At this stage, this post will be less about whether the framework by RTB is ultimately correct and more about whether any of the proposed tests are realistically investigable using current datasets and methods.
One issue I’ve been trying to think through is whether any of the proposed tests are genuinely distinguishable from standard evolutionary expectations, rather than simply offering an alternative interpretation of the same observations.
Some of the areas involved include:
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morpho-molecular discontinuities,
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convergence and functional constraints,
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genomic clustering and k-mer distributions,
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phylogenetic conflict analyses,
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and broader questions about structural constraints in evolutionary outcomes.
I’m also curious whether anyone here knows:
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whether there are specialists who might be interested in evaluating the testability of such proposals,
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whether existing datasets are already sufficient to investigate some of these questions,
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and what kinds of predictions would need to be made or confirmed for a structuralist framework to be meaningfully distinguishable from standard evolutionary explanations.
For reference, the specific testable sections I’m referring to can be found here: