Is evolution really a fact?

Question

Many people in Yahoo answers love to say that evolution is a fact. As I understand it, that is only partially true. There are six types of evolution.

Cosmic evolution- the origin of time, space and matter. Big Bang.
Chemical evolution- the origin of higher elements from hydrogen.
Stellar and planetary evolution- Origin of stars and planets.
Organic evolution- Origin of life from inanimate matter.
Macroevolution- Origin of major kinds.

and

Microevolution- Variations within kinds. *This one is a fact. No denying that.

Can anyone please give me an example of how any of the first five types of evolution can be called a fact?

Answer 1

According to the Bible, anyone who denies the existence of God is a fool. Why, then, are so many people, including some Christians, willing to accept that evolutionary scientists are unbiased interpreters of scientific data.Creation is by definition "supernatural." God, and the supernatural, cannot be observed or tested (so the argument goes), therefore Creation and/or Intelligent Design cannot be considered a science. As a result, all data is filtered through the preconceived, presupposed, and pre-accepted theory of evolution, without alternate explanations being considered.However, the origin of the universe and the origin of life cannot be tested or observed. Both Creation and evolution are faith-based systems when they speak of origins.If Creation is true, then there is a Creator to Whom we are accountable. Evolution is an enabler for atheism. Evolution gives atheists a basis for explaining how life exists apart from a Creator God. Evolution denies the need for a God to be involved in the universe. Evolution is the “creation theory” for the “religion” of atheism. According to the Bible, the choice is clear. We can believe the Word of our omnipotent and omniscient God, or we can believe the illogically biased, "scientific" explanations of fools.

Answer 2

Cosmic evolution: No such thing. Creationists deliberately try to equate the Big Bang theory with Evolution, despite the fact that they are in two entirely different fields of science. In this case, cosmology and biology.

Chemical evolution: No such thing, and once again a deliberate conflation of two entirely different fields. As before, cosmology and biology.

Stellar and Planetary Evolution: No such thing. Again with the deliberate conflation. This is the field of astronomy, not biology.

Organic Evolution: Again no such thing. The fields confused here are abiogenesis (chemistry) and biology. The two overlap, but they are not the same thing.

Macroevolution: Creationists invented this word to describe the transformation from one species to another. There is no such thing. There is only "evolution".

Microevolution: See above.



The reality: Evolution is the process by which life forms change over time through mutation and natural selection. That's it. Period. Nothing about stars, planets, or life from non-life. The ToE deals exclusively with life that is already present. If you want to challenge abiogenesis, the Big Bang, or the rest, then address your query to the proper fields.



Tell me...if you move an inch at a time, can you eventually cover a mile? That is how speciation occurs...little by little, small changes over time adding up...usually when one group of a species is isolated in some way from the rest.

Answer 3

@The Big Best Deal:



If the origins of life are based in divine creation, then no, they cannot be tested. If, however, they are based in natural processes, then they can be tested. Of course, at this time evolutionary theory hasn't discovered the origins of life, but there is evidence.



Of particular interest is the discovery of the potential for the natural formation of RNA. This is conspicuous because it is dependent upon a type of common sea clay which binds to certain amino acids, forming RNA while also allowing it to pass through lipid membranes.



As you may already know, evidence points to the origins of life at sea by virtue of the fact that if you look far back enough, you'll find that all animals were aquatic. RNA is a component found in all living cells. And biological processes on the cellular level are dependent upon the ability of chemicals to pass through lipid membranes. So it is significant that a common sea clay could be involved in the natural formation of RNA while simultaneously possessing the ability to pass through lipid membranes.



This is not proof of the origins of life, but it's almost certainly a step toward it. Evolutionary theory is full of such evidence. For example, the fact that fully aquatic mammals, unlike fish, have hip and leg bones. This is highly suggestive that these aquatic mammals once possessed the ability to walk on two legs. What other possible purpose could their be for these animals having skeletal systems more similar to land mammals than to the fish they bear a closer outward resemblance to?



Creationists usually fall back on the idea of the "missing link". Yet even when shown the missing link (for instance, dinosaurs which could fly, were covered in feathers, had hollow bones, and looked more or less like birds) they deny it.



Again, all of this does not mean that evolution currently has all the answers. But that's why it's a theory. It's a strong theory with mountains of evidence to back it, yet there are plenty of unanswered questions at this point.

Answer 4

You need to be corrected. Evolution has many definitions, like the progression of something simple to something more complex.



However, in the study of evolutionary science, that rule does not always apply.



For example, there are more genes (chromosomes) in a grain of rice than there are in a human being.



Its important to understand what evolution is when it comes to talking about origins of species. It does not include the study of cosmology or astronomy. Nor is evolution the study to try and explain something out of nothing.



In very simple terms, evolution only covers observable life and the study of the evidence of life before us and a means to explain where a species came from. Whether extinct or alive today.



Cosmology describes a science to explain the universe which does include only what we have discovered now. Which is the big bang, and it's logical to assume that we don't fill the holes with god just because we haven't found the next answer or answers, yet.



Don't be afraid that because the earth is no longer flat that you have to give up your religion. You don't. You just have to catch up to the reality of the 21st Century and adapt by reading non religious web sites for a while. Because I see clearly, you got that from a fundamentalist Christian web site and this is not what they teach at major universities for one to obtain their PhD.

Answer 5

"Chemical evolution" is a fact - we have observed the formation of elements in stars.

"Stellar and planetary evolution" are facts - we have observed stars forming and stars "dying", we have observed planerary accretion discs around stars.

Biological evolution is a fact - we have observed species changing and we have observed new species separating from existing species.



The Theory of Evolution (comonly called just "evolution") is an explanation of the observed facts of biological evolution. So it can be said to be both a fact and a theory.



Your first 3 items are not part of the Theory of Evolution, they fall under fields of physics and cosmology. The 4th is Abiogenesis, agan a different field of study.



"cosmic" and "organic" are supported by the evidence that we can see although we have not observed the events taking place.

Answer 6

You are downright wrong about the first four.



Biological evolution is an observable process in living organisms where offspring are not identical to their parents but have slight differences which will affect their probability of going on to reproduce.



This, in conjunction with spatial or temporal isolation, can lead to a single population diverging into two which are incapable of interbreeding.



To claim that this is impossible is akin to claiming that no matter how many far you moved one centimetre at a time, you could never end up a kilometre from your initial position.

Answer 7

O.o....



You just stuck evolution after completely different theories, people say that a lot of biological evolution is fact (that encompasses microevolution mainly which convientiently you've left out).



Organic evolution is actually abiogenesis, which is what you guys should be targeting instead of evolution.



Macro and micro evolution are about biological evolution which is what everyone whines about.



All the rest have to do with physics.



Now, can you please ask a question where I don't have to start from pre-school.

Answer 8

I don't believe people state Evolution is a fact.

I firmly believe most people, principally

the atheists who post here, accept Evolution as a theory, but a very well researched theory and one that has stood the test of time and is almost certainly correct.

There is Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Newton's Theory of Gravity, which people accept as being accurate, but as with all things scientific, cannot be proved beyond a shadow of doubt.

Surely Creationism is a theory too, but I know which theory I believe is the more feasible.

Answer 9

If by "kinds" you mean species, then we refer to micro and macro evolution. All the Theory of Evolution refers to is how species differentiate from one another. It doesn't refer to the Big Bang. It doesn't refer to nuclear fusion. It doesn't refer to nebulae. It doesn't refer to the formation of organic chemical compounds.



In scientific usage, a theory does not mean an unsubstantiated guess or hunch, as it can in everyday speech. A theory is a logically self-consistent model or framework for describing the behavior of a related set of natural or social phenomena. It originates from or is supported by rigorous observations in the natural world, or by experimental evidence . In this sense, a theory is a systematic and formalized expression of all previous observations, and is predictive, logical, and testable. In principle, scientific theories are always tentative, and subject to corrections, inclusion in a yet wider theory, or succession.

-wikipedia



To give an example, I could show you the fossil record, or genetic similarities between related species. You would likely "refute" me by pointing out holes in the fossil record in Darwin's time, ignoring 150 years of discoveries since then, and treating a theory like the first time it is proposed it will or should look at it will after more evidence has been gathered. Alternately you might point out that people are genetically related to bananas, to which I would say yes, but we are far more related to chimps than bananas, and our relation to bananas genetically only lends weight to the claim that all life is descended from a single primordial ancestor.



@Chic Chick: Congratulations! Now you get to discover why people laugh at creationists!



"Personally the chances of all of this falling together from chaos is 1-64 power. 1 in 1+64 zeros."



#1 you get these numbers where? I think you pulled them out of nowhere. #2 (I'm assuming the hyphen means "to the") 1 to the 64th power is still just one. 1x1 or one to the second power is one, and that pattern goes on forever. #3 1 in 1^64 is not the same as 1^64. It's it's inverse.



"The chances of this type of perfection evolving is less than zero not even a probability."



According to you, the probability of evolution falling into place is one to the sixty-fourth power, or one. A probability of one means that it definately happened. Alternately, you mean 1 in 1^64, which, I admit would be a really small number that you gave me citing no source. However, that number is still above zero. It's a very small positive number, and though if you understood calculus you could argue that the limit might be zero, supposing we knew what equation (if any) you used to arrive at this figure, zero is equal to zero. Zero is not less than zero, as you claim.



"Logic should tell any intelligent person that everything built has a builder and the proof of the builder is the building."



Let's ignore the fact that even if I personally have never spoken to the designer of a building, someone else has. That's what proves the builder. The plans filed at city hall and signed by the builder whom we've seen exists and the corresponding building built by the plans prove the builder. Logic tells me that you don't know what logic, probability, exponent, mathematical notation,positive and negative numbers, the mathematical concept of "zero," the number one, or the Theory of Evolution mean.



@mothernatureisgod: you claim that man was born on the 6th day that lasted 1000 years on an Earth that is 5 or 6 thousand years old according to your young Earth creationism. okay, so how does that fit with the 5 or6 thousand years of history you claim is recorded in the Bible? Mankind, by your "logic," could at best be one thousand years old, where God has yet to rest thus refuting everything written in your magic book after Genesis chapter 2 verse 1. And another creationist attempt to logicks was failed, and it was good.

Answer 10

Your talking about completely different fields of study, separating micro-/macro-evolution concepts from evolution theory, and it's abiogenesis not "organic evolution".



Evolution theory is not a fact, it as proposed explanation of the variation of species supported by facts. It is named a theory because there are no facts which disprove the theory, and all known facts support the theory.

Answer 11

It's a fact like gravity is a fact.



Evolution generally refers to biological evolution, and the micro/macro is an arbitrary division of scope of study. There is no clear dividing line since there is no mechanism limiting change.



This is a typical Creationist fallacy -- divide an entity and then lump in a series of unrelated entities, then attack the group.

Answer 12

Most often when speaking of evolution one means biological evolution. Which has been proven. Science does not make a distinction between macro and micro evolution. I can tell that you have been reading creationist literature. Or, you had an evolution is a lie sermon today at church. Instead of mocking something that you have no understanding of, why don't you study biology and then make your decision.

Answer 13

Yes, evolution is really a fact in the same way that gravity is a fact. The theory of evolution explains this fact in the same way that the theory of gravity does.



Although the word may be used for other things, it generally means biological evolution. The concepts of macroevolution vs microevolution are religious attempts to undermine science, and do not actually exist in biology. The very notion of a "kind" is religious in nature.

Answer 14

When people refer to evolution, they are talking biology. Pulling in the others to also mean "evolution" is a typical creationist ploy. Same with "micro" and "macro" evolution - there is no such distinction in biology. "Macro" evolution is what you get when you stack billions of years of tiny changes into big changes. There are no magic "species markers" which make sure species remain the same overall.



That said, the amount of data collected to support big bang up to and including planetary formation is staggering - that is why it is a scientific theory.



The only one in the list that is not is abiogenesis - that is why it is hypothesis (several, actually)

Answer 15

The basic modern model of biology is well supported by observation of the facts. There is currently no significant debate on the role of evolution in the development of the current biological world, none.



Your dismissing the years of man labor, and careful developed consensus of modern academic thought, in this area is of no account. Should you like to offer a counter theory, or serious objections to the current one, please do.

Answer 16

Dude, there's no such thing as micro- and macro evolution. there's just evolution. And there's over 150 years of research supporting the fact that evolution occurs.



Aside from that, as a biologist I've seen evolution occur in the lab, and I've seen the evidence for evolution in the environment.



It happens.

Answer 17

Common debating tactic:









- evolution is a theory... just like quantum physics, relativity, modern chemistry, and the ideas that underlie all of medicine, engineering, aviation, etc.



- if something is "just a theory" then it's not a "fact"



- anything that's not a fact can be ignored.









See a problem?

Answer 18

Yes, evolution is a fact.



What is referred to as 'evolution' in science is only the last two - and microevolution and macroevolution don't mean anything close to your definitions. In biology there are no "kinds". You might want to read up on the real meaning of those terms.



Why is it that american christians feel the need to argue against facts?

Answer 19

The theory of relativity is not a fact

the theory of gravity is not a fact

the theory of evolution is not a fact



that is because scientists will not use the word fact. the strongest they'll use is "law".



But evolution is so well-supported, it may as well be a "fact".

Answer 20

Evolution = Theory

Do you want to know what else is a theory?



Gravity



Theories have TONS OF MERIT. Mmkay?

Answer 21

it is a THEORY. it is called Darwins THEORY of evolution. i believe it is a fact, but i will not be completely convinced until they find "the missing link." we found cavemen, we found wooly mammoth, we even found T-Rex, we still have yet to find the missing link between man and ape. it probably has been found, but they wont let us see it, that would ruin religions grasp on most peoples feeble minds. religion is big business and power. we still do not have the link. this is still a giant debate, and a great arguement inspiring question. good job, lots of people will respond

Answer 22

There's also the Mitsubishi Lancer Wagon Evolution. Someone please explain to me how this so called "wagon" can possibly be construed as fact!

Answer 23

Don't forget the Lancer Evolution ;)

Answer 24

EVERY action that you can think of, cause reaction & it is ALL CHAINED together starting from some event. after a long time it change it shape to the most Natural course. that can be call evolution.



2000 years ago the Humans might this hard to swallow (belief), but Today at 2008 year, some should. To me, i'm sure this is over 90% TRUTH of the events. i can elaborate more but that will confuse you. Unless you understand those below, i will. (to a TRUE GOD Believer, The TRUTH MUST be PREVAIL! sort of JIHAD for the TRUTH.)



a liitle about me;

i used to be Atheist before 17 sept 2008. on the 18 sept 2008 after coming to this forum & after some reading the thought below suddenly Struck me & from that day onward i'm sure God really do exist. i actually know Bible maybe about 5%, Quran maybe 0.01% (just started), but whatever i get to know from this PAIR of Holy Book, i understand & i'm sure both are the TRUTH but nothing but the TRUTH.



:God 6 days is equivelent to us 6000 Human years. God 1 day IS NOT! Human 1 Day.

=> Chained-event



=> God Created Universe (say Religion).

=> God's will + Fire elements = Created the Sun (should be day 1 according to the PAIR of Holy Book.)

=> God's will + Sun = Created Water element (from Holy Books)

=> God's will + Water elements = Created Air element (should be day 2 according to the PAIR of Holy Book.)

=> Water elements + Air elements (can be proven by science) = created Earth (planet Earth was form in galaxy).

=> Earth + Water elements (can be proven by science) = created TreesPlants



:now ALL that have existed: God, Universe, Air , Earth, Water. TreesPlants.



=> God, Universe, Air, Earth, Water, TreesPlants = Created Adam & Breathing Lives that DONT need Fire elements (Sun) (my conclusion from Science + Religion of both Islam & Christian).

=> Adam + God's will = created Eve (from Religion in Both Quran & Bible)

=> Adam & Eve + Fire elements (Serpent) (Sun, Serpent, Devil, Hell are consider Fire) = Created MANKIND! & Breathing Lives (most of them evolute from beneath water).



..above are my conclusion that comes from Religion (Both Islam & Christian) + SCIENCE (supported Scientific explaination).



..here come the BIRTH of Religion...Discovery of Tree of Knowledge (Sort of Discovery that GOD do EXIST!) (QURAN + BIBLE: story of the Serpent & Tree Of Knowledge)



=> Mankind + God TRUTH (God Existent) = Created RELIGION



=> Religion + New Discovery = Created Hinduism, Buddhistism & whateverism (if i'm not mistaken) which Naturally evolve till come to the age Christian.



=> Jesus The 100% TRUTH.



..after Jesus die..



=> Christian the 100% TRUTH (ONLY that era) become POWERFUL & most God seekers become UNITED to ONE Christian Religion.



..as time goes..the urge of greed in ONE individual Discover/Research/Created Lies.



=> Christian + Liars = Created UnFairness Christian Law.



=> UnFairness Christian Law (started 1% & increasing bit by bit) + Suffering Humans = wisdom of seeking TRUE GOD again



=> True God Seekers + God's will = Discover Different Views & SPLITS Christian up to Christian A, christian B, christian C...it naturally evolute by itself.



..too many cook, spoiled the soup..



=> More CONFUSION (Blinding of Religion) + GREED = Created Frustration/fed-up with Lies Human (slavery) (Very UNFAIR to certain group of Humans)



=> New Group + God's will/God TRUTH (BIBLE) = Discovery/Research/Upgraded/LatestPatch/... ISLAM ...using Bible as guildlines.





..rest of the story you people should know better, i actually know Bible maybe 5%, Quran maybe 0.01% (just started)..

..also notice Islam is Repeating Cristian mistake by where they are also SPLITTING to Islam A, Islam B, Islam C, Islam Osama..



=> God's will + Electricty (Fire elements) = Created Computer

=> God's will + Computer = Created CYBER SPACE (internet)



..this Cyber Space Era will be the next ERA (same as Religion, is it so much ALIVE!)..The ERA of The TRUTH will be Prevail.

..this will be the ERA of THE PAIR of HOLY BOOK + SCIENCE (To Proof) = GOD's TRUTH (which i believe this is what everyone is here for).

..IT is INTERNET, the TRUTH is FREE! (like many stuffs here too especially INFORMATION, its free too). Feel Free to Grab what you can.



note:

Evolution = (science) is a chained-reaction event that take it own NATURAL course, evolution take a long time.

Natural = ALL Things comes in pair such as, everything that go up must come down, yin & yang , + & -, male & female, Good & Bad, God Force & Evil Force, Top & Bottom, Odd & Even, Life & Death, Poison & Anethode, yes & no, Word of Wisdom, Word of Lies, God & Devil & etc

Created = can be presume as Born Or Birth.

God's Truth = [Matematic, Science (elemental science is important), History, Logical Explanation] x The PAIR of HOLY BOOK



Basic Logic (basic formula):

God = (WORLD) - Evil

Evil (Satan) = (WORLD) - God

WORLD = God + Evil

Answer 25

The basic belief of evolution is that one 'type'' can change into another...given enough time.

The Bible, as god's word to us, denies it.



Genesis 1;' 24 And God went on to say: “Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind.” And it came to be so.



according to its kind...



So God's standard is that each kind is separate and cannot become 'another' kind.

Answer 26

Hmmm...we've been listening to Kent Hovind, haven't we? This sounds like the sort of dreck he'd come out with.

Answer 27

You forgot dance evolution. But I forgive you.

Answer 28

And how many christians claim that god is a fact?

Answer 29

No. Evolution is a lie.

Answer 30

Yes, its all fact.

Answer 31

Yes, it is a fact.

Answer 32

Its a theory yet to be provin it is called the Theory of Evolution. Any one who says it is a fact might as well say santa claus is a fact

Answer 33

I don't think you understand.

Answer 34

religion is a joke..haha

Answer 35

um it's in the Name: evolution "Theory"

Get it: evolution "THEORY"

Answer 36

how can u prove a fact is a fact if it's a myth?