2/10/2019
Everything in biology is
done with statistical analysis. If you
want to know if something is true you begin by gathering data and then analyzing
the data to determine if what you have indicates something that could not
happen by chance. For example, if a gene
seems to be associated with a particular disease an attempt will be made to
take the observed correlation and subject it to a statistical test in order to
determine the probability that the correlation could occur by chance. Generally a probability of 5% or less of the
numbers occurring by chance is required to be relatively certain of causality.
I wonder if any aspect of
hypothesis testing has ever been applied to a functional gene arising by chance
even given millions of years, or to the spontaneous creation of life in a sea
of chemicals, or of a functional gene or proto-gene appearing by chance in one
individual, surviving and spreading through the population, or the probability
that the gaps in the fossil record are simply a factor of having overlooked
them. If there are, I have not heard of them. The theory of evolution is the one area of biology exempt from genuine statistical analysis.
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