Stephen Meyer Says That Constant Mutation Rates Are a "Questionable Assumption"

Stephen Meyer is trying to make the case that the primitive animals of the Cambrian explosion really did arise suddenly as fully formed and distinct species. He says that the evidence points to God(s).

Scientists, on the other hand, have been exploring other possibilities and testing various models. They have shown that the molecular data is not consistent with sudden origins. Instead it shows that all of the major animal phyla are related and that their common ancestors probably lived millions of years before the Cambrian explosion. Thus, the evidence indicates deep divergence and the lack of transitional fossils does not prove the non-existence of these ancestral forms.

In order to support his creationist view, Meyer has to discredit the molecular evidence. We've already seen that he has five arguments against the data [Darwin's Doubt: The Genes Tell the Story?]. The first three were: (1) there are no transitional fossils [The Cambrian Conundrum: Stephen Meyer Says (Lack of) Fossils Trumps Genes]; (2) different molecular phylogenies do not agree in all detail [Stephen Meyer Says Molecular Evidence Must Be Wrong Because Scientists Disagree About the Exact Dates]; and (3) different genes evolve at different rates [Stephen Meyer Says Molecular Data Must Be Wrong Because Different Genes Evolve at Different Rates].

None of those arguments are correct and one of them (#3) is just plain silly.

Read more »

Posted in: Evolutionary Biology, Rationalism v Superstition