SCIENTISTS SPEAK ABOUT THE MONSTER MUTATION THEORY

We are devoting two full articles to this topic, because so many evolutionists are swinging over to acceptance of it. First read the preceding article (The Monster Mutation Theory), and then read this. This is science vs. evolution—a Creation-Evolution Encyclopedia, brought to you by Creation Science Facts.

CONTENT: Scientists Speak about the Monster Mutation Theory

Evolutionists Are Hoping that Monster Mutations May be the Key : They are still trying to figure out a way that cross-species changes could be made
Originating a Futile Theory - The men who got it started
A Theory Born of Desperation - The theory was invented because every other possible means of evolution of life forms had failed

This material is excerpted from the book, MUTATIONS
. An asterisk ( * ) by a name indicates that person is not known to be a creationist. Of over 4,000 quotations in the books this Encyclopedia is based on, only 164 statements are by creationists.
You will have a better understanding of the following statements by scientists if you will also read the web page, Mutations.

EVOLUTIONISTS ARE HOPING THAT MONSTER MUTATIONS MAY BE THE KEY

They are still trying to figure out a way that cross-species changes could be made.

"Many biologists think new species may be produced by sudden, drastic changes in genes."—*World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 6, p. 335 (1982 edition).

"Evolutionary revisionists believe mutations in key regulatory genes may be just the genetic jackhammers their quantum-leap theory requires."—*John Gliedman, "Miracle Mutations," Science Digest, February 1982, p. 92.

"The occurrence of genetic monstrosities by mutation . . is well-substantiated, but they are such evident freaks that these monsters can be designated only as `hopeless.' They are so utterly unbalanced that `they would not have the slightest chance of escaping elimination through selection.' Giving a thrush the wings of a falcon does not make it a better flyer. Indeed, having all the equipment of a thrush, it would probably hardly be able to fly at all . . To believe that such a drastic mutation would `produce a viable new type, capable of occupying a new adaptive zone, `is equivalent to believing in miracles."—*E. Mayr, "Populations" in Species and Evolution (1970), p. 253.

"Saltation, derived from the Latin, means jumping or leaping from place to place. It can be used to describe the peculiar locomotion of grasshoppers . .

"When Charles Darwin first expressed his theory of evolution, he adopted this timeworn cliche as [not being] part of the evolutionary process: `Natura non facit saltum' (Nature makes no leaps)."—*R. Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution (1990), p. 393.

ORIGINATING A FUTILE THEORY

The men who got it started.

"After observing mutations in fruit flies for many years, Professor Goldschmidt fell into despair. The changes, he lamented, were so hopelessly micro [insignificant] that if a thousand mutations were combined in one specimen there would still be no new species."—*Norman Macbeth, Darwin Retried (1971), p. 33.

"Although he [Goldschmidt] recognized the constant accumulation of small changes in populations (microevolution) [changes within species], he believed they did not lead to speciation. Between true species he saw `bridgeless gaps' that could not be accounted for by large sudden jumps, resulting in `hopeful monsters.' "—*R. Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution (1990).

"Although Gould has become closely identified with the influential idea of punctuated equilibrium, it actually originated with paleontologist Niles Eldredge and was developed by them jointly."—*R. Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution (1990), p. 198.

A THEORY BORN OF DESPERATION

The theory was invented because every other possible means of evolutionary life forms had failed.

"The absence of fossil evidence for intermediary stages between major transitions in organic design, indeed our inability, even in our imagination, to construct functional intermediates in many cases, has been a persistent and nagging problem for gradualistic accounts of evolution."—*S.J. Gould, Encyclopedia of Evolution (1990), p. 127 [*Milner is himself a saltationist and close friend of *Gould].

"Systemic mutation [large numbers of positive, perfect, coordinated mutations suddenly changing one species to another] have never been observed, and it is extremely improbable that species are formed in so abrupt a manner."—*Theodosius Dobzhansky, Genetics and the Origin of Species (1941), p. 80.

"The evidence, whether genetic, morphological, or functional is so uniformly opposed to a saltationist origin of new structures that no choice is left but to search for explanations in terms of a gradual origin."—*Ernst Mayr, Evolution and the Diversity of Life (1976), p. 95.

"To some geneticists all monsters are hopeless."—*Jerry Adler and *John Carey, "Is Man a Subtle Accident?" in Newsweek, November 3, 1980, p. 96.

"However, although geneticists know of some mutations which cause fairly drastic changes, they have entirely failed to discover the kind of macromutations required by the saltation theory—the kind of mutation which would take a group of organisms from one order to another. Moreover, the large-effect mutations which are known are usually just those mutations which are the most crippling to their carrier . . Of course, one might argue that the failure to find the right kind of macromutations does not necessarily prove their nonexistence; but, like unicorns, there is a difference between saying that logically they might exist or that it is reasonable to suppose that they exist."—*Michael Ruse, Philosophy of Biology (1973), p. 111 [italics his].

"There are few (if any) genetically well-established cases of morphological macromutations which have been fixed in natural populations of animals. Mutations of large effect are almost always deleterious . .

"Advocates of punctuated equilibrium and macromutations cite as evidence the frequent absence of transitional forms from the fossil record. This negative information is not convincing."—*Russell Lande, "A Review of Microevolution in Relation to Macroevolution," in Paleobiology 6(2):234-5.

"The absurdity of believing in the simultaneous appearance of numerous `hopeful monsters' as Goldschmidt has called them, was far more clearly appreciated by Darwin than by some recent evolutionists."—*Ernst Mayr, Evolution and the Diversity of Life (1976), p. 93.

"I can envision observations and experiments that would disprove any evolutionary theory I know."—*Stephen Jay Gould, "Evolution as Fact and Theory," Discover 2(5):34-37 (1981).

"Just imagine that scientific dispute has sunk to this level. What would the falsification of this prediction imply, if not Specific Creation?"—*Soren Lovtrop, "Semantics, Logic and Vulgate Neo-Darwinianism," in Evolutionary Theory, July, 1979, p. 162.

"In a sense, the concept of `punctuated equilibria' is tautological. In essence it submits a factual observation: since the rate of evolution is not a slow, creeping one, it is a very fast, sudden one! This concept is quite interesting from yet another aspect; it even implies the concept of creation. In the final analysis, a very sudden change is tantamount to an act of sudden creation.

"We have established that a single cell bacteria requires about 3,000,000 nucleotides so as to function and reproduce as a unicell species. A human cell contains about 3,000,000,000 nucleotides in a very specific sequence. We may assume that the cell of a trilobite was somewhere in between. Shall we extend it the benefit of the doubt and guesstimate it to have 500,000,000 meaningfully aligned nucleotides? (The argument would still be valid were it eventually established that a trilobite had, for example, as few as 20 million or as many as 920 million nucleotides). How will we get from 3 million to 500 million? What is the probability that 497 million nucleotides would align themselves—all by themselves—into a very, very specific sequence? Certainly Gould and Eldredge would agree that the probability is nil."—I.L. Cohen, Darwin Was Wrong (1984), pp. 98-99.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

To the next topic in this series:

THREE EVOLUTIONARY MECHANISMS: Here you will find a brief summary of what evolutionists consider to be the only three means by which evolution of living creatures could occur.