Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
No, your explanation of the existence of vestigial organs rebuts that criticism of evolution. Or at least purports to.
Vestigial organs themselves are not explained by evolution, the theory of which says they should disappear.
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No. Organs don't disappear overnight. The process of evolution is ongoing. Right now we are evolving. 3000 years from now the lining of our lungs may be completely different and better able to handle airborne particulate matter. But that process will be a gradual one.
Vestigial organs should disappear. But the fact that they haven't disappeared completely yet is not inconsistent with evolution. It is consistent with evolution.
Anyhow, the appendix isn't a vestigial organ. It has a role in the immune system similar to the spleen and tonsils and adenoids. A person can live without all those organs, too. And
they often cause medical problems requiring their removal. But that doesn't mean that they don't have a physiological function.
