Evolutionary Theory
With President Bush announcing his support that Intelligent Design (another form of Creationism) should be taught alongside Evolution, with equal weight given to both, never mind the fact that Intelligent Design cannot be proven, while Evolution has not yet been disproved.
Unfortunately, Intelligent Design is appealing because it is itself based on observation. Anything beautiful, never minding that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is supposed to be made by God's hand.
A complex biological system cannot be created by another other things that God? Never mind the fact that there are some things that call into question whether biological system is really so perfect, especially since "perfect" is based on Latin for something "done." As far as I know, I see the whole of the animal kingdom, us included, as work in progress, not the end result of creation.
Moreover, studying malaria can raise a question satisfactorily answerable only by evolution. This is evolution: The birth of fully sickle-cell children who die is outweighed by the survival of the greater population in malaria-prone environment. Unfortunately, in America, malaria does not exist, sickle-cell anemia is a problem for potential African American parents. This anemia is a simply derelict remains of evolution here, thought it remains useful in Africa.
I can tell you a superstition with religious undertone to explain why sickle-cell anemia exist. It follows the story of Pandora (slightly).
Eons ago, the great African goddess, Ngotua, was jealous of his brother god Babu's successful creation of animals and plants. Not only that, she was supremely jealous that Babu was able to create a human being that could think.
Out of malice, she gave Eve, a hapless woman, a box telling her that it must not be opened. Unfortunately, Eve's husband Adam was an adulterer. He saw Ngotua's great beauty and was curious about what was inside a gift from the most beautiful goddess in the world. He was also jealous that the gift should be for Eve and not for him alone. Suspecting Eve of becoming a lesbian, he opened the box, which was full of malaria-infected mosquitoes. The mosquitoes flew at him, giving him ten thousand fatal stings. Eventually he died. Then the mosquitoes flew into the world, killing thousands more.
Babu felt pain and suffering at the death of thousands of people he created. He wanted to protect them. But he, in creating life from inorganic things, had spent his power. He could not reverse the damage that Ngotua had caused. He understood that it was sibling rivalry, but that did not lessen his pain.
One day, he saw a virgin woman, uninfected by malaria. He had an idea, the greatest gift yet to humankind. He transformed into the tiniest cell and entered her womb. He would impregnate her with himself, possessing the sickle trait.
To do so, however, he had to become human. He must live a human life, and he must die a human death. In sum, he sacrificed himself to save his greatest creation.
When he was born, his mother died. When he grew up, he mated with many women, giving birth to a new kind of human beings, one that could resist malaria.
Ngotua, incredulous that Babu would give himself to the lowly humans, laughed at Babu's foolishness. She then gave another woman a second box and ordered her to open it.
She complied, finding that the box had nothing in it. That was not true. It held Diseases. Now it was released. The woman who opened it lived for two weeks before mysteriously dying because the Diseases had destroyed everything, replacing all the DNA with themselves.
Not only that, it also contained HIV, which spread to Babu because he was bisexual and also enjoy mating with men. Babu died, but though dead, still had another miracle left. His power still exists because everyone had a little of him. He created the immune system by usurping one of the Diseases to work for him.
Ngotua, finding that she had not successfully killed the humans, ranted about his stupid brother and was frightened when her mother, the Earth, found out what she had done. Ngotua tried to run, but the Earth opened up and swallowed her whole, creating the largest earthquake the world had seen.
Ngotua, unwilling to be punished, screamed at her mother, "I am an adult! I am not that younger than my brother. I will do what I want!"
Before Earth could stop her, Ngotua caused the sea to rise up, the weather to bring endless rain, the volcanoes to blow up and the vastest meteroid from the heaven to strike. The world was soon covered in water, the sky in ashes.
The impact of the meteoroid was so strong that it actually left the Earth, becoming the moon.
It seemed that life on Earth simply could not be.
Ngotua lost all her power, but she could still make volcanoes and move the tectonic plates. The Earth tried her best to keep Ngotua under control.
The flood eventually subsided. But there was no devastation. But Babu was immortal, even though he died, because life continues. The chemical reactions that take energy from the sun to sustain all life still exist to make life exergonically favorable. Babu won out at last, because life returned. And vegetations, fungi, animals, life organisms of all kinds created by Babu learned to adapt to Ngotua's unruly nature.
We don't have to believe in Evolution after all, superstition is more romantic.
Unfortunately, Intelligent Design is appealing because it is itself based on observation. Anything beautiful, never minding that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is supposed to be made by God's hand.
A complex biological system cannot be created by another other things that God? Never mind the fact that there are some things that call into question whether biological system is really so perfect, especially since "perfect" is based on Latin for something "done." As far as I know, I see the whole of the animal kingdom, us included, as work in progress, not the end result of creation.
Moreover, studying malaria can raise a question satisfactorily answerable only by evolution. This is evolution: The birth of fully sickle-cell children who die is outweighed by the survival of the greater population in malaria-prone environment. Unfortunately, in America, malaria does not exist, sickle-cell anemia is a problem for potential African American parents. This anemia is a simply derelict remains of evolution here, thought it remains useful in Africa.
I can tell you a superstition with religious undertone to explain why sickle-cell anemia exist. It follows the story of Pandora (slightly).
Eons ago, the great African goddess, Ngotua, was jealous of his brother god Babu's successful creation of animals and plants. Not only that, she was supremely jealous that Babu was able to create a human being that could think.
Out of malice, she gave Eve, a hapless woman, a box telling her that it must not be opened. Unfortunately, Eve's husband Adam was an adulterer. He saw Ngotua's great beauty and was curious about what was inside a gift from the most beautiful goddess in the world. He was also jealous that the gift should be for Eve and not for him alone. Suspecting Eve of becoming a lesbian, he opened the box, which was full of malaria-infected mosquitoes. The mosquitoes flew at him, giving him ten thousand fatal stings. Eventually he died. Then the mosquitoes flew into the world, killing thousands more.
Babu felt pain and suffering at the death of thousands of people he created. He wanted to protect them. But he, in creating life from inorganic things, had spent his power. He could not reverse the damage that Ngotua had caused. He understood that it was sibling rivalry, but that did not lessen his pain.
One day, he saw a virgin woman, uninfected by malaria. He had an idea, the greatest gift yet to humankind. He transformed into the tiniest cell and entered her womb. He would impregnate her with himself, possessing the sickle trait.
To do so, however, he had to become human. He must live a human life, and he must die a human death. In sum, he sacrificed himself to save his greatest creation.
When he was born, his mother died. When he grew up, he mated with many women, giving birth to a new kind of human beings, one that could resist malaria.
Ngotua, incredulous that Babu would give himself to the lowly humans, laughed at Babu's foolishness. She then gave another woman a second box and ordered her to open it.
She complied, finding that the box had nothing in it. That was not true. It held Diseases. Now it was released. The woman who opened it lived for two weeks before mysteriously dying because the Diseases had destroyed everything, replacing all the DNA with themselves.
Not only that, it also contained HIV, which spread to Babu because he was bisexual and also enjoy mating with men. Babu died, but though dead, still had another miracle left. His power still exists because everyone had a little of him. He created the immune system by usurping one of the Diseases to work for him.
Ngotua, finding that she had not successfully killed the humans, ranted about his stupid brother and was frightened when her mother, the Earth, found out what she had done. Ngotua tried to run, but the Earth opened up and swallowed her whole, creating the largest earthquake the world had seen.
Ngotua, unwilling to be punished, screamed at her mother, "I am an adult! I am not that younger than my brother. I will do what I want!"
Before Earth could stop her, Ngotua caused the sea to rise up, the weather to bring endless rain, the volcanoes to blow up and the vastest meteroid from the heaven to strike. The world was soon covered in water, the sky in ashes.
The impact of the meteoroid was so strong that it actually left the Earth, becoming the moon.
It seemed that life on Earth simply could not be.
Ngotua lost all her power, but she could still make volcanoes and move the tectonic plates. The Earth tried her best to keep Ngotua under control.
The flood eventually subsided. But there was no devastation. But Babu was immortal, even though he died, because life continues. The chemical reactions that take energy from the sun to sustain all life still exist to make life exergonically favorable. Babu won out at last, because life returned. And vegetations, fungi, animals, life organisms of all kinds created by Babu learned to adapt to Ngotua's unruly nature.
We don't have to believe in Evolution after all, superstition is more romantic.
posted by Alan at August 07, 2005
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