Why do Atheists here think we are still evolving? Do they not understand the theory?

Question

In response to the amount of drivel posted in response to

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkrMMy045nRvjW8dVE10gnAgBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20090219184535AAVrJzf&show=7#profile-info-9tRZP9yaaa

According to Darwin evolution occurred through natural selection, that means only the fittest survive and reproduce. Those that are not fit die and fail to reproduce. However we all know that nowadays most people survive and if they wish reproduce, this means that the natural selection part now does not apply, hence evolution as has occurred up until now cannot continue and we may even devolve.
So please explain according to the theory how we are still evolving?

Answer 1

we evolve plenty. We are evolving in the mind. We are seeking better technologys and are trying to find out about the space and what is on other planets. If you compare that to the medieval ages where we fought with swords and the toughest question was "is the planet flat or round" then you will see we have evolved from that. Natural selection happens to allow a species to get requirements to survive over others. For instance a wolf chasing deer for food would need long legs instead of short ones.



Natural selection would give them long legs.



This sort of thing happens over thousands(even millions) of years. So please do not think that the only way for darwin to be right is for humans to be able to breathe underwater by tomorrow. That is not how it works.

Answer 2

We are smarter than we were fifty years ago, are we not(well some of us are)?



STRELOK- Remember, Gravity is only a theory too...





"Kitty Kat the more westernised the country the lower the birth rate'



I actually consider that a bit of a good thing. There are 7 billion plus people on the planet. I think we can slow down the baby making.



"Heh survival of the fittest isn't evolution,"



Yes it is. A diffrent scientist thought it up, but it can be applied to evolution.

Answer 3

Why do you presume to think think you do, I assume this is some kind of preemptive strike against atheists, and as one i will say that I know when you hit the switch on the wall the light comes on, I know nothing about electrical engineering but I do know that it isn't created by a load of pixies with little candles inside the bulb. The point is that without having a degree in anthropology, genetics or even general science I know that with a visit to a library I can read evidence which supports Darwin's theories. On the other hand there is absolutely no evidence other than some old testament gibberish to support creationism, it is therefore pathetic in the extreme to attack atheists for not knowing the general theories of evolution chapter and verse. Does the average driver know how an engine and gearbox works, even the stupidest knows it isn't by magic and, as an observation, stupidity isn't restricted to christianity!

Answer 4

I agree with Kitty Kat



"Kitty Kat the more westernised the country the lower the birth rate"



You have a good/great point, but also the birth AND death rate show true population fluctuation. You need both to figure out which countries are growing, not improving and/or evolving. Evolution happens over hundred of thousands of years. Evolution can even be seen if you travel to a preserved colonial home, the doorways are shorter than now days... it's because people even less than 300 years ago were shorter! Now please don't tell me that it's Intelligent Growing!

Answer 5

That is Darwin theory of evolution as a whole with other rules applied to it that theory however could by today's standard be only apply-able to animals in the Wild therefore the theory is more like 'evolution of animals in the wild' , but the general theory of evolution is the changing of the body to meet the demands of the environment you're born in, for example someone who lives in Desert conditions would have much less body hair then someone living in Antarctic conditions.



These days however we live in a easy environment which hardly has any struggle to live when compared to animals in the wild, as a result our body is weakening because our bodies don't struggle to do anything which needs improving and our bodies are weakening as the environment we live in doesn't need extreme strength to live in so we a weakening down to the strength we actually need to survive.



Evolve more or less means the changing of the human body and not necessarily our body improving to be better than the bodies of the previous generation, for example



if strength is what the previous generation wants to be improved as they reached the end of how high their strength can get the theory is the next generation (assuming both parents did what the previous generation did) strength will reach a greater end than the previous generation strength (evolution).



However if the previous generation did want the strength to be improved but decided to be lazy and not reach anywhere near the end of their full strength the next generation wouldn't have be any better which the strength at all and in theory the strength would remain the same (no evolution) or get weaker (evolution).



That is the actual understanding of evolution, however devolving is impossible to do, why you ask? Simple you cannot de-age a person and make them go from 10 to 5 (at the moment) and time cannot be reversed at all so in all devolving is actually impossible because humans can evolve to match similar strength and body of a being back in the chain, but the thing that bring us forward in the chain is one this and that is only one thing... TIME.

Answer 6

Evolution has expanded beyond Darwin's theories, in case you hadn't noticed. Julian Huxley is responsible for the majority of the theory of evolution as we now know it; he was the first to synthesize natural selection, the evolutionary mechanism, with genetics, the means of the change. Darwin had no idea about genes or genetics and could only guess at what was involved in evolutionary change.



Evolution isn't just survival of the fittest.

Answer 7

You answered your own question.

"Only the fittest survive." This means out of ALL the species on the planet. We are the dominant species on Earth. So we are the fittest in a way. I'm not trying to sound all cool and the best, I'm just pointing something out. We are still evolving. Evolution also means that a species, all species, adapt to their surroundings (so, also adaption). Which we do. But it takes millions of years.

Example, Polar Bears were probably not originally white. They might have been like every other bear. But they lived in the Artic, so in order to get food, they had to blend in with their surroundings, which is white.

We won't devolve any time soon.

Answer 8

it is now more microscopical. Our immune systems are evolving with all the viruses. An example is back in the 1920's with the flu. It was killing people all over the place, and all of a sudden it stopped killing people after years. That is because the people with stronger immune systems were able to survive and withstand the virus. That shows that the people with the fittest immune systems lived. There was no antidote for the virus either. Electron microscopes, which werent invented for 20 years after, are the only way we can see the viruses

Answer 9

That's the theory of natural selection, not evolution. We are still evolving because we keep getting new mutations in our genomes with each generation. However, because of technology and society today, it's harder for any certain group of a population to really become more advanced than the others. Natural selection is not occurring.



I suppose you could argue that it still is though; for example, the wealthy, prosperous, and successful families in let's say New York or London will have a better chance at living and reproducing than let's say the average family in poverty-stricken India.



EDIT:



Let us remember that Darwin was 150 years behind our time. There were things he believed about evolution that have been proven false today. He wasn't the "almighty God" of evolution.



Evolution does not revolve around natural selection. It's simply a means; not the only one. You can have humans select which breeds or races will continue. This is called eugenics. Our financial systems will also advance certain people further into newer generations; this is not natural.

Answer 10

Darwin had a theory on natural selection, yes, but that isn't the only theory on how humans evolve.



It's foolish to think that just because we fucked with natural selection we aren't evolving.



Think about the ways in which our bodies are changing because of prescription medication.



Can you say evolution?

Answer 11

You forgotten that producing more than others is also a type of "survival of the fittest". Watch Idiocracy. I think it might hold some truth.



Just watch it. It's funny!

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Idiocracy&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=kCmeScCLLdCCtwf8_cmKDQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#



Edit: Okay, so the Eastern Countries' genes will have a higher chance of impacting evolution. Evolution doesn't NEED survival of the fittest to work. There are other mechanisms at play too. Over dominating the gene pool can motivate evolution. Historically Genghis Khan did the same by bear thousands of children. But don't expect these changes to happen anytime soon.

Answer 12

If you want a good answer on evolution, you should ask your question in the biology section. The environment is continuously changing, and will exert selective pressure on human populations. The Japanese are becoming taller, and the Hawaiian and native Americans are now resistant to smallpox. Global warming will affect the Eskimos. If they cannot adapt to a new environment, they will become extinct.

Answer 13

Okay, well try & figure out how a human being can be allergic to GRASS, DUST, or FOODS. Those are changes that don't help the person, but [just like 40 generations of cockroaches] something new has come out of the mixture of DNA that created them. Since we have nurtured the "helping instinct", these people are getting along just fine. But without medicine, they surely wouldn't last long.

Answer 14

Maybe this link will help you understand what you are blathering so wrongly about .



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/human/human_evolution/



Recently a man appeared who can withstand and even enjoy temperatures that would kill a normal person does that meet your idea of not just survival of the fittest but evolution as well ?



http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4393377&page=1

Answer 15

Heh survival of the fittest isn't evolution.



Fail.



Mutations and reproduction still occurs and as a result so does evolution.....



Christian School Strikes again.

Answer 16

Natural selection is still at work. Not every human who is born will pass on his or her DNA. Plenty of children die before ever getting the chance to reproduce. Some people that have defects such as mental illness are less likely to reproduce.



Mutations still occur. People with mutations that do not effect their fitness, or chance of producing offspring, will have children. Their children will have children, etc.

Answer 17

Read the rest of what Darwin said. Natural selection is one of several ways life evolves.

Answer 18

Well it's only the human species that survive if they want to.

Sometimes peoples pets too.



And believe it or not, humans are just one small part of the planet. We just think of ourselves as superior.



Did you know the mass of bugs on earth outweighs the mass of humans?



So basically, it's only humans who natural selection no longer applies to.



A gold fish doesn't have health insurance now does it? ;)

Answer 19

We as species are evolving in the backwards direction, back to stupid monkeys. So many sophisticated safety devices prevent our offspring from hurting themselves, that only the smartest kids can overcome these protections (electric sockets locks, cigarette lighter safety locks, etc) and die before passing the genes of intelligence to the offspring of their own.

Answer 20

There still is a survival of the fittest, just not as much.

Answer 21

If you look at this in global scale, not just in advanced countries, plenty of newborns, mothers, and the weak die early, and tall and strong live to reproduce.



Even in advanced countries, there are limitations to the medical science.



Looking at this in global scale and in very long timespan, we are still evolving.

Answer 22

As long as there is time, energy & reactions evolution exists



Natural selection is one of the ways evolution occurs

Answer 23

Evolution doesn't happen over-night, but there are changes you can see now.We live longer than before are generally taller than before. Our education possibility to learn /be more educated/smarter, has grown. Little examples like that are there if you look with your mind open...

Answer 24

Actually, people of lesser education and intelligence reproduce more than the intelligent and educated, so natural selection favors stupidity and ignorance.



This is no longer evolution, but devolution.

Answer 25

Modern medicine removes many but not all selection pressures. And not everybody who survives reproduces.

Answer 26

Actually many people do not survive...like premature babies. Isn't that survival of the fittest? And what about animals?

Answer 27

Intelligence evolves in spite of christian dogma. This is why, one day, in the not too distant future, humanity will wear the banner of Myth Free....or wait...am i being overly optimistic??

Answer 28

Well the theory never stated we had stopped evolving

Answer 29

Oh no, the horror.

http://azdailysun.com/articles/2009/02/09/news/20090209_front_190604.txt

Answer 30

I'm atheist and I think we're all going backwards. Or most of us are. I also believe in natural selection.

Answer 31

darwinism and evolution are completely different things

Answer 32

We evolve by not reproducing with our cousins.

Answer 33

you wont be able to see evolution in our lifetime. i am not an atheist and i do believe evolution is real

Answer 34

Evolution is an ongoing process.



If you don't understand it then you shouldn't be commenting on it . . .

Answer 35

How do you know these ideas? Blind faith? Get an education.

Answer 36

dont worry it is ONLY A THEORY and let them think what they want they will be dead soon anyways so it doesn't matter all their thoughts and opinions will die with them when their meaningless lives end.

Answer 37

i think there will just be more stupider people and more deformities... like that guy



lol i'm kidding :P

Answer 38

we are taller, I notice my nephews eyes are bigger, maybe to be a better driver.

Answer 39

why the helll do you damn lih-ber-alls stilll say thuh wurld is flat

Answer 40

Dude you are in trouble

Answer 41

get your theories straight genius.

Answer 42

Please explain to me how a talking snake is the reason we have such stupid people in the world. K thkx.