Progress in evolution

[Robert.J.Meyerson@uwrf.edu (Rob Meyerson)]

>(snip)"Primitive to" must be taken in the context of the clade
>being analyzed.

I have a small objection to the word "primitive" anyway, as it seems to go=
 back to some of the earlier views on evolution.  Historically, we have=
 viewed evolution in terms of progress or simply "getting better" through=
 time (since our species is at the top of the heap, and therefore the=
 greatest;-)  Recent work has supported the premise that progress simply=
 doesn't apply to evolution; that if one takes any animal (from any lineage)=
 and looks at it within the time that it lived, we see that it was just as=
 perfectly adapted to its environment as any animal today.  I see nothing=
 primitive in that.

Rob

***
Q.  What arthropod was good with computers?

A.  The Trilobyte.