[redrock]

"Name them"

You're doing just fine in proving that yourself.

When I find a fossil....it's proof that an animal existed.

When I start to come up with how it lived and it's social structure...that's a theory.

I guess the problem with all this arises in that those who totally believe in Evolution insist that it's THE way it happened. Their minds are never open to anything else..any other possibility. To those "Evolutionists"....evolution is a proven fact...as close-minded as any Wahabi could wish for.

Personally...I believe that evolution is a good starting point. But it is NOT the total answer.

redrock

[Coyoteman]

To those "Evolutionists"....evolution is a proven fact...as close-minded as any Wahabi could wish for.

Evolution is based on a lot of facts (see my list of definitions, above). These facts have been gathered over hundreds of years. The theory of evolution is a well-supported and well-tested theory, developed over the last 150 years.

The scientists who study evolution are not close-minded as you suggest, but they are not going to ignore the results of science for no good reason.

Since you seem to have something specific in mind, what hypothesis do you suggest scientists address as an alternative explanation to the theory of evolution?

[narby]

When I find a fossil....it's proof that an animal existed.

But the existence of the animal was not a scientific hypothesis in the first place. It is a fact, a piece of evidence, which is a different thing.

When I start to come up with how it lived and it's social structure...that's a theory.

No, that's a hypothesis. A scientific "theory" is a general explanation for how things work. Such as the "theory of gravity" (which is very little understood, by the way), the "theory of evolution", or the "theory of music". Gravity, evolution and music all exist, but to explain them in scientific terms takes a theory.

[CarolinaGuitarman]

"You're doing just fine in proving that yourself."

Non-answer.

Again, it is disturbing that someone who hasn't a clue about what a scientific theory is is teaching children science.

[Fester Chugabrew]

The building blocks are all the same. Therefore everything may reasonably be assumed to have common origins. But history? This is much more difficult to ascertain, and cannot be done empirically. Many confuse reasonable conjecture with immutable fact. Evolution is largely reasonable conjecture. Immutable facts are hard to come by. Science is more subjective than it cares to admit. Legislatures are not entitled to outlaw evolutionspeak. Nor should they be asked to endorse creationspeak. These are things we as a free people may enjoy in our respective vocations. You are correct in asserting that evolution is a religious conviction for many people, but they are entitled to those convictions - within limits of course. For example, if they want to invoke Darwin to practice eugenics, the law should come down hard on the first practitioner.