Refuting Evolution

[houseofcantor]

No, because ban.

A hypothesis, or speaking from experience there?

I got banned from religiousforums; on others I had my posts edited. In general they seem to share the delusion that "beliefs should be respected."

[Angrboda]

A hypothesis, or speaking from experience there?

I got banned from religiousforums; on others I had my posts edited. In general they seem to share the delusion that "beliefs should be respected."

Fuck "should be respected" - I got put on post moderation on a Buddhist forum for posting an answer rooted in Rawls' theory of justice because it was not "from a Buddhist perspective."

(Ironically, the forum is named, "Buddhism Without Boundaries". Many Buddhists exhibit equally as puke worthy behavior as Christians or Muslims.)

@Zazzy: You're asking ceteris paribus when it should be mutatis mutandis. They may not display the same high level psychological behaviors in the same low level behaviors, but that doesn't mean the high level behaviors aren't similar.

[Diirez]

Let's explain why evolution can happen without a creator.
Evolution runs off of mechanisms; mutation, migration or gene flow, genetic drift and natural selection.

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Mutation- A lot of people think that mutations cause wacky, abnormal changes, like four eyes and two noses. Actuality a mutation can be as subtle as two green beetles having an offspring and the offspring comes out brown. Then that brown beetle goes off and mates and starts spreading the mutated gene around until now there are now brown and green beetles. The abnormal mutations usually cause a death before reproduction or if it does survive and the gene is harmful then the generations with the gene will eventually die out.

Migration- Suppose a brown beetle joins a population of all green beetles, now there's all new gene pools mixing and you can create variations that way.

Genetic Drift- So suppose two beetles are happy and loving parents and have four baby beetles. Two are green and two are brown. Now someone's just happening to walk by and steps on one of the green beetles. Now there's two brown and one green, so the next generations are going to be more brown than green because there are more brown beetles by chance. That's genetic drift.

Natural Selection- There is nothing intelligent about natural selection. Sticking with the beetles analogy. Let's change it up, suppose there's a population of red and tan beetles. However, the red beetles are more easily spot by birds so as time goes on, the birds are only eating the red beetles because they're easy to spot from the sky. Eventually there's going to be a small or nonexistent red beetle population, but the tan beetles are going to be spreading their genes like crazy because they aren't getting eaten as frequently.

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[Darkstar]

The claim that Evolution may happened (UN-intelligently) is the biggest hoax in modern science

Because some random guy who doesn't even understand evolution (at least at the start of this thread, though these things don't tend to sink in from my experience) is going single-handedly to topple the foundations of modern biology. Not likely.

[Cyberman]

It's not really about overthrowing science, when you get right down to it. It's a twisted chain of faux logic: science says that things happen without the need for a god - that opposes my religious sensibilities - science must be wrong - I must Gish Gallop through popular science literature - voila, my god is real - all praise my god or suffer the consequences of my imagination - send money (my god loves money).

Something like that, usually.

[TaraJo]

I've been taking all kinds of biology courses in college and I'm seriously thinking of going for a biology degree after I finish my associates in science. Truth is, evolution exists and it's the foundation of EVERYTHING in biology. That is not an exaggeration.

More to it, genes are real and genes can change. We can change them ourselves but our environment can change our genes, too. And the genes in our offspring can change, which is basically what happens with evolution.

Not only that, but we all rely on technology that is based on that idea. Specifically, we use drugs and vaccines that are based on knowing bacteria and viruses will change (aka evolve). If you deny that evolution exists, you're also forced to not understand why we can't manage to cure HIV. If you're going to reject evolution in textbooks, you should also be rejecting those medical treatments.

I think the most frustrating thing about the whole creationism/evolution debate is that people actually take the creationist side seriously. Mos of what I hear from them is pseudo scientific garbage, all dressed up in twenty dollar words to make them sound like they know what they're talking about.

[Lemonvariable72]

The Islamic view towards Evolution

Islam doesn't deny evolution totally (Human are an exception of course)
On the contrary, there are many references in Islamic texts that Evolution may happened

God created all livings from a single source (a water)
24:45. Allâh has created every moving (living) creature from water. Of them there are some that creep on their bellies, and some that walk on two legs, and some that walk on four. Allâh creates what He wills. Verily Allâh is Able to do all things.

There are many similarities between human and others
6:38. There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered.

It is even mentioned in other Islamic texts that God created some creatures similar to human that lived on Earth before us (But they were less intelligent)

Even if evolution is false, similarities between species point to the same creator.

So................. What is the argument?
The claim that Evolution may happened (UN-intelligently) is the biggest hoax in modern science

It can be refuted by many ways!

If that is not true then how coe they couldbuse pigs insulin to treat diabetes?

[Cyberman]

I can go even simpler than that - why are humans made of meat, bones, blood, arteries, skin, fur, squishy organs etc, just the same as other mammals? Why do we have an identical (for all intents and purposes) body plan to other mammals, especially apes and monkeys? Why, on that most fundamental level, are we indistinguishable from other mammals? What makes humans an exception (of course)? Our intelligence? Rats and squirrels are known to have exceptional intelligence and problem-solving skills. Our opposable thumbs, allowing tool use? Whoops, Guy the Gorilla says no. Our DNA? Some species of amoeba have as much as 200 times more DNA than we do; in fact, we only have one-twelfth the DNA of an onion.

What, exactly, makes humans so special that we could only have appeared by god magic?

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I was going for simpler, wasn't I? Never mind.

[Minimalist]

Whenever someone states that they can refute evolution I always have to wonder why they haven't managed to write a science paper, get it peer-reviewed, and then published.

Generally its because they are merely some theistic asswipe who is impressed with his/her own sophistry.

[orogenicman]

I can go even simpler than that - why are humans made of meat, bones, blood, arteries, skin, fur, squishy organs etc, just the same as other mammals? Why do we have an identical (for all intents and purposes) body plan to other mammals, especially apes and monkeys? Why, on that most fundamental level, are we indistinguishable from other mammals? What makes humans an exception (of course)? Our intelligence? Rats and squirrels are known to have exceptional intelligence and problem-solving skills. Our opposable thumbs, allowing tool use? Whoops, Guy the Gorilla says no. Our DNA? Some species of amoeba have as much as 200 times more DNA than we do; in fact, we only have one-twelfth the DNA of an onion.

What, exactly, makes humans so special that we could only have appeared by god magic?

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I was going for simpler, wasn't I? Never mind.

Even more, if evolution does not occur, why do all placental mammals share the same endogenous retrovirus that has been implicated in the development of the placenta, yet other mammals, such as marsupials and monotremes, do not.