Alceste
Vagabond
It's become pretty obvious from the arguments offered by evolution deniers that there is a giant gulf between what the ToE lingo actually means and what creationists think it means.
So, I thought I'd start a thread clarifying the meaning of the terms used by scientists to describe the process of evolution in the hope that, from there, we can one day move on to clarifying what the ToE actually says, and predicts, and why the evidence for it is considered overwhelmingly compelling by scientists.
Let me start with the most important one: Science "(from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is in its broadest sense any ... prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome." (wiki)
OK so far? Any questions? Does everybody understand why creationism is not "science"? I will explain if needed (i.e. explain the term "prediction"). If not, we can move on to another word.
So, I thought I'd start a thread clarifying the meaning of the terms used by scientists to describe the process of evolution in the hope that, from there, we can one day move on to clarifying what the ToE actually says, and predicts, and why the evidence for it is considered overwhelmingly compelling by scientists.
Let me start with the most important one: Science "(from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is in its broadest sense any ... prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome." (wiki)
OK so far? Any questions? Does everybody understand why creationism is not "science"? I will explain if needed (i.e. explain the term "prediction"). If not, we can move on to another word.