Today in the PNAS Early Edition the collected papers from the Colloquium entitled, In the Light of Evolution I: Adaptation and Complex Design, which was held on December 1st and 2nd of 2006, were released. These papers I think will be of special interest to those who follow the current Evolution and Anti-Evolution debate, ID "movement", etc. I have only started going through these papers, starting with the summary paper by Avise and Ayala which breaks down the papers into three topics: Epistemological Approaches To Biological Complexity, From Ontogeny to Symbiosis (A Hierarchy of Complexity), and Dissecting Complex Phenotypes (Case Studies).
It looks to be a good read as well as a good scientific summary of what Evolutionary Theory really has to say about areas that the ID enthusiasts and Creationists frequently like to misrepresent in their arguments. Papers will cover how natural processes give rise to complex systems, what is biological complexity and how can it be quantified?, ontogenic shifts and the emergence of new morphologies, etc. As I read papers in the series I will update with a sort of running commentary.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
Dan,
I found your site through a comment on Panda's Thumb. I've also been reading my way through these PNAS papers and got so far as to write a review (more like profession of devotion) for this one.
Looking forward to hearing what else you might have to say about them...
Thanks abp, I don't have many visitors that I know of on this tiny and rarely updated blog (I don't intend to really make a name for myself in the blogosphere after all) and want to avoid some of the pitfals and faux pas I have witnessed others make. I should get forward with my plan on adding some commentary on at least a few of those papers and hopefully generate some discussion. Unfortunately almost every day a new paper pops up that is a little more directly relevant to my own work. I'll try and get something up here ASAP
I go by Zamboro on Fark. Thought I'd drop by and link you to my blog.
http://portlandatheist.blogspot.com/
Post a Comment