tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post3962618825222950224..comments2024-02-29T03:57:00.088-05:00Comments on The Mermaid's Tale: What we see is too often determined by what we expect to seeAnne Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-8025506904620093702013-02-23T08:50:59.920-05:002013-02-23T08:50:59.920-05:00I don't recall that part of Darwin, but it wou...I don't recall that part of Darwin, but it would be completely within the way he thought. Of course, one must say that he, like many in any era, made lots of hand-waving guesses. Some were on the mark, but not all, even for someone as brilliantly insightful as he was.<br /><br />There is another story about 'ectopic' expression of olfactory receptors, which could be another example; but one has to say that expression doesn't imply function.<br />Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-89208937180035821782013-02-22T21:52:25.552-05:002013-02-22T21:52:25.552-05:00Thanks, Patrick. There are so many examples of th...Thanks, Patrick. There are so many examples of this kind of thing, and I think it's important to remember that from time to time. The complexity that evolution has wrought is nothing if not humbling. <br /><br />I am trying to remember what you are referring to in the Origin, too, but am drawing a blank. He did work hard to anticipate any argument that might destroy his theory, and perhaps it was in that vein. I'll try to find it tomorrow, but if someone else remembers, please let us know.<br /><br /><br />Anne Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-44861726081373418052013-02-22T20:46:56.847-05:002013-02-22T20:46:56.847-05:00Anne, thanks for these thoughts. I think you raise...Anne, thanks for these thoughts. I think you raise great points about pleiotropy, multiple functions across species and time, and our blind spots when we're looking for certain things. And the examples were new to me. <br /><br />I'm trying to remember my Darwin, and have a vague memory of him raising the point that if some hypothetical organ had multiple functions, it could more easily become specialized over time to doing just one or the other. It's been a while since I read the Origin, but it wouldn't be surprising since he is so often vindicated. <br /><br />I also have to say that your statement "If we understood what everything does, we wouldn't need science anymore" made me smile. It reminded me of the Irish comedian Dara O'Briain's counterpoint to homeopaths and other anti-science folks who would say "Well, science doesn't know everything." <br /><br />His reply: "Science *knows* it doesn't know everything. Otherwise, it would stop."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com