Defining Evolution

I’m not sure if someone has raised this particular topic but I haven’t noticed one in my browsing.

In another thread, Halcyon defined evolution. This struck me as strange, since I don’t believe I had seen this here previously. Until that time I thought it was understood by most here, but upon reflection I can understand where misconceptions might have lead to debate.

"...evolution can be precisely defined as any change in the frequency of alleles within a gene pool from one generation to the next."
- Helena Curtis and N. Sue Barnes, (1989), Biology, 5th ed. Worth Publishers, p.974

This is a concise definition of biological evolution.

Now, it is worth noting that “change in frequency” over time is something that invariably occurs. It is an observation, it is irrefutable, it is fact. I would hazard, that it is impossible to accept Mendel’s laws and current biochemical science without accepting this “change”.

If given the discrete heritable units called genes, and shown how they are replicated and inherited you would surely arrive at the conclusion that they will change over time. End of story.

So evolution has occurred, is occurring, and is observable.

And now the fun part...

I feel it is a huge problem, that people don't even know what evolution is, and choose to debate it nevertheless. Too often, do people see evolution as "the science that is used to degrade religion". The fact of the matter is, as you adressed, is that evolution does does, has, and will happen, because it is very easily observed. It's about time someone adressed this!:woohoo:

evolution is only a change it our features. either big or small. for example, people from Maine and people from Hawaii have experienced this, the people in the south, at lets say 70 degrees, wear jackets, in the north wear short sleeve shirts. this is a very small example of evolution.

no that is an example of acclimation... if you were to stay down south for a few years you would also wear a jacket if you stayed up north for a few years a t-shirt. There is no physical change there... now a change from say an Australian native to an Innuit to a Celtic European... that is change. Minimal but change/adaptation none-the-less.

Evolution is a change, internal or external due to genetics and variation, ie mutation. That change proves bennificial or at lest not detrimental and so carries on to the next generation.
Given time and proper genepool that change can become fixed into the population and volia.

wa:do

The thing is evolution is a process, not an event like the Creation, so we have the definition truthseekingsoul presented, but Creationists accept that life forms change over time, they just don't believe that they can change into totally different forms. So really its irrelevant to debate whether things change now because Creationists only care about what happened in the past.

I feel it is a huge problem, that people don't even know what evolution is, and choose to debate it nevertheless.

Click to expand...

That's OK, most people who debate God, really don't know him.

NetDoc said:

That's OK, most people who debate God, really don't know him.

Click to expand...

I'd suggest that the vast majority of people don't know God.

There are more 'definitions' of god than there are of evolution, thats for sure. :biglaugh:

wa:do