Page 87 - The Errors the American National Academy of Sciences

The NAS's Errors
Regarding Speciation

scarce birds with beaks slightly larger than
the average are able to use these more pow-
erful beaks to open the remaining hard
and large seeds. Weak individuals and
finches with small beaks die off since they

are unable to adapt to the prevailing con-
ditions. In this way, the average beak size
goes up. During periods of heavy rain,
when small and soft seeds are plentiful,
the situation is reversed. Under these
conditions, those finches with small
beaks are able to adapt to the prevailing
conditions, and their numbers rise. The
average beak size thus returns to normal.

Peter Grant and his student Lisle Gibbs
actually accepted this in an article pub-
lished in Nature magazine in 1987. 19
In short, the findings show that there is
no such thing as evolutionary change.
Average beak size sometimes rises above a
fixed value according to the seasons and

sometimes falls—in other words, it fluctu-
ates. As a result, there is no directional change.
Peter Grant realized this, and wrote,
"the population, subjected to natural selec-
20
tion, is oscillating back and forth." Some
evolutionist researchers also state that
natural selection had flipped. 21
Danny Faulkner, a professor of as-

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