Thread: Evolution is a Fact - Not a Theory

Evolution is simple
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1GhYGEoRfo

Originally Posted by Korittke

Evolution is simple
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1GhYGEoRfo

That is one of my favorite South Park episodes. Mr. Garrison's understanding of the theory of evolution is really not that different from what most creationists think it says. I bet Mystic and Oneira think what Mr. Garrison said is not that far from what the theory actually does say. If they ever have the nerve to tell us what they think the theory says, I bet they sound a lot like Garrison.

Even though I beleive in it, evolution is still a theory and people shouldn't be considerting it completely factual. There are still complex things in ourselves and our minds in particular that evolution cannot explain.

Originally Posted by Idolfan

Even though I beleive in it, evolution is still a theory and people shouldn't be considerting it completely factual. There are still complex things in ourselves and our minds in particular that evolution cannot explain.

The existence of atoms is a theory. The existence of black holes is a theory. The explanation for continental drift is a theory. The explanation for why volcanoes erupt is a theory. The idea that the position of the moon affects the tides is a theory. "Theory" is not synonymous with "opinion somebody pulled out of his ass". It takes a great deal of evidence for something to become a well documented scientific theory.

"Creationists make it sound as though a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night." - Isaac Asimov

Originally Posted by Idolfan

Even though I beleive in it, evolution is still a theory and people shouldn't be considerting it completely factual. There are still complex things in ourselves and our minds in particular that evolution cannot explain.

We've come full circle in this thread. Evolution, which is genetic change over time, is a fact, and the overwhelmingly agreed upon theory used to explain it is natural selection.

There is nothing within ourselves that we have identified that evolution cannot explain.

Natural selection is not evolution. It allows adaptation to the environment though selective reproduction of the traits available to any particular species, but does not explain how one species makes the change into a completely different species. The missing links remain missing, and the theory of evolution remains a theory.

Yes, we share DNA with other species of animals, but DNA is simply the basic building blocks of life. Atoms are the building blocks of DNA. We are carbon based life forms. Does that mean we evolved from lumps of coal?

Originally Posted by Idolfan

Even though I beleive in it, evolution is still a theory and people shouldn't be considerting it completely factual. There are still complex things in ourselves and our minds in particular that evolution cannot explain.

In a way you are correct, evolution is a theory but then so is gravity and the earth orbiting the sun and plate tectonics.....I could go on and on but the point is this:

Just because something is stated as a theory does not make it any less true. There are huge amounts of evidence supporting these theories. I think they are still called "Theory" for a few reasons 1) there is more to learn and 2) it is hard to reproduce in a lab due to limitations but the models and understanding of these concepts fit very well to the evidence found in nature.

Stating things as a theory is a very poor attack on a idea and I would suggest providing evidence against it if that is what you intend to do

Originally Posted by The Cusp

Natural selection is not evolution. It allows adaptation to the environment though selective reproduction of the traits available to any particular species, but does not explain how one species makes the change into a completely different species. The missing links remain missing, and the theory of evolution remains a theory.

Well it is a good point you make but natural selection is one of the core principles behind evolution. As far as I know (and I may be wrong here I am not a biologist or anything) changes in species occur when they become isolated from the remainder of the species due to geographical environments or constraints and continue to change until the 2 species become genetically incompatible. But like I say im no expert lol

Originally Posted by The Cusp

Yes, we share DNA with other species of animals, but DNA is simply the basic building blocks of life. Atoms are the building blocks of DNA. We are carbon based life forms. Does that mean we evolved from lumps of coal?

In a way that is true saying as we are the remnant of "star dust".

Originally Posted by The Cusp

Natural selection is not evolution. It allows adaptation to the environment though selective reproduction of the traits available to any particular species, but does not explain how one species makes the change into a completely different species. The missing links remain missing, and the theory of evolution remains a theory.

Evolution is genetic change over time. Natural selection determines which animals live and reproduce. This is the way that genes either multiply or die out. "Species" is a vague definition created by humans for convenience in classifying animals. There is nothing magic about "speciation". When isolated groups of animals diverge enough genetically that they can no longer reproduce, we can use that as a definition of species. Very simple, nothing that can't be explained there. Missing links are only gaps in the fossil record, which is incomplete for obvious reasons. Lots of "links" that seemed to be "missing" are found all the time; for example, the gaps in the line between dinosaurs and birds have been massively filled in--there are many other species in between now, not just archaeopteryx.

Originally Posted by The Cusp

Yes, we share DNA with other species of animals, but DNA is simply the basic building blocks of life. Atoms are the building blocks of DNA. We are carbon based life forms. Does that mean we evolved from lumps of coal?

Umm, no...I'm pretty sure the "coal theory" of the origin of life is pretty original with you. As is the related "diamond theory".

Originally Posted by mark

In a way that is true saying as we are the remnant of "star dust".

That's a cool way of looking at that...