Is Evolution True? | Benzun's Perspective

[DonFelipe]

It seems that depsite the 240+ posts to this site no-one has picked up on the fatal flaw in initial question, choosing instead to get involved in this very tiresome evolution vs. creation debate.

Evolution is merely a model, (no doubt incomplete and in some ways flawed), it is certainly not a "fact" as someone stated several pages ago. It is a theory which allows us to make predictions (to some extent), and which seems to be supported by some of the experimental evidence mentioned in the various posts.

It is only a model, however, and if someone can comes up tomorrow with a theory that better fits the evidence, or provides greater predictive ability, then that would (hopefully) be adopted by the scientific establishment.

As such evolution can't be "true" - it is merely that it hasn't been disproved or superseded yet.

DF

 

[Phobos]

Kind of getting into semantics here. As has been stated many times (in these CvE debates, if not this thread), it's a fact that life evolves (changes over time) and the Theory of Evolution is the model that explains how it happens and what has been the history of it. The Theory is still being refined to this day (and will always be with the discovery of new fossils, etc.). We are more likely to see more refinement to the theory than to see a wholesale replacement of it, given the strong evidence supporting the current theory. But, sure, it's possible, if it can explain everything the current theory does (at least as well or better) and more.

 

[spuriousmonkey]

As such evolution can't be "true" - it is merely that it hasn't been disproved or superseded yet.

Why don't you give us a better model then.

And on a sidenote (I can smell a creationist here) creationism has been discarded as a model a 150 years ago. And no, it is not coming back.

 

[Euphoriet]

I saw this famous biologist on Tv once.. he studied slugs and he talked about how humans could be evolving with every generation... The program was part of the Tech Tv... does anyone know what I am talking about?

 

[Loren Booda]

Did this person (he or she) win the Nobel or other esteemed prize?

 

[spuriousmonkey]

Evolution does occur after each generation.

Each product of a single successful reproduction is another intermediary state on the evolutionary 'bush'


(no, I don't have a nobel prize)

 

[Nereid]

It seems that depsite the 240+ posts to this site no-one has picked up on the fatal flaw in initial question, choosing instead to get involved in this very tiresome evolution vs. creation debate.

Evolution is merely a model, (no doubt incomplete and in some ways flawed), it is certainly not a "fact" as someone stated several pages ago. It is a theory which allows us to make predictions (to some extent), and which seems to be supported by some of the experimental evidence mentioned in the various posts.

It is only a model, however, and if someone can comes up tomorrow with a theory that better fits the evidence, or provides greater predictive ability, then that would (hopefully) be adopted by the scientific establishment.

As such evolution can't be "true" - it is merely that it hasn't been disproved or superseded yet.

DF

Welcome to Physics Forums DonFelipe!

As Phobos said, part of the richness of the English language is the multiple meanings which a word may have; in the case of 'evolution', the fact is beyond question - for example, every extinction is evolution (I mean, does anyone assert that 'the Passenger Pigeon is extinct' and 'the Dodo is extinct' are not facts?), the theory is alive and well.

For a theory as successful as that of evolution to be superceded means its replacement has to explain all that the theory of evolution now explains, and more. I'm not aware of any theories in modern science which completely re-wrote their predecessors - what happens is that the new theory has a broader scope, and is 'just like' the older theory within the narrower scope of that older theory. An example is General Relativity and Newtonian gravity - GR is essentially the same as Newton's theory for the solar system.

 

[BlackVision]

"Fundamentalist Christiantians - fascinating. These people actually believe that the world is 12 thousand years old. Swear to God. What the..? Based on what? I asked them. 'Well we looked at all the people in the Bible and we added 'em up all the way back to Adam and Eve, their ages - 12 thousand years.' Well how f***ing scientific, okay. I didn't know that you'd gone to so much trouble. That's good.

You believe the world's 12 thousand years old? 'That's right.' Okay I got one word to ask you, a one word question, ready? 'uh huh.' Dinosaurs. You know the world's 12 thousand years old and dinosaurs existed, they existed in that time, you'd think it would have been mentioned in the f***ing Bible at some point.

'And lo Jesus and the disciples walked to Nazareth. But the trail was blocked by a giant brontosaurus... with a splinter in his paw. And O the disciples did run a shriekin': 'What a big f***ing lizard, Lord!' But Jesus was unafraid and he took the splinter from the brontosaurus's paw and the big lizard became his friend. And Jesus sent him to Scotland where he lived in a loch for O so many years inviting thousands of American tourists to bring their fat f***ing families and their fat dollar bills. And oh Scotland did praise the Lord. Thank you Lord, thank you Lord. Thank you Lord.

Get this, I actually asked one of these guys, OK, Dinosaurs fossils - how does that fit into you scheme of life? Let me sit down and strap in. He said, 'Dinosaur fossils? God put those there to test our faith.' Thank God I'm strapped in right now here man. I think God put you here to test my faith, Dude. You believe that? 'uh huh.'

Does that trouble anyone here? The idea that God.. might be.. f***in' with our heads? I have trouble sleeping with that knowledge. Some prankster God running around: 'Hu hu ho. We will see who believes in me now, ha ha.' [mimes God burying fossils] 'I am God, I am a prankster.' 'I am killing Me.'

You know, You die and go to St. Peter... 'Did you believe in dinosaurs?' 'Well, yeah. There was fossils everywhere' Thuh [trapdoor opens] 'Aaaaaaarhhh!' 'You f***in idiot.' 'Flying lizards, you're a moron. God was f***in' with you!' 'It seemed so plausible, ahhhh!' 'Enjoy the lake of fire, f***er!'"----Bill Hicks

 

[nautica]

DIE THREAD! DIE!

Any point brought up at this point will already have been cover in at least 1 of the 250 previous post.

Warning to all new posters of this thread. If you want to join in, take the time to read every post or you will be BANNED from all internet use until Christ returns. Depending on ones belief the banishment could last for a day or for eternity.

Nautica

 

[Bheather]

There is a lot of passion in this exchange

Being a Theravada Buddist I don't believe in any kind of "higher power", however I understant that it took the Catholic Church a lot of delibertion to finnally agree that evolution was not contradictory to catholic beliefs, and presumably Christian beliefs in general.

Edit Evo: Sorry, this thread should have been locked, our guidelines on religious discussion have changed since this thread started.

Please do not dig up old threads.