Originally posted by aiwass
Has it not occured to you that even the slightest evolutionary change takes tens, if not hundreds of generations to occur? Also, these changes do not necessarily happen for a specific reason; it is the other way around: Creatures whose traits change for the better, survive those of lesser adaptation.

One example is a species of moth found in England, which was originally camouflaged to blend in with the bark on the birch tree (in case you don't know, it's almost white). However, with industrialization came severe coal pollution, which stained the trees black. This rendered the almost white moth an easy target to predators, as it was no longer visible. However, an error occured in the DNA of a few of the moths, causing them to be born darker in color, almost black. Due to natural selection, these darker individuals survived (as they were more adapted to their surroundings, and could not be seen), and the entire species slowly changed to a darker shade.

To take it to another, even more rapid level of evolution, take bacteria, for instance. How come bacteria can become immune to antibiotics? How come penicillin is becoming less and less effective in the battle against infection? How come some viruses are becoming immune to vaccines? EVOLUTION, on such a small scale that quantum leaps can take place within a matter of seconds.