Dinosaurs and Man

[Angrboda]

You know, I'm reading Victor Stenger's "God: The Failed Hypothesis," and it's astounding what we can determine about the universe, its origin and so forth on the basis of physics and simple arguments. Given the arguments that can be marshaled against the existence of God, arguing over this one data point seems rather insignificant.

But here's the thing. Even if we accept your data point as proven — instead of a potentially valid data point, that might be as Patton and others claim — even if we accept that the Paluxy man tracks are indeed man tracks, you still have a problem. And let's take it as given that we'll accept this as proof that the theory of evolution is false, you still have a problem. Even if they are man tracks, and they disprove evolution, that doesn't count as evidence of the truth of your God and the bible. Your God and your creation myth isn't the only creation myth. Let's suppose there are a thousand different creation myths out there, and you manage to refute them all, you still have a problem. No matter how many creation myths or scientific explanations you refute, none of your refutations is evidence that your creation story is true, for there are always possible creation stories you haven't refuted, and as long as there is one possible story not refuted, all your millions of refutations provide not a whit of reason for believing yours. Welcome to the fallacy of the misapplication of the law of the excluded middle. Ain't logic a bitch?

Enjoy your (disputed) data point. Would you like a free set of steak knives?

[Anomalocaris]

Even if paluxy tracks were indeed made by man and dinosaurs living at roughly the same time, it still does not disprove evolution. It only proves one of the many possible trajectories evolution could have taken, the one which we thought were actually taken, was not the one it actually took.

Indeed I would not fall out of my seat if it turns out that some unknown lineage of dinosaurs did indeed survive to coexist with man. It would be extremely surprising because we have hitherto searched so long for evidence in this direction and found none. But it would not require any alteration to my grasp of fundamentally how life works and how evolution produced the biosphere on earth. Indeed exactly analogous things - a group of creatures previously thought to be have arisen and fallen between two geological date markers, and leter found to have actually arisen tens of millions of years earlier and lingered on hundreds of million years longer - have happened. Take the Cambrian equivalent of dinosaurs, the anamalocarids. This group, an sister taxa to arthropods, looked like some hellish blend of praying mantis, menta ray, and lobster, and were like dinosaurs by far the largest animal on earth in its time and the apex predators in its environment. They were the marine arthropodian equivalent of brontosaurus and tyrannosaurs. It was long thought they arose at the beginning of cambrian and died out at the end of Cambrian. For almost 100 years no fossils were found to contradict this assessment of their tenure. But in just the last few years, careful analysis of one fossil found in Germany revealed this remarkable group, appearently related to the Arthropoda yet lacking many of the defining traits of Arthropoda, indeed existed for 100 million years longer, and still thrived in Ordovician.

To disprove evolution, one would need to establish independent origin for each and every inter-species variation of genome found in life on earth.

To bark at paluxy, you are not only not barking up the write tree, you are barking in an inappropriate orientation near a blade of something that won't qualify even as weed.

[Thor]

[quote='Thor' pid='294949' dateline='1338905073']

Okay, let's take a look at these numbers....

Ever think about gravity-based water systems and other technology?

Are you suggesting there was piping on the ark that provided water for 80,000 animals?

Ever think that some animals were hibernating?

And how many animals hibernate? Let's go crazy and say that HALF of the animals on the ark were hibernating. This would still leave over 5,000 animals for each person to care for. This is over 200 animals an hour, or 3 1/2 per minute. This allows 17 seconds to feed, water and clean the living space of each animal. And, again, this provides zero time for the people to tend to their own needs.

Your ark fairy tale is demonstrably ludicrous.

[ScienceLovesGod]

Even if paluxy tracks were indeed made by man and dinosaurs living at roughly the same time, it still does not disprove evolution. It only proves one of the many possible trajectories evolution could have taken, the one which we thought were actually taken, was not the one it actually took.

Indeed I would not fall out of my seat if it turns out that some unknown lineage of dinosaurs did indeed survive to coexist with man...

"There is an infinite variety of ways in which, since 1859, the general concept of evolution might have been demolished. Consider the fossil record--a little known resource in Darwin's day. The unequivocal discovery of a fossil population of horses in Precambrian rocks would disprove evolution." -Steven M. Stanley, Johns Hopkins University.

Don't you get it? If the human prints are found in cretaceous limestone thought to be millions of years old, evolution would be demolished. The entire fossil-dating methods would be officially useless. There would be a lot of angry people who wasted their life-savings to earn an education based on errors and lies. Millions of tax-payer money would be wasted as well.

---

Even if they are man tracks, and they disprove evolution, that doesn't count as evidence of the truth of your God and the bible.

And what if a team of archaeologists went to Mt. Ararat and videotaped their findings of Noah's Ark, and it was televised, and carbon dating proved it to be roughly 4,000 years old, and it was exactly the size the Bible said it was. What then?

[Annik]

Evolution has overwhelming evidence. Overwhelming. It's not a question anymore, truly. All controversy is stirred by scientific ignorance.

[Minimalist]

And what if a team of archaeologists went to Mt. Ararat and videotaped their findings of Noah's Ark,

Xtian liars have pulled that over and over and they are all full of shit. It is a cottage industry in Turkey and frankly, the more money they can take from ignorant xtian fools the better.

[Annik]

And what if a team of archaeologists went to Mt. Ararat and videotaped their findings of Noah's Ark,

Xtian liars have pulled that over and over and they are all full of shit. It is a cottage industry in Turkey and frankly, the more money they can take from ignorant xtian fools the better.

Armenia should be benefiting from the fools! Lol

[popeyespappy]

Don't you get it? If the human prints are found in cretaceous limestone thought to be millions of years old, evolution would be demolished.

That's exactly the point CreaFucktard. Human prints haven't been found in cretaceous limestone.

[Thor]

And what if a team of archaeologists went to Mt. Ararat and videotaped their findings of Noah's Ark, and it was televised, and carbon dating proved it to be roughly 4,000 years old, and it was exactly the size the Bible said it was. What then?

And this happening is about as likely as me bedding Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears at the same time. I take that back.... it's LESS likely. Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears actually exist.

[Annik]

And what if a team of archaeologists went to Mt. Ararat and videotaped their findings of Noah's Ark, and it was televised, and carbon dating proved it to be roughly 4,000 years old, and it was exactly the size the Bible said it was. What then?

And this happening is about as likely as me bedding Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears at the same time. I take that back.... it's LESS likely. Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears actually exist.

Oh, Thor, you don't exist, either! Get back to the comic books. ;D