(February 2, 2009 at 4:10 pm)bozo Wrote: Just watched David Attenborough's new series, which was shown last night in the uk, on Darwin's " Tree of Life ". It is unmissable and is a series so don't miss it!
For those of us who are no experts on evolution, it makes Darwin easy to take in, and it's also a fab piece of anti-creationism.
I saw the first episode - it was brilliant!
I just forgot what day that was on. What day (of the week) was it? I don't wanna miss next week!
Quote:Now a question for you experts, and one I've seen faith-heads raise, if we evoved from apes, why are apes still around?
The programme last night didn't explain, so can somebody help me please?
Why wouldn't they still be around?
They've reproduced - the best 'SPECIES' doesn't win out, its who/what reproduces the most, its the genes - and they're still around.
As evolution is like a tree and not a ladder - they; and us apes too, - are descended from a common ancestor.
And they're still around because they're well - still around.
They've survived because they've reproduced. Whether there's less other apes than humans or not - if they survive they survive.
Its not the species that compete. Its not even the individuals that compete.
Its reproduction that competes - its the GENES that compete.
And for instance - with the title of Dawkins' first book - The Selfish Gene - the stress is NOT on the word selfish - its on the word gene - as I've heard Dawkins say himself. The title has been misunderstood in the past; at times.
Its: The Selfish GENE.
Its NOT: The SELFISH Gene.
If there's a stress at all - its on GENE and not selfish.
So other apes are still around because their genes have survived (by being passed on through reproduction) and are different enough for them to not be considered humans - by us humans.
Hence we ask questions like: Why are other apes still around?
Well because they are! They've survived. But it ultimately comes down to genes and reproduction. Not individual selfish survival or survival of the 'species'.
We ask questions like: "Why are OTHER apes still around?" and yet there's less than 2% difference in DNA between chimps (and also bonobos) and humans.
I believe I heard on the program that that's about the same difference between a lion and a tiger or something?
Also I heard on QI that if you shaved a lion and a tiger completely bare they'd look basically identical.
Except tigers also have striped marking on their skin. That's how you tell the difference.
So lions and tigers are a lot closer than I thought as well - at least in my experience - I thought there was more difference than that
