Would Finding Alien Life Change Religious Philosophies?

[immoderate]

83. Darwin uses the word "mutation" about a half dozen times in "Origins."

And he generally means "change over time." He of course, had no idea of DNA. He talks about natural selection about 150 times in Origins before he mentions the word mutation.

My problem is with English, not biology. My understanding of mutation, is (or was) that it's a result of atomic decay in one of the "letters" (G, A, C, T) of the DNA code, causing a substitution of a base code. From a quick perusal, I see it's generally applied to other types of variations which I was calling "natural variation," which of course, they are. So I'll adjust my vocabulary. Maybe I was confusing it with "mutagens."

I don't see what else I got wrong. Mutations are random, and most are maladaptive if they're not 'silent.' New mutations do not lead to adaptation. They're either adaptive or they're not. Adaptive traits are more observable because they are the ones that survive, and maladaptive ones are extinguished. That's where natural selection comes in. Perhaps I would enjoy an introductory course. But a "need?"

--imm