Why is evolution hiding?

[LostLocke]

A half-ape half-human in support of evolution would be like looking for a half-child half-elder to support aging.
You transition from a child to an elder, you don't just suddenly become one. If there were half-child half-elders walking around, that would alter our understanding of the aging process. Same for evolution.

[Phatt Matt s]

Please tell me why it would not be a huge support of Evolution if in the last 10,000 years we were gradually seing certain apes become more like humans?

Because evolution and hybridization are two different things. You'll see creationists who don't understand evolution crowing about how we don't see fish people or Crocoducks or some other nonsense, without realizing that the changes of evolution take place over many generations and years, so you wouldn't get half X and half Y. You'd just get a standalone animal that is cladistically similar to its ancestors, and with foresight, similarly... similar to those of its next generation.

Shouldn't we still have half reptile/half mammal?

[Esquilax]

Shouldn't we still have half reptile/half mammal?

Well, that depends. With those reptiles that became the mammalian lineage, what we find is that the mammalian traits were so conducive to the environment they were born into that they were selected for, while the reptilian traits were selected against; one breeds out, the other stays in and grows more pronounced. That's just a product of the environment that lineage had to survive in.

Now, it's entirely possible that today a reptile could evolve mammalian traits, or vice versa, and those traits would be selected for. But as of right now? that hasn't been the case. But lineages do die off; we don't see every last creature to ever exist around today. In fact, most of the animals that have ever lived on earth are now extinct.

[My imaginary friend is GOD]

Shouldn't we still have half reptile/half mammal?

WHAT? Pretty sure the answer is no.

[Darkstar]

Whoa, fast thread.

As I said, when I see human beings with computers, vehicles, planes, spaceships, satellites, microscopes, microwaves, credit cards, pharmacies, fast food resturants, towers, and gorillas cannot even compete with a fraction of what the most indigenous humans accomplished and gorillas don't grow in wisdom and ingenuity. they stay the same century after century after century.

Humans aren't evolving these technologies (or rather, the ability to create them) in a biological sense. Humans build on the work of past generations (the old "standing on the shoulders of giants"); if all technology were suddenly wiped out, along with any instructions on how to rebuild it, we would go back to the stone age, despite not being genetically altered or having any less raw brain-power. I have no idea where the threshold on brain-power is for a species to begin technological and cultural evolution, but apparently humans surpassed it at some point, and other primates have not evolved in that way. One more thing to note is that evolution does not have a goal; if apes can survive relatively well as they are, they will be less likely to evolve greater intellect than if said intellect is the greatest factor in keeping them alive.

Shouldn't we still have half reptile/half mammal?

That depends on what you mean by 'half'. When some people look for transitional species, they look for half one thing and half another, like the infamous crocoduck:
(In case it wasn't obvious, crocoduck isn't real)

When a transitional species is found, it isn't half and half in the respect that you can cut it down the middle, but rather that all (or at least most) traits are somewhere in between the two species.

[Phatt Matt s]

As I've said, I'm not too hostile toward evolution but will argue so as to learn. I will say, that Im passionately oppossed to those who say I KNOW (as if it is certain) why the human race is here and how they got here. It isn't clear.

---

Whoa, fast thread.

As I said, when I see human beings with computers, vehicles, planes, spaceships, satellites, microscopes, microwaves, credit cards, pharmacies, fast food resturants, towers, and gorillas cannot even compete with a fraction of what the most indigenous humans accomplished and gorillas don't grow in wisdom and ingenuity. they stay the same century after century after century.

Humans aren't evolving these technologies (or rather, the ability to create them) in a biological sense. Humans build on the work of past generations (the old "standing on the shoulders of giants"); if all technology were suddenly wiped out, along with any instructions on how to rebuild it, we would go back to the stone age, despite not being genetically altered or having any less raw brain-power. I have no idea where the threshold on brain-power is for a species to begin technological and cultural evolution, but apparently humans surpassed it at some point, and other primates have not evolved in that way. One more thing to note is that evolution does not have a goal; if apes can survive relatively well as they are, they will be less likely to evolve greater intellect than if said intellect is the greatest factor in keeping them alive.

Shouldn't we still have half reptile/half mammal?

That depends on what you mean by 'half'. When some people look for transitional species, they look for half one thing and half another, like the infamous crocoduck:
(In case it wasn't obvious, crocoduck isn't real)

When a transitional species is found, it isn't half and half in the respect that you can cut it down the middle, but rather that all (or at least most) traits are somewhere in between the two species.

Also, I know if the factors you mentioned were present, we would be back in the stoneage. The point is, if human beings are so similar to apes (not the human kind), why have the Gorillas of today shown no significant evidence that they are any more intelligent than the Apes 10,000 years ago.

If we are so similar to them, why is there such an enourmous difference?

[Rampant.A.I.]

Environmental adaptation

[ThePinsir]

Shouldn't we still have half reptile/half mammal?

Not today. The "intermediates" are extinct.

You can still see evidence though, for example, in how the 3 bones of the reptilian jaw slowly became part of the inner ear in mammals.

[My imaginary friend is GOD]

As I've said, I'm not too hostile toward evolution but will argue so as to learn. I will say, that Im passionately oppossed to those who say I KNOW (as if it is certain) why the human race is here and how they got here. It isn't clear.

I think what is happening to you is that you do not know enough about evolution.

I suggest what you do first is this:

1. Go to google and type "define:evolution"
2. See if it is the case that what pops up is all stuff you already know.
2A. If it is all stuff you already know, so far things are good.
2B. If any of it is stuff you did not already know, you now know. So now things are good.
3. Underneath Google's definition of what "evolution" is, click the Wikipedia link that says "Evolution."
4. Read the entire entire Wikipedia page on evolution.
5. Click links to clarify things you don't understand (make sure they open in a new tab if you are using Firefox).
6. If you still have the same questions, continue searching however way you can think of to possibly answer your questions.
7. Quit when it becomes no longer worth it to be doing 6.

[Rampant.A.I.]

That or just go here:

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_01