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Author Topic:   What i can't understand about evolution....
caffeine
Member (Idle past 1052 days)
Posts: 1800
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Joined: 10-22-2008


Message 92 of 493 (492333)
12-30-2008 8:46 AM
Reply to: Message 90 by Blue Jay
12-29-2008 11:50 PM


Re: 95% Percent of the Time.
quote:
And, 95% of Americans think the "j" in "Beijing" is pronounced like a French "j." They're still wrong, too.
I think this is a bad example to demonstrate your point. If it's true that a vast majority of Americans pronounce it that way (that's how I say it too), then surely that's how it's pronounced in American English. How universal does a shift in pronounciation need to become before it's a linguistic shift and not just people being wrong? And it's not really relevant how the Chinese say it. The French don't pronounce any 's' in 'Paris' and there isn't a 'g' in the Czech for 'Prague' (sorry for the nitpick).
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As for evidence of evolution in modern biology - there's plenty of it, and I'd imagine you'd already heard the most famous examples - so please explain why you find them insufficient. There's the geograpghicsl distribution of animals and plants - why do species on the Galapagos seem to most closely resemble species on the nearest South American mainland, as opposed to species living in the same sort of climate? Why is Australia full of marsupials absent in the rest of the eastern hemisphere, but didn't have any placentals until recently (except those that can fly), unless placentals evolved after Australia split from the other continents?
Why do structures used for completely different purposes in different species appear to have the same basic structure. The leg of a cheetah, the arm of a monkey, the flipper of a dolphin and the wing of a bat are all made out of the same set of bones; the complicated machinery orchids have evolved for pollination, including insect mimics and the like, all seem to be modified petals and other parts that are shred with other plants - what sensible explanation for this is there other than common descent?
Why do whales have vestigial leg bones, and why don't humans have backs that can handle upright living without widespread back complaints?
Of course, you could explain all of these things with divine creation, but then you could explain anything with divine creation. Regardless of the actual nature of reailty, you could always retort that God just wanted it that way, which is why divine creation is such a unsatisfying answer when others exist. It's a 'brain-in-a-jar' argument.
What would you consider evidence for evolution in biology?
Edited by caffeine, : No reason given.
Edited by caffeine, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 90 by Blue Jay, posted 12-29-2008 11:50 PM Blue Jay has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 94 by Blue Jay, posted 12-30-2008 12:42 PM caffeine has not replied

caffeine
Member (Idle past 1052 days)
Posts: 1800
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Joined: 10-22-2008


Message 110 of 493 (492439)
12-31-2008 10:12 AM


Wardog - it might help to remember that the genome of every single lifeform on the planet today is encoded in DNA using the same four amino acid bases. In every single lifeform, this is transcribed into RNA, which then translates this code (using exactly the same language) into proteins built from exactly the same 20 amino acids. Yeast, giant redwoods, cows, snails and people are all built out of the same stuff. There being no distinction between kinds at this basic level of organisation, the only reason we could assume a population of bacteria couldn't gradually evolve into a population of manatees through an accumulation of changes would be to show that there's some necessary intermediate that just wouldn't be possible as a viable lifeform. I don't see any reason why we should think this.

Replies to this message:
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