If humans evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

[Halcyon]

This is more of a rant than a debate, so it might not go anywhere.

"If humans evolved from apes, why are there still apes?"

The above statement (and it is a statement, even though it looks like a question) has been issued from countless anti-evolutionist mouths, its probably the most spouted 'argument' people use when trying to debunk evolution. I'm surprised there aren't anti-evolution posters with it on (unless there are, post here if you've seen one ).

When uttered, this sentence informs you that the speaker knows absolutely nothing about evolution. They disbelieve in evolution, yet they have no idea how evolution works.
How can anyone choose to believe humans were divinely created and reject alternative theories without even spending five minutes looking into those alternatives?
Then they have the audacity to make statements like the above! It drives me crazy.

I believe in evolution, yet I've still explored and understand the basic principles behind the alternative theories. How can you properly debate this subject with willfully ignorant people?

 

[Smoke]

How can you properly debate this subject with willfully ignorant people?

Willfully ignorant. You can't. If they were reasonable, or interested in knowing the facts, there wouldn't be any reason for the debate in the first place.

 

[Halcyon]

Willfully ignorant. You can't. If they were reasonable, or interested in knowing the facts, there wouldn't be any reason for the debate in the first place.

I don't know about that. If someone understood evolution properly, but still chose not to believe it, then you could debate them. Its the people who have no knowledge whatsoever, but still try and argue against it that irk me.

 

[jeffrey]

Why did some not evolve? Maybe because they were smarter then the ones that did? Just a thought.

 

[Halcyon]

Why did some not evolve? Maybe because they were smarter then the ones that did? Just a thought.

They did evolve, they evolved into gorillas, chimps and orangutans - that's the whole point.

 

[jeffrey]

They did evolve, they evolved into gorillas, chimps and orangutans - that's the whole point.

Maybe we didn't evolve from apes. Maybe we evolved from pigs. Our DNA is closer to pigs then apes. There's something to think about. Oink oink.

 

[Halcyon]

Maybe we didn't evolve from apes. Maybe we evolved from pigs. Our DNA is closer to pigs then apes. There's something to think about. Oink oink.

No it isn't, where did you get that 'information' from?

 

[jeffrey]

No it isn't, where did you get that 'information' from?

Medical shows. They use pig heart values in some bypass surgeries because their DNA is close to ours.

 

[Halcyon]

Medical shows. They use pig heart values in some bypass surgeries because their DNA is close to ours.

No. They use pig heart valves and sometimes whole hearts because the structure is similar enough to work pretty well.

If our DNA were closer to a pig than a chimp, then we'd look more like a pig than a chimp. But we don't.

Why pigs? Primates would be a closer match genetically to humans, but they are more difficult to clone and have a much lower rate of reproduction. Of the animal species that have been cloned successfully, pig tissues and organs are more similar to those of humans. To create a "knock-out" pig, scientists must inactivate the genes that cause the human immune system to reject an implanted pig organ. The genes are knocked out in individual cells, which are then used to create clones from which organs can be harvested. In 2002, a British biotechnology company reported that it was the first to produce "double knock-out" pigs that have been genetically engineered to lack both copies of a gene involved in transplant rejection. More research is needed to study the transplantation of organs from "knock-out" pigs to other animals.

from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml#organsQ

 

[Buttons*]

And we didnt evolve from chimps either... we evolved from the evolution of chimps! *smiles*

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Maybe we didn't evolve from apes. Maybe we evolved from pigs. Our DNA is closer to pigs then apes.

Good grief! How is it that so many are so willing to demonstrate so much ignorance on this subject? At what point does willful ignorance become irresponsible, if not criminal, negligence?

 

[jeffrey]

Good grief! How is it that so many are so willing to demonstrate so much ignorance on this subject? At what point does willful ignorance become irresponsible, if not criminal, negligence?

It was a joke. As in 'Men are pigs'

 

[robtex]

In addressing Paul's opening post I had a yahoo arguement one time with a creationists that is applicable to this thread. She said, "Darwin was wrong." Assuming like most creationsist she didn't know squat about Darwin or evolution, I asked her how much she had read about Darwin or evolution. She said nothing. I asked her how she knew the theories were "wrong" than? She said qoute, "Because God is right." I think the notion that "God is right" is the end-all be all to most creationsist arguements. AV1611'ers are big on the qoute of, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it."

The arguement "why do apes still exists" is maybe not as much of an arguement against evolution, as Paul pointed out anyone who would state such a comment is ignorant of evolution, but rather a common dismissal of the need to look at any other theory outside of the Bible or holy book in their religion.

 

[Atheist_Dave]

I have come across this argument so many times. They cant get it into their head, that a species does not evolve, a populations does. I explain to them that somehow they may be separated from all of their kind, and put into a slightly different environment which causes different genes to have beneficial effects, and they say "but the bible says not", and I cry and rip my hair out

But yeh it is an annoying argument, they think somehow evolution is telepathically transmitted across the whole species or something... anyways, Im done.

Peace x

 

[Valjean]

This is more than willful ignorance. It is deliberate and deceitful propaganda. It is pandering to the uneducated and sophophobic. It is an intentional Big Lie.

 

[michel]

I have come across this argument so many times. They cant get it into their head, that a species does not evolve, a populations does. I explain to them that somehow they may be separated from all of their kind, and put into a slightly different environment which causes different genes to have beneficial effects, and they say "but the bible says not", and I cry and rip my hair out

But yeh it is an annoying argument, they think somehow evolution is telepathically transmitted across the whole species or something... anyways, Im done.

Peace x

And that was in London ????

 

[Ibrahim Al-Amin]

If our DNA were closer to a pig than a chimp, then we'd look more like a pig than a chimp. But we don't.

Well, not all of us. :jiggy:

 

[ch'ang]

Why did some not evolve? Maybe because they were smarter then the ones that did? Just a thought.

Maybe we didn't evolve from apes. Maybe we evolved from pigs. Our DNA is closer to pigs then apes. There's something to think about. Oink oink.

We did not evolve from pigs or apes or any other animal today, we share a common ancestor with apes and nothing more. If you want to take it all the way back we share a common ancestor with everything but it is more useful to only talk about recent ones.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

We did not evolve from pigs or apes or any other animal today, we share a common ancestor with apes and nothing more. If you want to take it all the way back we share a common ancestor with everything but it is more useful to only talk about recent ones.

That's what I was going to say. It's rather anachronistic to say that we evoloved from something identical to the modern ape. We didn't evovle from apes that exist today, but from a common ancestor. There are still apes today because of natural selection.

Duh...

 

[Tiberius]

I've found that an analogy with cars can sometimes help people understand the idea of evolution of Humans from apes.

It's like saying, "if a Porsche evolved from a Landcruiser, why are there still Landcruisers?"

Porsches didn't "evolve" from Landcruisers. it's more accurate to say that Porsches and landcruisers both evolved from an earlier type of car, let's say the Model T Ford.

As time went on, some cars took the parts of the Model T that were adapted to travelling over rough terrain and enhaced them and improved them, while others ignored the rough terrain aspects of the Model T and instead developed so as to be able to travel faster.

So we now have two types of car. One type is more suited to travel over rough terrain, and the other kind is more suited to travel fast. Both of these types of car "evolved" from an earlier car, a common automobile "ancestor".

In the same way, there was a type of ape that lived a long time ago, and over time, it evolved in the same way as the cars. Some of these apes evolved to be gorillas, others evolved to be chimps, and others evolved to be Humans.