Actually, Stephen J. Gould did a pretty good job of pointing out that there is no strong evidence that evolution is even progressive.
In other words, organisms only compete when there aren't enough resources for them. There are often long periods of times when there's plenty of space and resources for a given ecosystem, and during those times a wide variety of species can thrive. And even then, when times tighten, it doesn't always tighten in the same way, killing off only those organisms that don't fit that particular puzzle.
So, in short, evolution is "survival of the fit enough."
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chiming
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Date: 2009-09-21 11:31 pm (UTC)From:In other words, organisms only compete when there aren't enough resources for them. There are often long periods of times when there's plenty of space and resources for a given ecosystem, and during those times a wide variety of species can thrive. And even then, when times tighten, it doesn't always tighten in the same way, killing off only those organisms that don't fit that particular puzzle.
So, in short, evolution is "survival of the fit enough."