because it   
   > imposes stricter constraints and modulates evolutionary potential more   
   > dramatically; it therefore makes evolution more contingent on low-   
   > probability historical events..."   
   >   
   > Note the "*more contingent on low-probability historical events*".   
   >   
   > While selection acts on the phenotype as a whole, molecular evolution   
   > underlies the process.   
   >   
   > My prediction: this "emerging picture" will continue to build as   
   > evidence against a foundation of Darwinian evolution.   
   >   
   > _______   
   >   
   > [1] Mapping a Systematic Ribozyme Fitness Landscape Reveals a Frustrated   
   > Evolutionary Network for Self-Aminoacylating RNA   
   > https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.8b13298   
   >   
   > "...optimization of activity over the entire landscape would be   
   > frustrated by large valleys of low activity."   
   >   
   > "Our results show that the experimentally determined ribozyme activity   
   > landscape exhibits a degree of frustration, as individually beneficial   
   > mutations are often mutually incompatible, leading to ruggedness on the   
   > fitness landscape."   
   >   
   > "...the inability to traverse the landscape globally corresponds to an   
   > inability to restructure the ribozyme without losing activity."   
   >   
   > "The ruggedness of the empirically determined ribozyme fitness landscape   
   > reported here can be described by the Rough Mt. Fuji model, which is a   
   > combination of a smooth 'Mt. Fuji' landscape and the random House-of-   
   > Cards landscape...we suggest that the major [random] House-of-Cards   
   > character found implies a substantial level of frustration, consistent   
   > with the lack of viable evolutionary pathways among the major optima."   
   >   
   > "The frustrated nature of the evolutionary network suggests that chance   
   > emergence of a ribozyme motif would be more important than optimization   
   > by natural selection."   
   >   
   > "It should be noted that mechanisms that favor greater genetic   
   > diversity, such as recombination, gene duplication, or epistasis among   
   > genes, could enable crossing of fitness valleys."   
   >   
   > That is, a familiar mandatory positive spin, but followed by their real   
   > conclusion:   
   >   
   > "Nevertheless, in the absence of such mechanisms, the emergence of a   
   > globally optimal sequence is likely to result from chance events rather   
   > than natural selection."   
   >   
   > _______   
   >   
   > [2] Epistasis in protein evolution   
   > https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26833806/   
   >   
      
   And Bumble Bees can't fly.   
      
   Evolution by natural selection has been documented.  It happens and is   
   happening.  You have to stop denying reality.  You have to be a nut job   
   to deny that evolution by natural selection has happened and is   
   currently happening.   
      
   The reason to believe put up their recreation model to account for the   
   evolution of the anoles lizards in the Caribbean on multiple islands.   
   They claim that the new types of lizards are recreations of some   
   original, and only look like they are related by descent with   
   modification.  On islands with some difference in altitude of their   
   coasts and highlands the lizards have evolved two different physical   
   types, that differed from the coasts and highlands, along with other   
   differences between islands.  What some researchers did was to cross the   
   two types and make hybrids, and they released the hybrids onto an island   
   that did not have anoles lizards.  The hybrids were intermediate in   
   phenotype, but after just a few generations the highland phenotype was   
   reconstituted and predominantly found in the highlands and the coastal   
   phenotype had been reconstituted and was predominantly found in the   
   lowlands.  Natural selection had selected the phenotypes adapted to   
   those conditions out of the mess that segregated from the hybrids.   
      
   Anyone that thinks that evolution by natural selection can't happen is   
   just wrong.  An inadequate understanding of what is going on is no   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)