Steve Shaw - huh?

"I am specifying that there is no room for this term in a discussion of evolution. Nothing that happens to make species change is ever random in that there will always be a cause. Mutations are never random, in spite of the ludicrous received-wisdom term "random mutations." Natural selection is the very opposite of random. "Random" is a term that is overwhelmingly used by people who just don't get evolution."

If we are talking about mutations, I agree with Bill D that it depends on your definition of "random", but will you allow "spontaneous"? "accidental"? "happening by chance"?

The sources of genetic variation upon which natural (or artificial) selection may act most often have a high degree of chance involved. In addition, not all mutations lead to variation on which selection acts; they may be neutral. Not all evolutionary change is due to selection; population bottlenecks may lead to genetic drift, which is a process reliant on chance.

Try Evolution 101. (This whole site is one of the best ones available on the topic.)

Folks who are really adamant about a topic, who toss around exclamation marks (that would be Foolestroupe, not you), and who talk about what people get and don't get ought to be sure their own understanding is good...

The magic (in the sense of wondrousness) of life (using this as a biological term) is the way it works against entropy, but entropy is certainly a partner in the process.

~ Becky in Long Beach