Posted on 05/17/2007 9:02:34 AM PDT by Sopater
Five Major Misconceptions about EvolutionA large part of the reason why Creationist arguments against evolution can sound so persuasive is because they don't address evolution, but rather argue against a set of misunderstandings that people are right to consider ludicrous. The Creationists wrongly believe that their understanding of evolution is what the theory of evolution really says, and declare evolution banished. In fact, they haven't even addressed the topic of evolution. (The situation isn't helped by poor science education generally. Even most beginning college biology students don't understand the theory of evolution.)
The five propositions below seem to be the most common misconceptions based on a Creationist straw-man version of evolution. If you hear anyone making any of them, chances are excellent that they don't know enough about the real theory of evolution to make informed opinions about it.
- Evolution has never been observed.
- Evolution violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
- There are no transitional fossils.
- The theory of evolution says that life originated, and evolution proceeds, by random chance.
- Evolution is only a theory; it hasn't been proved.
[snip; emphasis added]
Check out the article for the details.
Wrong.
At a molecular and DNA level the theory fails.
Wrong
The vast majority of mutations (insertions, tranpositions, deletions) are lethal.
Wrong
The molecular cascade of A>B>C>D>E>F>G>H>I>J>K etc., to produce a particular pigment protein is impossible via random mutations.
Not quite sure what you're referring to, but it sounds wrong.
Score: 0/4 0%. Suggest you learn a little more about your subject matter and try again. Good luck!
You need to explain why he/she is wrong. Your post is meaningless otherwise.
I disagree, but I'll play.
1. The cornerstone of evolution is natural selection. There is nothing random about natural selection. It is incorrect to say that evolution is "based solely on randomness."
2. The genetic evidence for evolution is overwhelming. Mitochondrial DNA, for example, mutates at a predictable rate. By counting the number of point mutations in two genomes, we can estimate the date of two species' last shared common ancestor. Amazingly, the dates calculated by this method are almost always identical to the dates generated by morphological analysis and the fossil record. I could get into more genetic evidences for evolution, but this is another completely ridiculous point.
3. The vast majority of mutations are benign. This is a simple factual question where the poster clearly has no idea what he/she is talking about.
4. Again, I don't quite know what the poster is trying to say, so it's a bit hard to refute that statement.
Much better. Now I can read why you said what you said.
I'm not sure that ill-informed online rants always need point-by-point technical refutations. Sometimes, it's better to call a spade a spade and move on, rather than taking the time to refute every 9/11 conspiracy theory, every UFO sighting, every attempt to deny the Holocaust, etc. Not every delusion deserves diligent discrediting.
Intelligent Design
is Creationism
Don’t be fooled
By a stupid sign
Burma Shave.
“Another popcorn and purging thread?”
I ate an entire extra large bucket myself, yesterday at the movie theater. :(
Oink oink!
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