Nexus - 0904 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

Darwinists are one-upped by neo-Darwinists at every turn. to different parts of the world at different times. Initially, in the so- Quantum evolutionists refashion the work of those who support called Fertile Crescent of modern Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, came the theory of peripheral isolates. Mathematicians model mutation wheat, barley and legumes, among other varieties. Later on, in the rates and selective forces, which biologists do not trust. Far East, came wheat, millet, rice and yams. Later still, in the New Geneticists have little use for palaeontolog who return the = World, came maize (corn), peppers, beans, squash, tomatoes and favour in spades (pun intended). Cytogenetics labours to find a _ potatoes. niche alongside genetics proper. Population geneticists utilise Many have "wild" predecessors that were apparently a starting mathematical models that challenge palaeontologists and __ point for the domesticated variety, but others—like many com- systematists. Sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists mon vegetables—have no obvious precursors. But for those that struggle to make room for their ideas. All perform a cerebral do, such as wild grasses, grains and cereals, how they turned into dance of elegant form and exquisite symmetry. wheat, barley, millet, rice, etc. is a profound mystery. Their dance is, ironically, evolution writ large throughout sci- No botanist can conclusively explain how wild plants gave rise ence as a process. New bits of data are put forth to a peer group. to domesticated ones. The emphasis here is on "conclusively". The new data are discussed, written about, criticised, written Botanists have no trouble hypothesising elaborate scenarios in about again, criticised some more. This is gradualism at work, which Neolithic (New Stone Age) farmers somehow figured out shaping, reshaping and reshaping again if necessary until the new how to hybridise wild grasses, grains and cereals, not unlike data can comfortably fit into the current para- Gregor Mendel when he cross-bred pea digm in any field, whatever it is. This is nec- plants to figure out the mechanics of genetic essary to make it conform as closely as pos- inheritance. It all sounds so simple and so sible to every concerned scientist's current logical, almost no one outside scientific way of thinking. To do it any other way is to circles ever examines it closely. invite prompt rejection under a fusillade of Gregor Mendel never bred his pea plants withering criticism. This system of excruciating "peer review" to be anything other than pea plants. He cre- ated short ones, tall ones and different- There are two basic is how independent thinkers among scientists forms of plants and coloured ones, but they were always pea have always been kept in line. Darwin was . . . plants that produced peas. (Pea plants are a an outsider until he barged into the club by animals: wild and domesticated species, too, but that is irrele- sheer, overpowering brilliance. Patent clerk domesticated. vant to the point to be made here.) On the Einstein did the same. On the other hand, other hand, those New Stone Age farmers Alfred Wegener was the German meteorolo- who were fresh out of their caves and only gist who figured out plate tectonics in 1915. No botanist can just beginning to turn soil for the first time Because he dared to bruise the egos of "authorities" outside his own field, he saw his brilliant discovery buried under spiteful criticism that held it down for 50 years. Every scientist in the game knows how it is played...and very few dare to challenge its rules. The restrictions on scientists are severe, but for a very good reason. They work at the leading edges of knowledge, from where the view can be anything from confusing to downright terrifying. Among those who study the processes of life on Earth, they must them beyond the grasping and handling cope with the knowledge that a surpris- capacity of human fingers. They were ing number of species have no business being here. In some also hard, like tiny nutshells, making it impossible to convert cases, they can't even be here. Yet they are, for better or worse, them to anything edible. Lastly, their chemistry was suited to and those worst-case examples must be hidden or at least —_ nourishing animals, not humans. (as the "official" scenario goes), some- how managed to transform the wild grasses, grains and cereals growing around them into their domesticated "cousins". Is that possible? Only through a course in miracles! Actually, it requires countless miracles within two large categories of miracles. The first was that the wild grasses and grains and cereals were useless to humans. The seeds and grains were maddeningly small, like pepper flakes or salt crystals, which put conclusively explain how wild plants gave rise to domesticated ones. obscured from the general public. But no matter how often facts So wild varieties were entirely too small, entirely too tough and are twisted, data are concealed or reality is denied, the truth is out _ nutritionally inappropriate for humans. They needed to be greatly there. expanded in size, greatly softened in texture and overhauled at the molecular level—which would be an imposing challenge for mod- THE EMERGENCE OF DOMESTICATED PLANTS ern botanists, much less Neolithic farmers. There are two basic forms of plants and animals: wild and Despite the seeming impossibility of meeting those daunting domesticated. The wild ones far outnumber the domesticated objectives, modern botanists are confident the first sodbusters had ones, which may explain why vastly more research is done on the all they needed to do it: time and patience. Over hundreds of wild forms. But it could just as easily be that scientists shy away generations of selective crossbreeding, they consciously directed from the domesticated ones because the things they find when the genetic transformation of the few dozen that would turn out to examining them are so far outside the accepted evolutionary be most useful to humans. And how did they do it? By the paradigm. astounding feat of doubling, tripling and quadrupling the number Nearly all domesticated plants are believed to have appeared of chromosomes in the wild varieties! In a few cases, they did between 10,000 and 5,000 years ago, with different groups coming better than that. Domestic wheat and oats were elevated from an forms of plants and animals: wild and conclusively explain how wild plants gave rise to domesticated ones. THE EMERGENCE OF DOMESTICATED PLANTS There are two basic forms of plants and animals: wild and domesticated. The wild ones far outnumber the domesticated ones, which may explain why vastly more research is done on the wild forms. But it could just as easily be that scientists shy away from the domesticated ones because the things they find when examining them are so far outside the accepted evolutionary paradigm. Nearly all domesticated plants are believed to have appeared between 10,000 and 5,000 years ago, with different groups coming JUNE - JULY 2002 NEXUS ¢ 55 There are two basic domesticated. No botanist can www.nexusmagazine.com