Do You Believe in Evolution?

[DrPhil]

http://news.msn.com/us/one-third-of-...ion-poll-shows

GCers, do you believe in evolution?

My thoughts:
There is ongoing debate regarding evolution (whether it exists and what it entails). I find this topic interesting based on debating "facts" and how debate is shaped by religion, politics, socioeconomic status and social class, race and ethnicity, and culture. I would be fine with people having different opinions regarding "facts" if the same people who want their right to an opinion weren't hypocrites who want their opinions to rule the world and dictate laws and policies.

[AOII Angel]

If you ask the expert scientists in the field, there is no debate regarding whether evolution occurs. It is supported by mountains of evidence. Evolution continues today with multiple examples seen in the medical world with bacteria and viruses and in the zoological world with insects, fish and other animals. More complex organisms, such as primates and humans are more difficult to show change in time shorter than thousands of years whereas less complex organisms can show significant changes in very short order. We can, however, demonstrate changes in overall height in humans over time for example. Development of genes for certain diseases like diabetes can be traced back in certain populations for centuries. Because we developed treatments for diabetes, we altered the course and the likely end point of evolution for that genetic mutation, ie. early death and poor procreation.

[DrPhil]

Right. This is both an interdisciplinary and layperson debate. Showing people images of animals that have changed over time should be convincing but people either ignore the evidence or believe there is another explanation for the evidence than evolution.

This isn't shocking because the average person around the world believes whatever they believe regardless. That includes human dynamics such as gender, sexual orientation, and race and ethnicity. I talk to people everyday whose opinions contrast any type of social, biological, and other types of evidence. At the same time, the billions of people in the world aren't obligated to believe everything scientists say and that's the same for all of our fields of expertise in which our field considers some things non-debatable. There are scientists who debate with each other, publish challenging research, and go to the media to announce "scientists may have been wrong all along." The key is to discuss things like evolution while also acknowledging there is some subjectivity and researcher bias.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

People who don't believe in evolution are dumber than people who don't believe in global warming.

[DrPhil]

I wouldn't call them "dumb."

I'm bothered by overpopulation (too many humans on the planet, birth rate and mortality rate, natalism, etc) to a greater extent than I'm bothered by global warming (as it is often presented). That goes back to the subjectivity of "evidence" and how people who dramatize and exaggerate for the sake of politics and attention whoring have done the global warming message a huge disservice.

But that's another thread.

[ADPiEE]

This is a good topic but I think you have to define evolution

http://ncse.com/evolution/education/defining-evolution


For example, I don't think anyone can dispute that organisms (including the planet) change over time. But, do we have any proof of a species changing into another species? I don't know and I haven't taken a science class in 20 years so I'm not up on the current research.

[DrPhil]

Read the article in the original post. It explains evolution for the purpose of the poll and thread. And there are people who believe that life has always been the same.

The "what is evolution" option was for the GCers who need to log off and sue their high schools and colleges.

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by ADPiEE

This is a good topic but I think you have to define evolution

http://ncse.com/evolution/education/defining-evolution


For example, I don't think anyone can dispute that organisms (including the planet) change over time. But, do we have any proof of a species changing into another species? I don't know and I haven't taken a science class in 20 years so I'm not up on the current research.

Yes. Over many generations, species can diverge into separate, new species. Often this is due to geographic isolation, ala Darwin's Galapagos finches. Let's say certain members of a species become isolated from one another...they're on different islands, in the case of the Galapagos. Over time, mutations occur in the separate populations, or environmental factors favor a certain adaptation. Members with this adaptation or mutation survive to reproduce. Over generations, the DNA differs to the point where members of a separated population can no longer reproduce with other members of the species, or other separated populations. At this point, you have new species with a common ancestor species. This has been happening throughout history. There is evidence in the geologic fossil record.

Individual members of species do not evolve into a new species.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

Individual members of species do not evolve into a new species.

So the people who look like horses and other animals are just having a bad day?

[DubaiSis]

Yes. Horse-faced women are semi-evolved horses. Or is that semi-evolved humans on their way to horsedom?

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

So the people who look like horses and other animals are just having a bad day?

Or a bad life.

[ADPiEE]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Read the article in the original post. It explains evolution for the purpose of the poll and thread. And there are people who believe that life has always been the same.

The "what is evolution" option was for the GCers who need to log off and sue their high schools and colleges.

The only thing I found in the article was:

Sixty percent of Americans say that "humans and other living things have evolved over time," the telephone survey by the Pew Research Center's Religion and Public Life Project h.

Surely there was more to the article? I mean, how can anyone dispute that things change....look at dog breeding?? I thought surely I missed something in the article

[Kevin]

The poll shows that magical thinking (or rather a caucus of magical thinkers) is key to GOP politics.

[AOII Angel]

This Huffpost article goes into much more detail into the findings of the poll.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4519441.html

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by ADPiEE

The only thing I found in the article was:

Sixty percent of Americans say that "humans and other living things have evolved over time," the telephone survey by the Pew Research Center's Religion and Public Life Project h.

Surely there was more to the article? I mean, how can anyone dispute that things change....look at dog breeding?? I thought surely I missed something in the article

"Sixty percent of Americans say that "humans and other living things have evolved over time," the telephone survey by the Pew Research Center's Religion and Public Life Project showed.

But 33 percent reject the idea of evolution, saying that "humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time," Pew said in a statement."

So, yes, there are people who believe that life has always been the same and people try to cite things like Noah's Arc. Dog breeding and "things changing" are not automatically considered evolution if people have another explanation for breeding and changes. Therefore, evolution is clearly defined and the "debate" is regarding three things: (1) whether there has really been the changes in species as claimed; (2) if there have been changes, how did the changes occur; and (3) is it possible to believe science and the spiritual realm work together. I believe in evolution and that life has evolved and that God and science go hand-in-hand. I also believe that while there is evidence of evolution, it is impossible for humans to 100% prove either side of the science vs. God debate. The article AOII Angel posted highlights how this issue is rooted in an either/or mentality.