camouflage – Uncommon Descent

Deaf moths frustrate bats by absorbing their sonar calls

Schoolbook evolution stories would tell us that the bats evolved that ruse as a random mutation acted on by natural selection—as if it were some kind of a lucky number they might have come up with in 65 million years. Not so fast. It’s a hitherto unknown system that will need a considerably more detailed explanation than that. Evoking “natural selection” as a mantra won’t work like it used to, back when we knew so much less.

Darwinism Intelligent Design

The Dead Leaf butterfly is making the rounds again

Given a time period for the emergence of butterflies, what is the probability of this camouflage occurring by purely Darwinian means? If calculation replaced assertion, we’d likely be looking for other mechanisms than natural selection acting on random mutations.

Evolution Intelligent Design

The real reason why zebras have stripes: To shoo away flies

Now, another question arises: Why don’t more life forms show colorful patterns to deter flies? Are there costs and drawbacks as well?

kairosfocus { JAD, that approach is there but would -- with some... }
kairosfocus { WS, you reflect much the same result I have as... }
bornagain77 { And although Darwinian explanations have useless to Biologists as they... }
bornagain77 { Coyne states, I’m optimistic enough to think that Darwin’s great... }
john_a_designer { I think the key characteristic which distinguishes fascism from Marxist-communism... }
kairosfocus { PPPS: Similarly, the transition to lawfulness occurs as there is... }
willspeaks { Sorry for the second post, it was taking a long... }
willspeaks { I have always thought that this was very simple if... }
willspeaks { I have always thought that this was very simple if... }
kairosfocus { PPS: Nazism and Communism, alike, are nihilistic, statist, lawless ideological... }
kairosfocus { PS: Let me briefly discuss the wider question, using the... }
kairosfocus { BA, I actually disagree on the Socialist and Workers' Party... }
kairosfocus { MMT, government and more properly governance are distributed across a... }
Truthfreedom { "Ninimal conventional bigotry". Lol Darwin's white supremacism: Athough best known... }
Truthfreedom { "Darwin’s great contribution to biology—indeed, to all humanity"—. Lol. Darwin's... }
Belfast { These arguments, predictably, founder into incoherence with the No True... }
Belfast { I looked at the consensus on climate change. You couldn’t... }
Eugene { What is this obsession with Nazis and Hitler? Yes, they... }
Mac McTavish { KF With utterly mad folly at the reins. I agree,... }
Mac McTavish { Off topic. Am I the only one that is having... }
David P { As I read the first paragraph or so I thought,... }