The Question Thread

I decided to create a thread devoted simply to asking and answering questions. No arguing, just discovering. If you encounter someone who either disagrees with you or you believe they said something factually incorrect, refrain from arguing with them. Just ask questions.

Someone start by asking a question, and then let's continue the discussion the way I had in mind (questions and discovery).

Why is it so out of the range of possibilities that creation is true for those who believe in evolution?

It isn't.

Is just that Evolution IS Creation, in their eyes.

Creationism doesn't make sense to me. I mean, I understand what it is as in its definition and its ideas, but it doesn't seem logical to me. The ground, the rocks, the rivers, lakes, oceans, trees, fungi, plants, animals, whatever physical things that exist today; the idea that they all appeared in a matter of days doesn't seem realistic. It makes more sense to me that the universe started out very simple and then over time continued to become more and more complex. It's kind of when I think about civilization and how all of the technologies that exist today came from an accumulation of knowledge over centuries and longer. It's all about the patterns of what I see in the recent world that show me that complex things have only been developed over large periods of time. I have never seen things appear at a speed that would lead me to believe that a world so complex could be created in six days.

Okay. I will start with an obvious one.

Why do you believe in Evolution, Pyrite?

My own take on it - because when I examine the case for Evolution I find a methodical & evidence-based explanation of how the diversity of living forms arose. It makes sense to me, although many aspects of the theory are quite hard work.

For example, I'm coming to the end of Richard Dawkins's book The Blind Watchmaker & I'm reading the chapter on 'Cladistic Taxonomy'. Studying such a subject can be hard going but well worth it in the end.

By contrast, creation as presented by Evangelicals & YEC's reads more like a work of pure fiction. I find nothing about it to be convincing & no reason to accept the assertions made. Of course if you want to role back creation to the very beginning of the Universe, that's another matter. But even then, a logical case needs to be made, not something that feels much more like ancient mythology.

Not exactly! Evolution is concerned only with how different living forms appear. It doesn't even address the emergence of the first form of life from which all other life descends.

So aspects of creation that have nothing to do with the divergence of species is outside the scope of evolution. Then we rely on other branches of knowledge to guide us as to what is most probably the fact of the matter.

Let me pose a question: How do you form your propositional beliefs? That's to say the beliefs you hold regarding matters of fact.

Here is a question for evolution deniers.

Do you understand that it can be demonstrated by computer models (and some theoretical results) that random mutations + selection according to a quality statistic can generate unlimited functionality and solve very difficult problems, using a single simple algorithm to represent the two essential aspects of the process?

One interesting example (not sure it is available any more, unfortunately).

I'm losing track of who believes precisely what but I come back to the point I've made before; first convince people that the Earth is ancient & then acceptance of evolution may follow.

The problem with so many deniers is that they flatly refuse to believe that the Earth is more than 10,000 years old at most, so it would be ridiculous for them to accept evolution.

Because it makes sense to me, and the evidence that I've encountered has supported the theory. I also think that one of the most beautiful things about it is that scientists continue to revise genetic trees for speciation and continue to improve upon details. Another beautiful thing about it is that there is a lot that I don't know, and I like to discover new things. I prefer to be humbled by limited knowledge then know everything, because it makes things more interesting for me. I believe that humans collectively start off with knowing nothing, and then discover things over time as we gather more evidence (not just in science). I don't like the religious fundamentalist approach to knowledge of the world, because it regards people's ability and worth too highly. What I mean is that it assumes that people can understand everything about the creation of the universe easily, when in fact things are much more complicated.

Guys, I know it's frustrating when it's practically impossible to convince some people that they are wrong, but I intend this thread to be about listening to other people's views and why they think that way. I want this thread to be a place where anyone can express their ideas freely without being judged, even if they are wrong.

Another question:

What evidence is out there, to support Evolution? Isn't Evolution "just a theory?"

Can you explain what you mean by 'being judged'? If someone posts a comment that purports to be fact but is not, some of us may show it to be false.

I hope you don't have that in mind?

It's a scientific theory which means it's supported by an extensive body of evidence. Perhaps if you searched for the evidence for evolution, you'd find what you're looking for?

I don’t really remember what I was referring to.

Question was addressed to Pyrite

A theory is more than an idea or guess. A theory has to be backed up by evidence in order to be a theory.

There are loads of evidence including observations about today’s living organisms, fossils, bones, and everything else that scientists have used that supports the theory. There is more evidence that I don’t know of than what I know, so I won’t have a particularly detailed answer. I’m sure plenty of other people can do a better job at coming up with examples than me.

O/k but it seemed like a general question that anyone might respond to? Not clear how Pyrite is going to give you a different answer.

The Theory of Evolution makes many predictions but one is particularly important - all life on Earth originated from a single life-form in ancient times. DNA analysis fully supports this prediction, showing a common link between all living things on the planet.