Question about evolution.

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_Thama
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _Thama »

Some Schmo wrote:It never ceases to amaze me how anti-evolutionists (intentionally?) use the words "theory" and "hypothesis" as though they are interchangeable. There's clearly no point trying to explain evolution to them if they can't even wrap their brains around that.


You guys do realize that Home Teacher is a parody poster, right?
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_Some Schmo
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _Some Schmo »

Thama wrote:You guys do realize that Home Teacher is a parody poster, right?

Well, I didn't know, but I had my suspicions.

The thing is that I've heard his "argument" so many times from people I've talked to in real life, I thought I would comment on it.
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_Thama
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _Thama »

What exactly is meant by "evolution"? You must answer this to be able to falsify it.

If it means Darwin's original ideas as presented in The Origin of Species, then it already has been falsified. While Darwin's basic framework formed the basis of modern biological thought, he got a lot of details wrong.

If it means the modern synthetic theory of evolution, then it's being falsified all the time. Then it is revised to account for the new data. That's how the process works. Dwight already commented on what it would take to make anyone want to crumple the whole thing up and throw it away.

If it means the idea that selection occurs in nature, or that organisms have changed over time, then good luck. These are observations, not theories... and remarkably well-documented and consistent ones at that. Altering or dismissing the theoretical framework doesn't make all of the information it was attempting to explain magically disappear. My note that the sky appears blue today does not have to be falsifiable in order to be scientific--it's just a point of data.
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_dartagnan
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _dartagnan »

If it means Darwin's original ideas as presented in The Origin of Species, then it already has been falsified. While Darwin's basic framework formed the basis of modern biological thought, he got a lot of details wrong.


True. Also, many evolutionists seem to think evolution explains the origin of life. A lot of commentators get this confused as well. Evolution only explains how life evolved, it doesn't even begin to answer the question, "How did life come to be?"
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_Thama
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _Thama »

dartagnan wrote: True. Also, many evolutionists seem to think evolution explains the origin of life. A lot of commentators get this confused as well. Evolution only explains how life evolved, it doesn't even begin to answer the question, "How did life come to be?"


Well, evolution could explain the origin of life, but it's true that abiotic evolution is a pretty distinct field. And much murkier, with regards to the quality of data that we have to work with.
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_bcspace
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _bcspace »

This is easy. Evolution is only a theory. This is why it is called "The Theory of Evolution."


You seem to be speaking of evolution as a hypothesis rather than a theory. A theory is a theory because there are some demonstrable facts associated with it. Hence it is much tougher to disprove evolution than "it's only a theory" implies.
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_Thama
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _Thama »

bcspace wrote:
This is easy. Evolution is only a theory. This is why it is called "The Theory of Evolution."


You seem to be speaking of evolution as a hypothesis rather than a theory. A theory is a theory because there are some demonstrable facts associated with it. Hence it is much tougher to disprove evolution than "it's only a theory" implies.


Does nobody here have a sense of humor?
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_Some Schmo
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _Some Schmo »

Thama wrote: Does nobody here have a sense of humor?

It's only funny if it's obvious satire. That post wasn't so obvious. I've read and heard that exact stuff from people who were being completely serious.

Trust me, I'm regularly looking for things to laugh at, and it's true; this idea that "it's only a theory" is a joke. But jokes tend to become less funny when you hear them over and over again.
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_Thama
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _Thama »

Some Schmo wrote:It's only funny if it's obvious satire. That post wasn't so obvious. I've read and heard that exact stuff from people who were being completely serious.


I think it's even funnier if the person is serious. Real stupidity is far superior to fake stupidity. Maybe that's just me.
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_Some Schmo
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Re: Question about evolution.

Post by _Some Schmo »

Thama wrote:
Some Schmo wrote:It's only funny if it's obvious satire. That post wasn't so obvious. I've read and heard that exact stuff from people who were being completely serious.


I think it's even funnier if the person is serious. Real stupidity is far superior to fake stupidity. Maybe that's just me.

hehe

Well, either funnier or scarier... or both. Perhaps that's why I laugh at horror flicks.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
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