[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (jpapadpapa,)


My husband was a math major in college, so maybe I'll have to get his expertise later, but statistically, there comes a point when something is just not going to happen, no matter how much time given.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Be careful about mixing mathematics and statistics and how they apply to evolution and history. Statistics is a special branch of math that the results are heavilly weighted by the assumptions and te strictness of the tests applied to the data. Statistical methods can be selected based on the results desired. That is why there were many jokes going around in all Statistics classes in college. eg, 'If the figures don't prove your desired results contact your local statistician and he will solve your problem.'

Statistics was designed primarilly to evaluate experimental results using the scientific method. It is used to measure the probability of the occurance of different mutations in geneticsStatistics does not ever say something is impossible. It deals with the probability of events or experimental results. The occurrance of the events that lead to speciation may have a low probability of occuring, but given millions of years there is no hurry.