What good is half of a wing? This tired, illogical argument is used by creationists in a foolish attempt to create the impression that evolution is the means to an end. If birds have wings now, they must have "grown" wings over time, but what did they do with their little stubby half-wings in the meantime? Of course this argument misunderstands evolution in its whole. There is no "goal" for evolution. Because we know the state of living organisms now does not mean that billions of years of natural selection have been leading up to today. We are, right this second, within the flux of natural history, and will be forever (as as long as we're around at least).
While Trying to come up with a name for my blog, I cracked open The Counter-Creationism Handbook, By Mark Isaac. I recommend it to anyone who has come head to head with a seasoned christian apologist. I wish I had a pocket copy to carry around in my wallet for spur of the moment debates. The book catalogues every apologist argument from the absurd to the thought provoking, and provides the reader with well thought out (and thoroughly cited) rebuttals. "What use is half a wing?" appears on page 95. It caught my eye.
In any event, I think we all go through life with half of a wing, or half of an eye, or half of some other complexly developed organ. Do you have only half of a heart? Half of a brain? What good is it? Is the absence greater than the presence?
I would say that I would would rather have half than none of any of these things.
In our modern lives it is rather difficult to be 100% anything. I would be comfortable saying I am about half of a good friend, half of a good husband, worker, etc. But those half-wings in my life co-opt each other, making me a complete human being, for better or worse.
Like the universe, modern day western human social lives are a mixture of chaos and clockwork.
I have heard the argument that it is rediculous to think that a fish could move about on land.
I believe the mudskipper would beg to differ.
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2 comments:
What? Half of a good husband?? Ask your wife....she thinks you are the best husband ever!!!
Shawn --
Interesting point, here.
No one can really say the function of an "incomplete" wing, because no one is really sure how flight developed . . . however, there are tons of potential ways that "half" a wing would be useful.
Wings developed before flight (obviously), and so did feathers (I am assuming we are talking about bird -- not insect or bat -- wings).
Feathered wings obviously could be used as protection from the elements (especially the cold, since it is difficult to maintain a body temperature approaching 40 degrees Celsius, which is around where most birds are, I believe).
Additionally, wings of any size could be used to help "sail" or "glide." Even if they are not of an adequate size to actually fly, just being able to glide can be a huge genetic advantage. Obviously, the bigger the wings, the better the gliding, until -- eventually -- the wings will be of an adequate size to fly.
Obviously there are tons of other ways that "half-wings" would be useful to fly, but these are just a few.
The eye argument is a much more persuasive one, but even that is really not a great argument, because there are advantages to even simple sensory organs.
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