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Did Humans Evolve? No, Say Americans

Stern Thinker writes "In a 2005 poll covering 33 countries, Americans are the least likely (except for Turkish respondents) to assert that 'humans developed ... from earlier species of animals.' Iceland, meanwhile, has an 85% acceptance rating for evolution." The blurb on the site for Science magazine is less circumspect about the findings: "The acceptance of evolution is lower in the United States than in Japan or Europe, largely because of widespread fundamentalism and the politicization of science in the United States."

13 of 2,155 comments (clear)

  1. Current National Leadership? by DSW-128 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Well, when you look at the current leadership in this country, you can see why we don't put much stock in evolution - it apparently hasn't happened yet. (Now, where's that seperated at birth picture of the monkey and GWB?)

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  2. I agree that evolution is a lie by freddie · · Score: 0, Troll

    Here's why I don't believe in evolution:

    1. It doesn't agree with the fossil record. Evolution talks about small changes during millions of years. But the fossil record shows species appearing suddenly, and then staying the same over millions of years until they die out or until today.

    2. Evolution does not explain the existance of complex structures in animals and does not explain genetic diversity. Genetic diversity tends to be disposed by natural selection. So too, natural selection would dispose of any genes needed to form a more complex structure.

    Evolution does not make sense. Believers in evolution are driven by fear that they would not have a 'scientific' explanation for something. Fear of the unknown is a bad place to start a scientific inquiry from. Its too bad this fear drives much of science today.

    The US population may not have analyzed this in so much depth as I have, but they can smell the bullshit.

  3. creation problem by yu22h · · Score: 0, Troll

    I would like to ask the evolutionist thinkers what their view of creationism is all about. Personally I don't see much difference between the two fundamentally. Why would it matter if the big bang just happened, or a being caused it to happen and then natural science took its course?

  4. Re:The Perceived Threat of Science by the_demiurge · · Score: 0, Troll

    What does your god say about David Hume and the problem of induction?
    How do you know that the scientific method works?

  5. Lets teach GToD instead by rufusdufus · · Score: 0, Troll

    Who cares if some idiot in Kansas doesn't understand evolution. It makes no difference, weather people know and understand evolution make very little difference in our daily lives. Instead, lets teach the Germ Theory of Disease in place of evolution. It is far more disturbing that 50% of the people don't wash thier hands after using the restroom than how many don't believe in evolution. When people don't use good hygeine, they spread disease and that has a real effect on everyone.
    If we do a good job of teaching the GToD, evolution will fall out of it, because people will learn how bacteria evolve to become drug resistant.

  6. Religion and Science can coexist by Stakesauce · · Score: 0, Troll

    Creation is evolution. I'm not sure why they can't coexist. To God, waving a wand can take a second or a millenium. The world may have been built in 6 days but there's no saying how long a day is defined.

    This is not from an atheists point of view, obviously. But athiests are lazy thinkers.

  7. Re:The Perceived Threat of Science by Elwaryn · · Score: 0, Troll

    Show me anywhere that evolution (that is, where one species changes into another, one of many definitions) has ever been readily observable.

    Natural selection does not produce this effect. Now you're talking about a different definition of evolve. Natural selection simply allows the best examples of a species for a certain environment to survive other those who are not suited for the environment they live in. It makes the population strong. It does not change their species.

    There are many different definitions of evolve. Be careful which one you use at any given time.

  8. Re:The Perceived Threat of Science by Carpe+PM · · Score: 0, Troll
    A belief system that tries to preclude all others (you shall have no other gods) it seems will be threatened by any way of thinking that doesn't fit in its framework
    Like global warming! It's irresponsible to consider any other view than (todays) scientific opinion!
  9. Re:The Perceived Threat of Science by pizzaman100 · · Score: 1, Troll
    What is a "science zealot?"

    Richard Dawkins

  10. Re:The Perceived Threat of Science by aichpvee · · Score: 1, Troll

    "That is not evolution in the sense of simple beings evolving into higher life forms but rather "devolution" or genetic loss of information and decay in the gene structure."

    Are you a fucking moron? There is no such thing as "evolving into higher life forms" or "devolution." There is only adaptation to the selective pressures of an environment. This doesn't make anything "higher" or "lower" forms or make them "devolve", whatever that is supposed to mean. There is better adapted to an environment (more likely to survive), there is less adapted to an environment (less likely to survive), and there is dead (failed to survive, in case you're really that stupid).

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  11. Re:Note that is hopefully obvious... by mapkinase · · Score: 0, Troll

    1. The prediction is supported but not confirmed. They found some fossils of some apes or humans. As for apes fossils there is no proof that they are human ancestors. As for humans, well they are humans already. Goes down the tube with a whooshing sound.
    2. This is about microevolution that is only remotely related to macroevolution. Same here. Outrageously missing the target
    3. Too few details. Reference please.
    4. Phylogenetic analysis does not support anything. It has nothing to do with evolution.
    5. "Fit the predictions closely" is a subjective assessment. Totally unscientific like the whole "theory". Down the tube.
    6. Insect wings did not evolve from gills, that is only your unscientific hypothesis. Demonstrate evolution without missing steps, like scientists demonstrated microevolution without missing steps. So stoneflies need functional hemocyanin and they have it. Where does the evolution come?

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  12. Re:Note that is hopefully obvious... by Dausha · · Score: 0, Troll

    "Darwin predicted, based on homologies with African apes, that human ancestors arose in Africa."

    Yes, because those living in Africa are less evolved than those living further away--or blacks really are sub-human. At least, that's what Darwin's contemporaries said at the time. Eugenics is/was the logical conclusion of Darwin's prediction. Hitler was merely the political manifestation of that conclusion. There was an American text-book that taught evolution in the 20s that had a five-tier system for which race was more evolved--Black, Brown, Yellow, Red, White (or was it Black, Brown, Red, Yellow White--I can't remember, but I know Black was least and White most).

    Accepting evolution as true assumes that some humans are less evolved than others, which allows for value assignment.

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  13. Sun & Earth by DiscoFreq · · Score: 0, Troll

    I wonder how much of those fundamentalists believe that the earth is not flat and that the earth turns around the sun...