Question:
Is evolution of species still a theory ?
nunjah
2012-12-08 07:46:30 UTC
Do you believe in evolution ? Do u really think we can see, smell, feel, hear, etc, just because we wanted this so much while in unicellular forms, that in time, it really happened ?

Do you really believe hens were dinosaurs and humans were monkeys ?

For me, believing in evolution is like believing that one day, chickens, dogs and cats will be able to work on computers, read, talk, etc, same as apes did by evolving into us.

I find it hard to believe this
Eleven answers:
andymanec
2012-12-10 08:34:20 UTC
I think your understanding of evolution is a little off. It's understandable - it's a complex subject, and it's hard to understand some parts of it without a grad school-level understanding of biology, so it's no wonder that people have a hard time grasping it with a high school-level understanding of biology. To make matters worse, it's often taught poorly, and there's a lot of misinformation out there.



So, first things first, evolution is a theory, but it's a theory in the scientific sense. The scientific meaning (and the *original* meaning) of the word "theory" is a comprehensive explanation of something. A theory draws from lots of evidence, and can be used to make predictions. In other words, a scientific law tells us *what* happens, and a theory tells us *how* and *why* it happens. A theory is not a guess, and a theory can never graduate into a law, nor can it be boiled down into a simple fact.



It looks like you're making the (very common) mistake of looking at evolution like a ladder. It's really more like a branching tree. Species split off into other species, and different groups follow their own evolutionary paths. Existing species NEVER evolve into other existing species, and existing species never evolve twice. Monkeys, for example, will never evolve into humans - and humans did not evolve from monkeys. We share a common ancestor (which was monkey-like, but biologically speaking, as different from modern monkeys as it was from us). That ancestor went extinct loooong ago.



It also looks like your ascribing intent and planning to evolution. In truth, it's not a thinking process. It's not even really a process - it's a result. Each new generation is the same species as the previous, but there are always small variations. You're not exactly like your parents. Individuals born with a beneficial trait have a survival advantage, and therefore have a higher chance of living long enough to reproduce - and pass that beneficial trait on to the next generation. Repeat enough times, and you start to see larger changes.



Finally, don't think of evolution as having a goal. We humans are most definitely not the "pinnacle of evolution" or any other such nonsense. Our intelligence is just one survival trait. Biologically, it's no different from an elephant's strength, or a mouse's fast reproductive cycle, or a cockroach's ability to eat virtually anything. Intelligence has obvious benefits, but also pretty big drawbacks (our brains account for 20% of our body's energy usage, they're large and vulnerable, they complicate childbirth, etc). Intelligence happens to work for us (and our ancestors were in a position to make use of it, otherwise it never would have evolved), but it doesn't work for all other species. It might evolve again in another species, given enough time, but it's far from certain.



I recommend checking out the link below. There's a really good introduction to the subject. I also recommend studying up on biology - you can't hope to understand how life changes over time if you don't understand how life works in the first place.
Mark
2012-12-08 08:55:45 UTC
To the layman, the word "theory" means a guess or a hunch or an unproven idea. This leads to a lot of misunderstanding of the scientific definition of that term.

In science, "theory" is the end result of the scientific method. A theory is the paradigm, the currently-accepted explanation of whatever is being addressed. A complete theory addresses the question in detail, has been massively confirmed by experiment from many different researchers, and has been published and peer-reviewed.

That describes Darwinian Evolution very well. There are still questions of a very minor nature, such as whether evolution occurs constantly at an expected rate (the "steady state" idea) or in "bursts" (the "punctuated equilibrium" model).

However, the essential mechanism and natural history of evolution is so well-proved and has such massive and interconnected evidence that it's essentially irrefutable. Save for Creationists and other religious zealots who simply refuse all evidence and keep coming up with ad hoc arguments that have all been refuted many times.

"Just a theory" has no meaning in science; "theory" is what it's all about.



However.... All theories are provisional. If superior evidence is found, then the theory must change or even be abandoned.... There are very few absolutes in science. That being said, the evidence for Darwinian Evolution is so massive that we would have to abandon the vast majority of current scientific thinking in all fields for it to be abandoned.
anonymous
2012-12-08 08:52:59 UTC
Evolution is not now just a theory it has been observed in the laboratory and confirmed by many means. Of course it hasn't been confirmed for higher species but its as much an established fact as almost anything in science.



Hens were not dinosaurs and humans were not monkeys. That's a complete misinterpretation of evolutionary theory and natural selection. It true that birds have a common ancestor in dinosaurs and certainly true that humans have a common ancestor with modern apes. But suggesting they were apes is not accurate at all.



Evolution is the most parsimonious of explanations and a very powerful one. Its the easiest way diversity on earth in all its forms could exist.

You seem to have closed your mind to this based on ignorance of the theory.



There has never been another real contender to explain biological life on earth> That's what makes Darwin so important. He devised a theory without any understanding of the mechanism that could produce it. Then later, much later DNA was discovered and the mechanism was understood. that's such a powerful event in science.

Your comment and cats and dogs and computers shows your ignorance of how evolution could work.



On the God issue. If God used evolution as the mechanism he is a sadist. So thats that one out. Of course using the term God just raises more questions. There is evidence for evolution. There is no evidence for God.
Ilkka
2012-12-09 11:20:55 UTC
evolution is like drawing a line on a paper. pick up a pen and take an empty sheet of paper. then barely put any pressure on the pen and start drawing a line. keep putting more and more pressure on it and you'll notice how the line changed from barely being visible to a really thick. now put the first human ancestor (ardipithecus ramidus) at the first end of the line and homo sapiens sapiens at the darker end. to be honest, this line should have many more lines coming from it, all different colours and thickness'. if you draw another line with another pen and start from the first spot and draw it in a more equal manner to another direction, you can place the chimpanzee here. the first point is merely the common ancestor of the modern homo sapiens sapiens and the modern pan troglodytes. you see, both chimpanzees and humans have evolved (just like every other species) completely randomly. it's just that hominins (homo sapiens sapiens' ancestors) evolved more drastically due to their habitat not being suitable, while chimpanzees didn't have the need to, so they didn't evolve as much. the human evolution started due to habitat changes and the early ancestors needed to adapt to it by starting to walk on two feet. brain enlargement followed, which forced the female hips to change and social habits would change as well. there are plenty of books to read about it and i'm not going to explain the whole thing here.
Paul B
2012-12-08 08:44:31 UTC
Do I believe in evolution? No. I do however, accept it to be the best supported explanation of the origin of species.The theory is supported by so much evidence, from so many disciplines, that it's hard not to accept. Evidences include for example, the ever growing fossil record, comparative anatomy / morphology, comparative genetics - DNA and mtDNA, embryology, geology, observations in the lab, observations in the field. I can simply see for myself, that species are related - a rook to a carrion crow, a mistle thrush to a song thrush - and relatives share ancestors.



Actually it's more than a theory - it's a bunch of scientific theories of biological evolution. The exact mechanisms are still up for study and debate - but it would be pretty incredible to deny the evidences of biological evolution in general.



Hens were not dinosaurs. Humans were not monkeys. No evolutionist claims that. Populations evolve and diverge over many generations - not individuals suddenly. Birds evolved from a founder population of (probably) theropod dinosaus during the Jurassic. Humans evolved from populations of late australopithecines, that in turn had evolved from populations most likely of ardipithecines. The fossil record is now impressive.. Sure, go back far enough, (around 25 million years ago), our lineage was represented by a prehistoric population of old world monkeys.



Like most critics of Evolutionary theory, you do not grasp how it works. Nature selects for fitness - not intelligence or human like abilities. Other species are under no evolutionary pressure to become human. Nature selects traits that aid survival and reproduction. Not the ability to use computers.
Ranger
2012-12-08 07:52:44 UTC
No, it is not a theory any longer. DNA research coupled with Genetic Research has proven evolution is occurring.



Even the Catholic Pope now states that evolution is real, but part of gods plan.



Back to the ol' no one knows how God did it argument. The Bible simply says we are made from dust. It doesn't say how it was done. Did he start with dust and then come up with a finished product or did he make mankind slowly by our time, but only a few days by Gods time?
Trans Am Man
2012-12-08 08:02:03 UTC
Yes. Evolution is still a theory because it's not yet widely accepted, this is because most people are retarded...including yourself.



I looked it up and even though it's just as confirmed as gravity, it's still a theory.



By the way, i'm probably the most skeptical person I've ever met and don't believe in everything I read, unlike you who can't comprehend seventh grade level biology.
?
2012-12-08 15:12:37 UTC
It's simple.



Evolution is a fact. Allelic frequencies in populations do change over time.



Theories go about explaining the processes that change allelic frequencies.
stines
2016-11-28 07:27:21 UTC
I desire I had the source for this, even nonetheless it became a college textbook (no longer truly even severe college), and that i've got not got it anymore. yet they spoke of that if evolution occurred because of the fact the assumption states, then we'd anticipate one style of life (say, guy) to be greater heavily correct interior the DNA to the style from which it progressed. That is clever, and that's not complicated to purpose scientifically. in fact, even nonetheless, that DNA shows random links. Like snake venom is regarding a minimum of something different than what we'd anticipate, or mice are greater heavily regarding a pair type that even an evolutionist could have a complicated time pertaining to evolutionally. Does this make sense? I desire i ought to remember the life varieties they listed (yet that became greater advantageous than 10 years in the past, so supply me a injury, ok?), however the assumption caught. Now, sometimes it is genuine. In different cases, that's not. i found 2 articles that it is truly useful to examine. permit's positioned it this form: If I confirmed you my form new Mercedes interior the driveway (i've got not got one, yet for the sake of argument...), and you reported, "Wow! How ought to you handle to pay for this style of effective vehicle!" nicely, assume I instructed you, "Oh, i did no longer purchase it. I basically went down and blew up the landfill, and all of the factors for the vehicle basically fell mutually interior the fallout, and the main landed ideal next to my ft. It became sooooo cool!" you may ask your self what psychological wellness middle I had escaped from and could additionally be form sufficient to take me back to it! yet that's what evolution says. If we blow up sufficient landfills, at last something usefil would be created. confident, the possibilities are great, yet sometime we will hit gold. that's lots much less perplexing to have faith in clever layout, regardless of in case you do not have faith in God the way I do, than to have faith in a mathematical impossibility. of direction, if there is not any God, there is not any sin, meaning you're able to do regardless of you sense like. that's area of the vast charm of atheism.
.
2012-12-08 09:54:45 UTC
80 foot (25 meter) dinosaurs (man-eaters) are still alive today. They live under our level by the way. They will use sinkholes and lakes to come out to our level to play a game. Demons ride in UFOs. Don't go into a UFO ship to be healed by demons! Aborted babies go to hell for 33.5 years to grow up there in the dark. Abortion needs to be stopped! New documents lead to hell. Reject the chip, the evil plastic small world grey passport, and the 666 tattoo by lasers from hell! Antichrist is an evil flying pale gay man with red eyes from the tribe of Dan. God is one. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man! Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only. Christ preached in hell; those who believed, got out of hell. Orthodoxy is the only Biblical faith. pravoslavie.ru/english/55141.htm youtube.com/watch?v=QYZ49eCro2E esv.scripturetext.com/revelation/13.htm esv.scripturetext.com/revelation/14.htm bible.cc/1_john/1-5.htm
anonymous
2012-12-08 10:38:16 UTC
Yes it's a theory





like gravity and electricity.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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