Evolution Simplified

Hello.I am very intrigued by evolution but wouldn't consider myself very knowledgable in the field. About a year ago, I was debating my brother about the plausibility(?) of evolution. He is Christian, and uses some rebuttals brought forth by Creos and IDers', but I wouldn't haste to judge him as part of either camp.Anyway, I essentially "lost" the argument because he has a better understanding of science, and taken more classes in the subject. (Also, I was going through a phase; one in which I artificially gave myself confidence by ridiculing those who didn't agree with my often unsupported, and condescending assertions, etc.)Finally, to the point. He used two statements that I simply couldn't refute due to my want of education. One, the 2nd law of thermodynamics; I believe that has been thoroughly refuted on this thread already. And two, this was the last nail in the coffin, that the universe couldn't be billions of years old because of the overwhelming abundance of hydrogen in the universe.Are these valid criticisms of evolution? Does my brother misunderstand some fundamental concepts of science? Is my post even on topic?Any and all replies are greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time. Abe: "in the universe".This message has been edited by Infixion, 05-05-2006 12:04 PM

I'm pretty sure that is what he meant. It would help if I had a better grasp on what exactly he said. Moreover, he used our sun as an example. He said if the sun were "truly" as old as it is, it wouldn't have such a great amount of H. It would have, as you said, burned it all up, or at least burned more than it currently has.I didn't know how to respond to that.AbE: fixed quotes. I doubt it. He works full-time and attends school full-time. Furthermore, if he debated with the plethora of posters on this forum, he may very well learn more than what he had bargained for; or erect a wall of obstinacy.Lastly, he does have more knowledge in the field of science than I, but I wouldn't say vast amounts more; most of the science courses he has completed were introductory courses: chemistry, astronomy, and biology, I think.This message has been edited by Infixion, 05-06-2006 07:26 AM

Hi Coragyps. Interesting post, and I appreciate your help with this hydrogen concept. I'll fiddle around with it in hopes of obtaining a better understanding of it.

Hi Ned. I'm fairly certain he referred to the consumption of H in stars to disprove my assertions; more specifically, the sun. Coragyps provided an interesting method to roughly calculate the amount of H in the sun that has already burned and how much should be left.I thank you also for your reply.

Hello Chiroptera. Makes sense. I believe I have learned more about argument and logic since last "talking" with him, not much more, but enough to at least stand my ground and to plant a foundation for honing and better developing these skills.I thank you also for your reply.