quote:
so you are certainly uncertain about evolution and relativity?
I am very certain that the theory of evolution is basically correct. I am as certain about that as Ptolemy was that the sun went around the earth.
That is, all of the evidence is consistent with the theory of evolution. Much of the evidence is such that if it were different then they would pose problems for the theory of evolution. There are no known mechanisms that would account for the same evidence in the absense of evolution, and some of the contrary positions (like a single global flood in historical times) are contradicted by the evidence.
In fact, not only is the theory of evolution compatible with the known laws of science, but the laws of science, as presently known, demand that evolution should occur, and would have occurred if the earth really is more than a few million years old.
So, like Ptolemy contemplating the universe, I am as certain as I am about anything that the theory of evolution is fundamentally correct.
However, looking at the example of Ptolemy's astronomy, I acknowledge the possibility that maybe, just maybe, there is a better theory that has not yet been thought up yet that will do a better job at explaining the data that we have now, as well as the data that we will acquire in the future. But, seeing the wonderful agreement between evolution and the data we have now, and how evolution would have been disproven if the data had been different, I consider the possibility of a different and better theory to be very low.
Edited to fix some awkward grammar.
This message has been edited by Chiroptera, 02-25-2005 12:44 AM