RE: Creationism and Ignorance
May 2, 2018 at 2:42 pm
(This post was last modified: May 2, 2018 at 2:43 pm by Whateverist.)
(May 2, 2018 at 2:27 pm)FatAndFaithless Wrote:(May 2, 2018 at 2:20 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote: That is the broadest possible definition, similar to defining thinking as neurological state change. But a narrower definition is more useful.
When definition is used for rhetorical argument rather than to help guide an edifying experience, it is well to tailor the scope of the definition to the actual argument at hand.
Anom, what definition would you use if someone asked you to define evolution? Without spending paragraphs outlining every specific, "changes in allele frequency over time" is a pretty darn good starting point. And changes in allele frequency + time = speciation. if that were the definition that was popularized, I think we'd be in a hell of a lot better position than half the country thinking evolution means "your granddad was a monkey" or some shit like that. "Changes in allele frequency over time" isn't incorrect, and it's not misleading.
I think some mention of how natural selection works to bring in the feedback which actually enable future generations of organisms to better fit their environments over time would be nice.