Why the theory of evolution is so important

[shunyadragon]

And that's fine as I don't believe in a "one size fits all" approach-- "different strokes for different folks". .

Sounds Unitarian.

 

[Audie]

Uh...no kiddin'! That's just what I said.

Terrif! Do you think you could help
your fellow-travellers in creoland to
understand this incredibly simple idea?

Or....

psst! Could you pass the word to
other creationists?

But you got more fun our of the first version.

 

[metis]

Sounds Unitarian.

I've been called worse.

BTW, you probably read it before but check out "My Faith Statement" at the bottom of my posts. Unitarians are way too conservative for me.

 

[viole]

No comment on fine tuning, just the natural processes are the methods of Creation with no second guessing natural events. Extinction throughout the history of earth are caused by many natural factors if not one than another, and repeated large meteorite impacts that cause extinctions are a natural part of the history of the earth..

The question is: were those natural events triggered by God?

Ciao

- viole

 

[Bear Wild]

"Life coming about" is abiogenesis. How life types developed is evolution.

Why not tell @Wild Fox to get it right?

The study of how life itself came about is about abiogenesis and that has not been explained sufficiently yet.

Life had to happen before evolution ever did.

It is true my post was only about evolution and not abiogenesis. I see where I mad a mistake in my wording so I revised the statement to read better and restrict it to just evolution. Thank you for pointing out my mistake .

Why is the theory of evolution so important?

The earth being the center of the universe may have been the first major conflict between religion and the developing science but the theory of evolution now remains the center for conflict. So why is this theory so important to discuss?

I am proposing three reasons

1. Unlike any other explanation for the current life forms on earth and how they progressed, changed and became so interconnected on earth, evolution is the only one discovered rather than created in the past. Developed over time through careful observation despite what one would desire to believe. The theory crosses all nationalities and religions. As the evidence increased it developed increasing more depth rather than contradiction. It is our one explanation not depended on faith but one what is measured and observed.

2. As important, the theory of evolution shows just how we are related to all life in this world. Different than many creations stories that separate humans from all other life, evolution shows we come from shared ancestry and shared genetics most of which are well preserved through all life forms. All life has differences which make them unique yet evolution we share too much with other life forms to see ourselves as separate.

3. Most important of all the theories Evolution and Ecology intertwine and show just how much we are intimately interconnected. No organism lives alone but all are interdependent and developed the intimate relationships in time shaped by the environmental opportunities and selective pressures. Humans and animals cannot exist without plants cannot, flowers without pollinators fail to reproduce, bacteria are essential for digestion for so many animals, and trees communicate and support each other through fungi. Evolution theory with Ecology theory in combination are the only explanation for this relationship and to ignore this interdependence is to face the fate of so many creatures before us – extinction.

 

[sealchan]

View attachment 27923

English only please

I come in peace!

Just think of a rich chemical soup full of various atoms which have combined into various molecules. Molecules interact with each other in a variety of ways and cause changes including...

Two molecules will combine
One molecule will cause another to break down
One molecule will cause another molecule to change shape

In each case when molecules interact this may lead to patterns of further long term interaction. This might be especially true inside of a more closed environment like a cell.

With molecules more or less bouncing around and interacting one might be tempted to think nothing interesting will ever happen. But, in fact, interesting things do happen. Sometimes an interaction or a series of interactions leads to a condition that promotes more interactions. If this is true then you have a rudimentary form of self-replication.

Some molecules called catalysts can also be a part of an interaction between two molecules. Sometimes the catalyst is an essential part making it a necessary piece for the other two to be able to react. Some molecular interactions produce the catalysts that promote further similar interactions. These are called auto-catalytic.

Complex chains of molecular interaction create loops and branches which all can feedback on each other in a dynamic and creative way. It is likely that in this context the organelles that eventually developed into those that collaboratively set up shop together within a lipid membrane and called themselves a cell, did so as a result of the evolution of these molecular interactions. These evolved organelles tended garden together in what became the earliest cells. Those cells which developed a behaviour of reproducing themselves by mitosis eventually became so numerous, diverse and dynamically interactive that they became the basis for multi-cellular organisms which had some of the very same traits.

Now, the more one learns about evolution the more it seems that these large scale cellular organisms with the ability to do their macro-things , they also retain so many abilities such as digestion, excretion, reproduction and immune systems which are their ancient inheritance from their pre-cellular days. This seems to me to so convincingly point back to the time when life evolved from non-life that it would take a vary curious intellect not to look out over the vast knowledge and experience we have of evolution and not see this as an out-growth of such similar processes we know of taking place at the sub-cellular level.

 

[Bear Wild]

I am fully aware that the concept of abiogenies is a separate field of study and I did not mean to imply I was including it. Never the less, the three statements I made I hold to be true and critical for humans to understand if we are to continue to exist on this planet. Ignoring the implications that Ecology and Evolution are telling us is to make a fatal mistake for all of us. So yes the theory 0if evolution is important for all to understand. No one has presented a better explanation that is supported by any meaningful evidence.

 

[Bear Wild]

It isn’t especially. It’s not totally unimportant but it’s no more significant that countless other fundamental scientific theories, ideas and principles, some of which will be much more significant in continuing to develop our understanding of the universe we live in.

Whatever the celebrities would have us believe, popular isn’t the same as important.

I never said it was more important than other scientific theories and in fact stated it integrates with the science of ecology. It is supported by genetics which is in turn supported by chemistry and chemistry supported by physics. So they are all important with and I never stated one was more important than another. But which other theory has been baselessly attacked by more people using opinions and inaccurate claims?

 

[Audie]

I am fully aware that the concept of abiogenies is a separate field of study and I did not mean to imply I was including it. Never the less, the three statements I made I hold to be true and critical for humans to understand if we are to continue to exist on this planet. Ignoring the implications that Ecology and Evolution are telling us is to make a fatal mistake for all of us. So yes the theory 0if evolution is important for all to understand. No one has presented a better explanation that is supported by any meaningful evidence.

Countercurrent of course, we have those who preach
that the earth is here for us to use (up), as god is
a-fixin' to give us a whole new and better one.

 

[Nakosis]

Why do we never see these examples raised?

Fleming and McShea examined the scientific literature for 916 laboratory lines of flies. They made many different measures of complexity in each population. In the journal Evolution & Development, they recently reported that the lab flies were indeed more complex than wild ones. Some of the insects had irregular legs. Others acquired complicated patterns of colors on their wings. The segments of their antennae took on different shapes. Freed from natural selection, flies have reveled in complexity, just as the law predicts.
The Surprising Origins of Evolutionary Complexity

So complexity is the norm. Environmental/natural selection actually puts limits on complexity. Mutation is a constant issue. Cells are constantly mutating in offspring. This is not caused by natural selection. It's a normal process of imperfect duplication. The TOE explains natural selection, how certain species came to survive, continue to exist. Imperfect replication explains the diversity.

A cell does not always perfectly duplicate. So over time, endless complexity. Natural selection is an explanation of why we have much less complexity than we should have.

 

[Nakosis]

I really don't know.
You white people should talk this over with.
I'm Asian so I don't have something to do with that.

But what I know, humans cannot interbreed with animals including apes
Apes which I believe, evolutionist and Darwin fans placed their absolute faith that humans came from
Isn't that strange?
Not why humans cannot interbreed with animals
but why humans cannot interbreed with apes when they are your ancestors?

Apes are not man's ancestors. We had a common ancestor which we branched off from and evolved independently from. Apes today are as different from their ancestors as we are. They likely wouldn't be compatible with their ancestors either.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Apes are not man's ancestors. We had a common ancestor which we branched off from and evolved independently from. Apes today are as different from their ancestors as we are. They likely wouldn't be compatible with their ancestors either.

I have to disagree. Modern apes are not man's ancestors but the common ancestor that we share with other apes was an ape itself and we of course are apes as well.

Chimps are more closely related to us than they are to other apes so it is not logically consistent to think that chimps are apes and that we are not.

 

[ChristineM]

Why is the theory of evolution so important?

Medicine, the understanding of evolution aids in the the design of new, more effective medicines to help prevent and treat disease.

 

[Bear Wild]

Medicine, the understanding of evolution aids in the the design of new, more effective medicines to help prevent and treat disease.

Could not agree with you more. It also helps us to understand the relationship between parasites, viruses and other infectious agents and how they can adapt. Just look at the HIV virus that has changed from lethal to in some people a almost neutral effect. And of course evolution explains all of the genetic diseases that one would thing an intelligent designer would be intelligent enough to avoid.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Could not agree with you more. It also helps us to understand the relationship between parasites, viruses and other infectious agents and how they can adapt. Just look at the HIV virus that has changed from lethal to in some people a almost neutral effect. And of course evolution explains all of the genetic diseases that one would thing an intelligent designer would be intelligent enough to avoid.

Medicine, the understanding of evolution aids in the the design of new, more effective medicines to help prevent and treat disease.

I find it important in understanding the development and evolution of insecticidal resistance.

 

[ChristineM]

I find it important in understanding the development and evolution of insecticidal resistance.

I guess the same with the flu virus

 

[Bear Wild]

Fleming and McShea examined the scientific literature for 916 laboratory lines of flies. They made many different measures of complexity in each population. In the journal Evolution & Development, they recently reported that the lab flies were indeed more complex than wild ones. Some of the insects had irregular legs. Others acquired complicated patterns of colors on their wings. The segments of their antennae took on different shapes. Freed from natural selection, flies have reveled in complexity, just as the law predicts.
The Surprising Origins of Evolutionary Complexity

So complexity is the norm. Environmental/natural selection actually puts limits on complexity. Mutation is a constant issue. Cells are constantly mutating in offspring. This is not caused by natural selection. It's a normal process of imperfect duplication. The TOE explains natural selection, how certain species came to survive, continue to exist. Imperfect replication explains the diversity.

A cell does not always perfectly duplicate. So over time, endless complexity. Natural selection is an explanation of why we have much less complexity than we should have.

Read the article and agree it is interesting but it still does not replace natural selection or Darwin's basic proposal. As in the case of the fungal proteins to move material through the cells the new protein started out as a neutral mutation which means it did not help or hinder survival. With the changes a new form of the protein emerges creating a more complex system to move products through the cells. That is a reasonable view and just says that some changes develop over time without direct selection against as long as they are not a burden but when they do become functional creating a more complex structure they are a benefit for survival. There is no reason for that not to occur but there already were proteins for moving materials already and the new protein is an advance in favor of selection. This may add to our understanding but does not really replace what we know.

 

[Salvador]

It is true my post was only about evolution and not abiogenesis. I see where I mad a mistake in my wording so I revised the statement to read better and restrict it to just evolution. Thank you for pointing out my mistake .

Why is the theory of evolution so important?

The earth being the center of the universe may have been the first major conflict between religion and the developing science but the theory of evolution now remains the center for conflict. So why is this theory so important to discuss?

I am proposing three reasons

1. Unlike any other explanation for the current life forms on earth and how they progressed, changed and became so interconnected on earth, evolution is the only one discovered rather than created in the past. Developed over time through careful observation despite what one would desire to believe. The theory crosses all nationalities and religions. As the evidence increased it developed increasing more depth rather than contradiction. It is our one explanation not depended on faith but one what is measured and observed.

2. As important, the theory of evolution shows just how we are related to all life in this world. Different than many creations stories that separate humans from all other life, evolution shows we come from shared ancestry and shared genetics most of which are well preserved through all life forms. All life has differences which make them unique yet evolution we share too much with other life forms to see ourselves as separate.

3. Most important of all the theories Evolution and Ecology intertwine and show just how much we are intimately interconnected. No organism lives alone but all are interdependent and developed the intimate relationships in time shaped by the environmental opportunities and selective pressures. Humans and animals cannot exist without plants cannot, flowers without pollinators fail to reproduce, bacteria are essential for digestion for so many animals, and trees communicate and support each other through fungi. Evolution theory with Ecology theory in combination are the only explanation for this relationship and to ignore this interdependence is to face the fate of so many creatures before us – extinction.

Evolution is simply significant enough gene pool changes within a species changing over the course of many generations resulting in organisms having genetic traits different enough from their distant ancestors; so that there'd be no possible sexual reproduction occurring between somebody who were to have distant ancestral genetic traits with anybody living in the current population.

The fossil record isn't the only evidence in support of evolution. There is other collaborating evidence, such as overwhelming genetic evidence of common ancestry between humans and other great ape species.

Specific examples from comparative physiology and biochemistry:

Chromosome 2 in humans

Main article: Chromosome 2 (human)

Further information: Chimpanzee Genome Project § Genes of the Chromosome 2 fusion site

Figure 1b: Fusion of ancestral chromosomes left distinctive remnants of telomeres, and a vestigial centromere
Evidence for the evolution of Homo sapiens from a common ancestor with chimpanzees is found in the number of chromosomes in humans as compared to all other members of Hominidae. All hominidae have 24 pairs of chromosomes, except humans, who have only 23 pairs. Human chromosome 2 is a result of an end-to-end fusion of two ancestral chromosomes.

The evidence for this includes:
The correspondence of chromosome 2 to two ape chromosomes. The closest human relative, the common chimpanzee, has near-identical DNA sequences to human chromosome 2, but they are found in two separate chromosomes. The same is true of the more distant gorilla and orangutan.
The presence of a vestigial centromere. Normally a chromosome has just one centromere, but in chromosome 2 there are remnants of a second centromere.
The presence of vestigial telomeres. These are normally found only at the ends of a chromosome, but in chromosome 2 there are additional telomere sequences in the middle.

Chromosome 2 thus presents strong evidence in favour of the common descent of humans and other apes. According to J. W. Ijdo, "We conclude that the locus cloned in cosmids c8.1 and c29B is the relic of an ancient telomere-telomere fusion and marks the point at which two ancestral ape chromosomes fused to give rise to human chromosome 2

Figure 1b: Fusion of ancestral chromosomes left distinctive remnants of telomeres, and a vestigial centromere

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_o...on_descent

Endogenous retroviruses (or ERVs) are remnant sequences in the genome left from ancient viral infections in an organism. The retroviruses (or virogenes) are always passed on to the next generation of that organism that received the infection. This leaves the virogene left in the genome. Because this event is rare and random, finding identical chromosomal positions of a virogene in two different species suggests common ancestry. Cats (Felidae) present a notable instance of virogene sequences demonstrating common descent. The standard phylogenetic tree for Felidae have smaller cats (Felis chaus, Felis silvestris, Felis nigripes, and Felis catus) diverging from larger cats such as the subfamily Pantherinae and other carnivores. The fact that small cats have an ERV where the larger cats do not suggests that the gene was inserted into the ancestor of the small cats after the larger cats had diverged. Another example of this is with humans and chimps. Humans contain numerous ERVs that comprise a considerable percentage of the genome. Sources vary, but 1% to 8% has been proposed. Humans and chimps share seven different occurrences of virogenes, while all primates share similar retroviruses congruent with phylogeny.

 

[The Anointed]

I believe that the Space station and all its earth bound infrastructure, have evolved from the wheel, and after billions of creations that followed the wheel, which were representations of the heights to which the mind of the creator had evolved with each creation. Finally the creator had the knowledge, the technology, and the material to be able to say, "And now let us create for ourselves a space station."

 

[MJFlores]

It hurts my faith in humanity is what it hurts. To know that there are people out there with opinions like yours based on obvious misconceptions and downright lies. People who throw out the words "I'm no white man." and expect to be taken seriously. Being forced to accept the knowledge that people that deluded and ignorant exist is quite painful, yes.

I am not a believer on Evolution
An Evolution which no person has observed
An Evolution with really require Faith to believe
The faith that nothing made everything

If that is the case then God's 6 day creation makes a lot more sense
It is were somebody [God] made everything