Confusion on the Tree of Life

Charles Darwin and some of his predecessors had the notion that long, long ago, there was a single ancestor for all living things. This commenced to reproducing, evolving, and all that good stuff that leads to what we see today. Philosophers drew up "tree of life" diagrams for their imagined progressions. David Attenborough tried to reverently evosplain Darwin's version.

Darwin's "Tree of Life" in flames.

The tree of life concepts make for fun stories to tell when riding the trail or around the campfire, but they do not work. Even if someone decided to set it on fire, some jasper would "hear" Darwin's voice speaking from the burning bush and think he was a secular Moses, reminiscent of Exodus 3:2. Actually, the creationary orchard concept is far more accurate.

There are several examples of convoluted branches that defy evolutionary storytelling. Adding to the confusion is the fact that scientists are in strong disagreement on many aspects. Some of the ideas they've dreamed up make me wonder what scientists (and pretend scientists) have been smoking.


via GIPHY

Wolf-dog hybridization and genetic studies show that there may no longer be a "pure" wolf. The (failed) asteroid impact story that allegedly killed off the dinosaurs is invoked to explain the diversity of fish. How sexless animals evolve is baffling. These, and several other stories of foolish attempts to deny the Creator his due can be found at "Tangled Branches Confound Darwinian Trees" and "More Tangled Branches that Confound Darwinian Trees".



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