Posts: 29107
Threads: 218
Joined: August 9, 2014
Reputation:
155
RE: Non-Evolutionists?
December 20, 2014 at 7:47 am
(This post was last modified: December 20, 2014 at 8:41 am by robvalue.)
Oh boy. I'm rather sick of people talking about evolution as if it's a conspiracy. It's about the stupidest thing anyone could say.
Science has had a lot of good results for something that's all just a big con, huh?
Did I go too far on that intro thread? I probably should have just blocked him sooner. I was trying to get him to see reason.
Posts: 7140
Threads: 12
Joined: March 14, 2013
Reputation:
72
RE: Non-Evolutionists?
December 20, 2014 at 9:48 am
(December 19, 2014 at 10:35 pm)MissR Wrote: Isn't the Big Bang Theory different than evolution? I am open to learning of new ways that we are therefore existing. But I threw the god theory out the window, too.
The two are completely different. The term "big bang" is a reference to what physicists believe was the initial expansion that created the universe. Initially used to mock the idea, it has since become the common reference to it.
Abiogenesis refers to the origins of life, and (this is my understanding) to date there seems to be bits and pieces of data that cannot be fit into a coherent whole yet. Due to the lack of both the exact conditions and the necessary time scales, we may never figure it out.
Evolution refers to two things: the process by which changes in the genetic code of living things effect changes to their offspring/descendants, and how this process has led to the diversity of life on the planet. The first is a fact; it is an observed phenomena that is well understood by scientists and researchers, seeing as it forms the basis of genetics and plays a huge part in biology and medicine. The second is a theory that explains the ways in which the process produced all of the different life forms, by tracing their lineage and finding the links between them.
The theory of evolution is subject to modification and revision, but at this point the idea of simply dismissing it would make no sense, as it has clear support through many discoveries and testing.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
Posts: 4196
Threads: 60
Joined: September 8, 2011
Reputation:
30
RE: Non-Evolutionists?
December 20, 2014 at 1:45 pm
a-BIO-genesis. The Big Bang is the origin of the building blocks not life.
You make people miserable and there's nothing they can do about it, just like god.
-- Homer Simpson
God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion.
-- Superintendent Chalmers
Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
-- Ned Flanders
Once something's been approved by the government, it's no longer immoral.
-- The Rev Lovejoy
Posts: 29107
Threads: 218
Joined: August 9, 2014
Reputation:
155
RE: Non-Evolutionists?
December 20, 2014 at 2:36 pm
(This post was last modified: December 20, 2014 at 2:37 pm by robvalue.)
Thanks. He really confused me. He was either putting on an act to begin with and was really just another religious nutter, or he had some sort of personality breakdown. I'm guessing the former.
Am I meant to be impressed with, "I don't believe anyone or anything ever!"
Posts: 3628
Threads: 20
Joined: July 20, 2011
Reputation:
47
RE: Non-Evolutionists?
December 20, 2014 at 4:22 pm
(December 19, 2014 at 10:35 pm)MissR Wrote: Isn't the Big Bang Theory different than evolution? I am open to learning of new ways that we are therefore existing. But I threw the god theory out the window, too.
The big bang is the science of cosmology and physics. It concerns how the universe got to be in its present state.
Abiogenesis is chemistry. It concerns the beginning of life from nonliving matter.
Evolution is the science of biology. It concerns the diversity of life.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
