[decimon]

Descending opinion ping.

[bigheadfred]

This is where I post the HT pic and say “They didn’t look too dang hard.”

[mamelukesabre]

“We did already know that most parasitic organisms had evolved to be less sophisticated than their ancestors – they lost certain abilities that they no longer needed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HUH???

How is that evolution? this must be a different phenomenon, completely separate from evolution.

[Verginius Rufus]

Their ancestors were very sophisticated—could speak French without an accent, talk knowledgeably about wines, and solve Rubik’s cube in no time at all.

[vpintheak]

And those ancestors supposedly developed those uselss traits and such why?
It’s all bologna. God created all creatures, and we all adapted to our surroundings. The key is we are all still what we were created to be.

[Publius6961]

Well, that explains the First Sasquatch...

[chesley]

Democrats actually evolved (or devolved, if you prefer) from real human beings. Amazing!

[goodusername]

“Darwin’s theory of evolution continued this idea, with the concept of a hierarchy of evolution. This way of thinking has led researchers and skeptics alike to look for less sophisticated ancestors in order to prove or disprove evolution,” Philippe explained. “What we now know is that evolution does not happen in a single direction – when people talk about a missing link, they’re generally excluding the possibility of more sophisticated ancestors.” “

—One of the things that separates Darwinism from Lamarckism and Haeckel is that it doesn’t continue with the concept of a hierarchy.

Darwin was also well aware that evolution was not directional, and that living things often became simpler instead of more complex. Many, many such cases are known. Not only is this not “new”, it’s not even uncommon. It’s particulary common among parasites.

Darwin himself studied such a case for 8 years before publishing Origin, which would become the textbook example - the barnacle. Such things are precisely what Darwin was attempting to explain, so it’s very odd to present this as “new”.

http://scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts/2007/02/basic_concepts_progress_primit_1.php

[cookcounty]

"The findings mean that the worms had evolved from a more sophisticated ancestor through major simplifications. "

It is amazing to me how very much of the fossil record has to do with simplifications (i.e., Eohippus).