Post by A Reasonable Rat on Dec 3, 2011 12:09:22 GMT -5
OK so I wrote this up as a general response to Creationism. I want to know if it's good, and if it's correct. If there's anything that should be added or changed.
Here's some things that need clearing up on both sides of the battlefield.
Firstly, the truly devoted Fundie will reject scientific information not because they don't understand it, but because they believe that listening and accepting this information is a form of corruption. They think it will harm them, and thus deny it outright without actually hearing it.
Now, if you are a person who's able to accept new information, there's some fallacies about Evolution that should be known.
Firstly, evolution and 'The Theory of Evolution' are NOT the same thing. Evolution, the observable and proven event, is an accepted fact, nobody disputes it except for Creationists. The THEORY of Evolution IS somewhat in debate, but the theory is simply an explanation of how evolution works and what the history of it has been. It has nothing to do with whether or not evolution occurs.
Secondly, the emergence of a new species does not necessarily mean the 'parent' species must die out. The new species isn't always a direct improvement on the original. You can liken it to the development of television from radio. Radios still exist even though they are more primitive, because they still have a niche. As long as the new species doesn't usurp the old one from its niche, the older species will persist.
Thirdly, evolution doesn't always mean 'improvement' in the way we understand the term. Sometimes a new species emerges that is picked for a completely useless sexual trait, just because the females find it the most attractive. Sometimes a population gets split up, and change in ways that produce two equally adapted but genetically different groups.
As well, sometimes animals don't change drastically. You might have seen examples of reptiles and fish that look very much like their ancient ancestors - except usually the modern version is a lot smaller. If a creature has become as perfectly adapted to its niche as it can within its capacity for variation, then as long as its niche exists, it will not change in any significant way.
It's also important to understand what capacity for variation is. An animal can only change a tiny bit and still remain viable. Mutations are not typically vast things, they're usually not visible to the human eye. One generation must be almost identical to the next, but a .00001% difference over a billion generations adds up.
While Creationist promoters like to say that all or most mutations are harmful, many of their examples of 'mutation' are birth defects, which are not necessarily 'mutation'. They're also caused by damaged gametes, hormone imbalances, illness, malnutrition, and exposure to chemicals.
And lastly, about our common ancestor: Yes, the primate species from which humans and other apes evolved is now extinct. There is no suggestion that humans came from 'monkeys', or any modern species of ape. We outbred and usurped our ancestors, and they are gone. The apes that exist today live in completely different niches, they don't directly compete with us, so they still exist.
Here's some things that need clearing up on both sides of the battlefield.
Firstly, the truly devoted Fundie will reject scientific information not because they don't understand it, but because they believe that listening and accepting this information is a form of corruption. They think it will harm them, and thus deny it outright without actually hearing it.
Now, if you are a person who's able to accept new information, there's some fallacies about Evolution that should be known.
Firstly, evolution and 'The Theory of Evolution' are NOT the same thing. Evolution, the observable and proven event, is an accepted fact, nobody disputes it except for Creationists. The THEORY of Evolution IS somewhat in debate, but the theory is simply an explanation of how evolution works and what the history of it has been. It has nothing to do with whether or not evolution occurs.
Secondly, the emergence of a new species does not necessarily mean the 'parent' species must die out. The new species isn't always a direct improvement on the original. You can liken it to the development of television from radio. Radios still exist even though they are more primitive, because they still have a niche. As long as the new species doesn't usurp the old one from its niche, the older species will persist.
Thirdly, evolution doesn't always mean 'improvement' in the way we understand the term. Sometimes a new species emerges that is picked for a completely useless sexual trait, just because the females find it the most attractive. Sometimes a population gets split up, and change in ways that produce two equally adapted but genetically different groups.
As well, sometimes animals don't change drastically. You might have seen examples of reptiles and fish that look very much like their ancient ancestors - except usually the modern version is a lot smaller. If a creature has become as perfectly adapted to its niche as it can within its capacity for variation, then as long as its niche exists, it will not change in any significant way.
It's also important to understand what capacity for variation is. An animal can only change a tiny bit and still remain viable. Mutations are not typically vast things, they're usually not visible to the human eye. One generation must be almost identical to the next, but a .00001% difference over a billion generations adds up.
While Creationist promoters like to say that all or most mutations are harmful, many of their examples of 'mutation' are birth defects, which are not necessarily 'mutation'. They're also caused by damaged gametes, hormone imbalances, illness, malnutrition, and exposure to chemicals.
And lastly, about our common ancestor: Yes, the primate species from which humans and other apes evolved is now extinct. There is no suggestion that humans came from 'monkeys', or any modern species of ape. We outbred and usurped our ancestors, and they are gone. The apes that exist today live in completely different niches, they don't directly compete with us, so they still exist.
