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Happy Darwin Day everybody! For this sort of thread, I feel it is necessary to briefly explain how the theory of evolution, for which Darwin is best known, works. Male and female gametes (eggs and sperm) are created during a process called Meiosis. These are haploid cells, meaning they only have half the dna of a normal cell. When the gametes meet, the dna goes through a process called crossing over, in which the dna of the two cells are combined. It is very rare, but occasionally some acids will be lost or gained during this stage. This is what causes mutations. 99.9% of all mutants are still born, but a few will survive. A common example of a mutant that survives is an albino. If the trait derived from the mutation benefits the individual and gives it a competative advantage for food, water, shelter, or sex over the non-mutants, then it will be more likely to survive and reproduce, hence spreading the mutant gene. This process is called natural selection. Over a long period of time, The non-mutated population may be phased out completely. Over an even longer period of time, there are even more mutations created the same way. Eventually, the mutants will be so changed that they will no longer be able to mate and create fertile offspring with the origional, unmutated population (assuming they are not extinct). When this happens, they are then considered to be a different species!
Science and religion are not enemies.
on
Happy Darwin Day!
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· Score: 1, Insightful
To clarify, evolution and the theory of evolution are two different things. If you are talking about evolution, then you are refering to a change in a species over time. This is proven to occur and explains the great variety of different kinds of dogs.
The theory of evolution, on the other hand, refers to a theory that claims a species can evolve into into an entirely different species, most noteably, Homo neanderthalensis to Homo sapien. This theory has a great deal of evidence supporting it, and the only reason it is a topic of such controversy is because it contradicts popular interpretations of the worlds most commonly believed in religious texts. If you need to see some of the evidence for yourself, then just look inside you own mouth. Wisdom teeth were once used for the crushing of bones when predatorily feeding on other animals, however, due to the competitive advantages of being a more omnivorous species and the fact that bone provides little sustinance, the wisdom teeth in mankind evolved to be much smaller, and have become a nuisance.
Evolution today is much like Galileo's theory that the Earth rotated around the
Sun. Like evolution, it was ridiculed by the religious, to the point that Galileo was even persecuted for his beliefs. I expect that evolution will one day be proven, just like Galileo's theory. Evolution will eventually become completely accepted among the general populous, and a new theory will arise to take its place among Religion/Science debates.
It should be noted that Science is not the enemy of Religion. Science is simply an attempt at understanding the world around us by using a method involving evidence and proofs. Science has never tried to disprove the existance of a diety, and if a diety does in fact exist, Science should provide evidence supporting that. The utter lack of evidence supporting the existance of a god is what causes people to look at other possibilities.
The problem with religion is that it often leads to lazy or inaccurate science. The religious are overly eager to prove thier belief is valid and conclude that anything that cannot be readily explained is an act of God. Over time, this becomes the common belief in a society, and when a theory arises that challenges that belief, the public rejects it.
Evolution does not even contradict the Bible, Torah, or Koran, as I understand them, because the order in which the Gods of these texts created life are exactly identical to the order in which life was expected to evolve. Who's to say that God did not create man through the process of evolution? None of these texts describe exactly how Adam was created. The only thing the theory of evolution is guilty of is that it contradicts the commonly held interpretation of these texts.
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Lets not forget Mole Day (Chemisty).
Happy Darwin Day everybody! For this sort of thread, I feel it is necessary to briefly explain how the theory of evolution, for which Darwin is best known, works. Male and female gametes (eggs and sperm) are created during a process called Meiosis. These are haploid cells, meaning they only have half the dna of a normal cell. When the gametes meet, the dna goes through a process called crossing over, in which the dna of the two cells are combined. It is very rare, but occasionally some acids will be lost or gained during this stage. This is what causes mutations. 99.9% of all mutants are still born, but a few will survive. A common example of a mutant that survives is an albino. If the trait derived from the mutation benefits the individual and gives it a competative advantage for food, water, shelter, or sex over the non-mutants, then it will be more likely to survive and reproduce, hence spreading the mutant gene. This process is called natural selection. Over a long period of time, The non-mutated population may be phased out completely. Over an even longer period of time, there are even more mutations created the same way. Eventually, the mutants will be so changed that they will no longer be able to mate and create fertile offspring with the origional, unmutated population (assuming they are not extinct). When this happens, they are then considered to be a different species!
To clarify, evolution and the theory of evolution are two different things. If you are talking about evolution, then you are refering to a change in a species over time. This is proven to occur and explains the great variety of different kinds of dogs. The theory of evolution, on the other hand, refers to a theory that claims a species can evolve into into an entirely different species, most noteably, Homo neanderthalensis to Homo sapien. This theory has a great deal of evidence supporting it, and the only reason it is a topic of such controversy is because it contradicts popular interpretations of the worlds most commonly believed in religious texts. If you need to see some of the evidence for yourself, then just look inside you own mouth. Wisdom teeth were once used for the crushing of bones when predatorily feeding on other animals, however, due to the competitive advantages of being a more omnivorous species and the fact that bone provides little sustinance, the wisdom teeth in mankind evolved to be much smaller, and have become a nuisance. Evolution today is much like Galileo's theory that the Earth rotated around the Sun. Like evolution, it was ridiculed by the religious, to the point that Galileo was even persecuted for his beliefs. I expect that evolution will one day be proven, just like Galileo's theory. Evolution will eventually become completely accepted among the general populous, and a new theory will arise to take its place among Religion/Science debates. It should be noted that Science is not the enemy of Religion. Science is simply an attempt at understanding the world around us by using a method involving evidence and proofs. Science has never tried to disprove the existance of a diety, and if a diety does in fact exist, Science should provide evidence supporting that. The utter lack of evidence supporting the existance of a god is what causes people to look at other possibilities. The problem with religion is that it often leads to lazy or inaccurate science. The religious are overly eager to prove thier belief is valid and conclude that anything that cannot be readily explained is an act of God. Over time, this becomes the common belief in a society, and when a theory arises that challenges that belief, the public rejects it. Evolution does not even contradict the Bible, Torah, or Koran, as I understand them, because the order in which the Gods of these texts created life are exactly identical to the order in which life was expected to evolve. Who's to say that God did not create man through the process of evolution? None of these texts describe exactly how Adam was created. The only thing the theory of evolution is guilty of is that it contradicts the commonly held interpretation of these texts.