Serious Question for those who Believe in the "Theory" of Evolution (nothing about God etc).?

Question

Had to put theory in there because most people just take it as fact instead of what it is. A theory.

Anyway, I've always had one thing that has bothered me about evolution.
Of the 2 Million species of Identified Animals
or of the 1 Million species of Identified Insects
or the over a Trillion different kinds of single celled organisms
How is there not one case of evolution happening in today?
Not even any mutants (as any proponent of evolution can tell you, for what to happen to us there must of been 1,000,000 "mutants" to every 1 where the evolution process actually went right)

So...just wondering if anyone has a answer for this because I've always wondered :l

Answer 1

It is always easy to “come up” with explanations to fit the existing facts, but the explanations may not always be accurate. Moreover, the reverse, producing evidence to fit the explanations is a lot more difficult. For example, if your knee hurts every time it rains, does that mean you can make it rain by hurting your knee? Of course not! Science and logic has limitations and one very obvious limitation is over anxiousness to rule out the supernatural and to dismiss that which is not easily verifiable or explainable as fiction.

Answer 2

First of all, you don't understand the definition of the word "theory". When creationists say that evolution is "just a theory", they demonstrate that they have NO idea what they're talking about.



When scientists use the word theory, it has a different meaning to normal everyday use. In science, a theory is not a guess, not a hunch. It's a well-substantiated, well-supported, well-documented EXPLANATION for our observations.



"Theory: A set of statements or principles devised to EXPLAIN a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena." American Heritage Dictionary



An example will help you to understand this. There's a law of gravity, which is the description of gravity. The law of gravity basically says, "if you let go of something it'll fall." It doesn't say WHY. Then there's the THEORY of gravity, which is an attempt to explain why. Laws describe things, theories explain them.



Second, evolution IS still happening today. Evolution is not something that happens so fast that you wake up one morning, and there's a noticeable difference from the day before. Everything is constantly evolving. If you get in a time machine, and go ahead a million years, people are going to look very different than the way they look today.

An example of observable evolution is viruses. That is why we constantly need to be making new vaccines to fight off diseases. Every year they need to come up with a new flu vaccine...because the virus has evolved and the old vaccines don't work sufficiently on them anymore.

Answer 3

First of all, evolution is generally a slooooooow process.

Second, you do see mutants. A lot. Sometimes there are fish with too many fins, etc.

A good example of evolution in the modern world is something like TB or Staph; the bacteria gradually evolve resistance to certain antibiotics because bacteria which randomly are "born" with a resilience to something like penicillin is much more likely to survive and reproduce.

Lastly, Evolution is NOT a force that makes everything perfect. It's a process by which the somewhat better traits become dominant. You don't see non-favorable mutations (down syndrome in humans, for example) that much because they tend to literally die out after a while. There are plenty of examples where evolution has led the currently dominant branch of a species to be less than "logical," for instance, the feeding habits and digestive system of rabbits.

Answer 4

Evolution is both fact and theory.



"How is there not one case of evolution happening in today?"



There are. Evolution is a continuous process, nothing stops evolving. It is an extremely slow process though.

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-speciation.html



"Not even any mutants (as any proponent of evolution can tell you, for what to happen to us there must of been 1,000,000 "mutants" to every 1 where the evolution process actually went right)"



There have been plenty of mutants. Mutation is not the prime mechanism for evolution, natural selection is. Your ratio was probably pulled from someones ***.



EDIT: I have to address these points...



"To the poster below me that pulled this fact out of his hat.

* Over 99.8% of biologists and geologists accept evolution.



Where on earth did you get this figure? I have known one Bio Prof. at college (not a Christian College either) and a geologist who works at my local museum who don't believe in evolution whatsoever. They feel it requires more faith than most religions."



That percentage was probably exaggerated, but the point still stands. You will find more physicists that reject the theory of gravitation than biologists that reject the theory of evolution. Evolution is the basis of all modern biology. There is no faith needed to accept it, and all the evidence discovered so far has been in favor of it.



"* There are no alternative scientific theories.



Then he says that. There are plenty."



No there are none. ID and creationism are not scientific theories.



"* And zero evidence against it.



....Zero evidence against it? Really?

Even Charles Darwin purportedly denounced the theory of evolution as hogwash before he died. Even if its just purportedly there goes your "Zero" evidence. And there are many other things."



That is correct, there is no evidence against evolution. Darwin denouncing evolution is a lie made up by a creationist who wasn't at his deathbed. I can't remember her name, but you could probably find it with a 5 sec google search. Care to name some of those other things? Even if the point was valid, evolution stands on its own merit. Had Robert Koch renounced the germ theory of disease, would that mean that germs didn't exist and didn't cause diseases?

Answer 5

FOR THE LAST TIME.



A theory IS a fact. You believe in gravity right? It's "only" a theory.



It is FACT that things evolve. The theory explains why and how things evolve. The theory can change as new information is given to us. But the fact will always remain. Things evolve.



Yes and things still evolve. But it is a slow process. You're never going to see an elephant give birth to an alligator, if that is what you're expecting.



It has been observed in fruit flies because their generations are shorter. One species of fruit fly that could reproduce with each other were put in 2 different environments. After several generations, the species in each habitat could no longer reproduce with one another. That is evolution for you. But creationists expect that suddenly a moth is going to be born. Sorry, that's not how it works.

Answer 6

What scientists can *show* is a fact:



1) Diversity and complexity DO increase, that both occur naturally only by evolutionary mechinisms, and according to the laws of population genetics.



2) Natural selection, sexual selection, and genetic drift have all been proven to have predictable effect in guiding variance, both in scientific literature, and in practical application.



3) Significant beneficial mutations do occur, and are inherited by descendant groups and that multiple independant sets of biological markers do exist which trace these lineages backwards over many generations.



4) Birds are a subset of dinosaurs, in the same way that humans are a subset of apes and primates.



5) The collective genome of all animals has been traced to it's most basal form by reverse sequencing, and that those form are also indicated by comparitive morphology, physiology, and embryological development, as well as through chronologically correct placement of successive stages revealed in the geologic column.



8) Everything on Earth has definite relatives either living nearby or evident in the fossil record AND that the fossil record holds hundreds of definite transitional species even according to the strictest definition of that term.



9) Both microevolution and macroevolution have been directly observed and documented dozends of times both in the lab and in naturally controlled conditions in the field, and that these instances have always stood the strictest critical analysis and peer review.



10) Evolution is the only explanation of biodiversity with either evidentuary support OR scientific validity and NO would-be alternitive notion has ever met even ONE of the criteria required of a theory.



These are FACTS. They have been, and continue to be repeatedly demonstrated as true, and are measurably accurate. There is not a single creationist that can question or dispute those facts. Even the most die-hard creationist has to admit that everything on that list is true.



So what are the "facts" of creation? Meaning...what can you actually SHOW to be factual?



Once sincere believers begin investigating the arguments on either side of the alleged "controversy", they will very quickly face a life-altering choice...whether to remain honest, or whether to remain creationist, because there has still never been a single verifiable argument of evidence indicative of miraculous creation over biological evolution or any other avenue of actual science. Not ONE. You will NEVER find an apologist who doesn't lie and hasn't lied when trying to promote creationism. (AronRa)

Answer 7

Kanada, let me help you. The use of "theory" as it applies to science, does not mean "conjecture" or "wild guess" as you obviously wish to imply. In that case it would be called a "hypothesis," which is an idea or suspicion that has yet to be proven through experimentation and study. Once it has cleared that hurdle, the proven hypotheses are then called theory.



I'm sorry, but you just don't know what you're talking about, and should probably refrain from posting until you do. This isn't a question as much as you're trying to make a statement based on your own error.

Answer 8

Do people not understand how long it takes for evolution to occur. The evolution of modern man took 5-7 million years. It takes so long for higher organisms to evolve that you would not be able to measure it. Is the fossil record not enough evidence of Macro-evolution. You can see the evidence of Micro-evolution much easier. Bacteria are constantly evolving.

Answer 9

"Not even any mutants"



You fail basic biology. Every single human is a mutant with 150 - 200 new single nucleotide base pair changes that are not in the parental genomes.



NEWS FLASH: Cancer is caused by genetic mutations, specifically mutations in proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Did you not know this? Because if you didn't...than that's quite pathetic.



Evolution happens all the time. For instance, coral are currently in the process of incorporating chloroplasts into their cells. There are literally so many examples that I could give you...just do your damn research. And get a decent science education, because...well, you don't have one now.

Answer 10

The answer is you have no clue of what theory means in scientific terminology and by extension evolution: all organisms are evolving every generation. Evolution is the change in the inherited traits of a population of organisms through successive generations. This is observed everywhere.

Answer 11

It's a fact. Deal with it. You'll sleep better. And your statement "How is there not one case of evolution happening in today?" is flat out wrong. You would know that if you had bothered to research the subject.

Answer 12

Evolution happens every single day. It's been observed in the lab and in nature. New species form all of the time.

Answer 13

I don't "believe in" evolution. Science is to be understood and accepted (or challenged), not "believed in". Do you "believe in" gravity?



* Evolution is very much a fact.



* The theory of evolution is a theory - just like atomic theory, gravity theory, and the germ theory of disease. The word "theory" has a very specific meaning in a scientific context: THE THEORY EXPLAINS THE FACTS. See http://www.notjustatheory.com/



* Creationism is not a theory; it's an assertion with zero evidence to support it.



* Over 99.8% of biologists and geologists accept evolution.



* There are no alternative scientific theories.



* There is a huge amount of evidence in support of evolution...



* And zero evidence against it.



* The "debate" is actually educated people trying to educate others.



* The "debate" only happens in backward places like Turkey and parts of the united states.



* There are two types of creationists: professionals who make money from books, lectures and such, and knowingly make false claims - and followers who accept those claims without understanding them.



* The basics of evolution: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/



* Examples of ridiculous creationist anti-science: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AC3481305829426D



* Examples of creationist quote mining (like quoting part of a scientists' sentence to make it sound like he's saying something completely different): http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/quotes/mine/project.html



* Scientific American's 15 answers to creationist nonsense: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=15-answers-to-creationist



* The evolutionary tree: http://www.dhushara.com/book/evol/trevol.jpg



* Hominid species: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html



* Transitional fossils: http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CC/CC200.html



* A comprehensive list of evolution resources: http://richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19713



* Or just look at this bonobo: http://neatorama.cachefly.net/images/2007-04/bonobo.jpg

Answer 14

There is species differentiation happening today, but evolution takes a long, long time.



brb

Answer 15

Look at your own DNA. It is changing. That is evolution. Most evoution takes eons to manifest.

Answer 16

dogs are a good example.



the miniature pincher breed is only 114 or so years old.

the mini schnauzer is about the age.

Answer 17

Here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080421-lizard-evolution.html

Answer 18

There are lots....example: http://www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v82/n1/full/6884120a.html