Evolution?

Infidel Castro

New member
Originally posted by alextheartist

An example of this is the 7 days of creation. I personally think that this bit was written as a relevant example of gods power for those times. In a modern context i think it could be used as 7 periods of time, rather than 7 actual days.

What, you mean that people 2500yrs ago couldn\'t understand periods of time greater than a day? Drivel, absolute drivel. :no:
 

Infidel Castro

New member
Originally posted by mattrock


The ONLY way to believe the fullness of Darwinian evolution is indeed, on faith since many questions (particularly surrounding those aspects of the theory that deal with the origins of life) remain unanswered.

So in summary, what you have said is true -- what it really all comes down to, is faith.

The big difference though is that people (called scientists) are constantly able to search further and deeper into science, assessing, re-assessing, improving understanding and working steadily to, perhaps, a real idea of how life formed. The same cannot happen with religion as it\'s esoteric and (to many folk) not verifiable.
 

DaN

New member
Anything with \"Pseudo\" prefixed means (simplified) \"Not quite\"

Ie. A Pseudo-Polis (Polis being Greek(?) for City would a large town that is almost a city except in name.

(First example I could think of)

So therefore, \"Pseudo-Science\" is any form of explanation for things that tried to use complicated scientific terms and analogies without really understanding them. Think of cosmetics adverts :D lol
 

freakinacage

Well-known member
Originally posted by DaN
Anything with \"Pseudo\" prefixed means (simplified) \"Not quite\"

Ie. A Pseudo-Polis (Polis being Greek(?) for City would a large town that is almost a city except in name.

(First example I could think of)

So therefore, \"Pseudo-Science\" is any form of explanation for things that tried to use complicated scientific terms and analogies without really understanding them. Think of cosmetics adverts :D lol
yeah cosmetic adverts, gotta laugh eg? nice to see some pratchett shoehorned into the debate!!
 

Infidel Castro

New member
Originally posted by junior elf
Originally posted by reverend
Were you thanking me or being facetious?

Creationism is a pseudo-science at best.

I was thanking you, what\'s pseudo-science?

Pardon my sharpness, but in these dark days of increasing religionism, science is being given a bad name. It\'s been happening ever since people started thinking for themselves, learning as they go through empirical data, conjecture, experimentation, etc. We\'ve come a long way in a short time, so let\'s see how far we get in another 50yrs. It\'s exciting, yah? Not for some apparently - there seems to be more prejudice towars science than ever from the religionising fraternity (or at least your fundie christians).

Genesis is a poetic book, not a science manual.
 

demonherald

New member
interesting point on the \"it fit\'s your religous ideal..\" seems that is the way any science is approached... If Scientists proved the existense of god then the religions would unite in the glory of science and that scientific findings are all infallible.. As it stands current science doesn\'t have that proof hence all science is looked at as wrong..

I guess scientists are the same as well new theories are always shunned until enough evidence is put down to disprove the unbelievers..

Fundamental difference , religion is a shelter and a safe place that people hide behind ignoring all evidence to the contrary..
science is at least open to new ideas eventually..:beer:
 

demonherald

New member
Originally posted by treide
Originally posted by Theomar Pius

Either way, I see humans forcing a process in the lab that should normally be left to nature, and nature has amuch better track record than humanity (although we are pretty damn good, we can\'t compare to nature.)

Tell that to people dying of cystic fibrosis, Duchenne\'s Muscular dystrophy, or Tay-Sach\'s disease! We now have real potential to treat or even cure these genetic disorders, and we got there by improving our understanding of genetics. We have Darwin, Mendel, Watson, Crick and countless other geneticists to thank for that progress.

I think that kind of backs up the point.. In a world totally devoid of any medical experimentation by man Then disease such as those that are indeed genetic would not be as prevelant. People with the disorder simply wouldn\'t survive long enough or be able to compete to breed..

It\'s like people holding benefit concerts and the likes to aid starving people in a country where that starvation has occured due to the natural environment that environment is unable to support them yet society insists on keeping them alive ... (don\'t think I\'m a bastard I don\'t disagree with charities) All I am saying is that as a species Human beings are the first species to transcend the natural parameters for survival . Therefore any evolution that takes place from now on kind of rattles the survival of the fittest theories.
 

Prophet

New member
Originally posted by demonherald
interesting point on the \"it fit\'s your religous ideal..\"

I guess scientists are the same as well new theories are always shunned until enough evidence is put down to disprove the unbelievers..
.

I wouldn\'t say those are the same things at all. Science is, above all, a meritocracy. Any idea is worth only as much as the supporting evidence. The theory of plate tectonics was correct, but it took sixty years after it was first presented for the evidence to become so overwhelming that the theory gained universal acceptance. The idea of a heliocentric solar system took almost 2 millennia for the available evidence to catch up. Consider that it\'s been 500 years since that issue was put to rest and 25% of Americans still believe the sun goes around the earth. :rolleyes:

Skepticism is good.

Science is self-correcting albeit sometimes very slowly. Religion, on the other hand, just stays wrong. Churchill\'s quip on democracy works here too. Science is the worst way of explaining the universe, except for all the other ones.
 

Prophet

New member
Originally posted by demonherald
Originally posted by treide
Originally posted by Theomar Pius

Either way, I see humans forcing a process in the lab that should normally be left to nature, and nature has amuch better track record than humanity (although we are pretty damn good, we can\'t compare to nature.)

Tell that to people dying of cystic fibrosis, Duchenne\'s Muscular dystrophy, or Tay-Sach\'s disease! We now have real potential to treat or even cure these genetic disorders, and we got there by improving our understanding of genetics. We have Darwin, Mendel, Watson, Crick and countless other geneticists to thank for that progress.

I think that kind of backs up the point.. In a world totally devoid of any medical experimentation by man Then disease such as those that are indeed genetic would not be as prevelant. People with the disorder simply wouldn\'t survive long enough or be able to compete to breed..

It\'s like people holding benefit concerts and the likes to aid starving people in a country where that starvation has occured due to the natural environment that environment is unable to support them yet society insists on keeping them alive ... (don\'t think I\'m a bastard I don\'t disagree with charities) All I am saying is that as a species Human beings are the first species to transcend the natural parameters for survival . Therefore any evolution that takes place from now on kind of rattles the survival of the fittest theories.

Survival of the fittest isn\'t an accurate description of natural selection. Plus you\'re failing to consider that altruism is a product of evolution. It is our very nature to help out one another and to ease the suffering of others. This is behavior that has been observed throughout the animal kingdom.
 

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Originally posted by Prophet
..........Plus you\'re failing to consider that altruism is a product of evolution. It is our very nature to help out one another and to ease the suffering of others. This is behavior that has been observed throughout the animal kingdom.
I\'d like to see some evidence on that. As I\'m more of the opinion that Altruism is am individual product of social attitudes and group conditioning rather than an instinctive behaviour.
However I\'m open to being proved wrong.
 

No Such Agency

New member
Originally posted by Prophet
Science is self-correcting albeit sometimes very slowly. Religion, on the other hand, just stays wrong.
Only if it insists on providing illogical explanations for things that it isn\'t equipped to explain. The Christian interpretations that justified slavery, or beating your wife/kids, or butchering the heathens, did not \"stay wrong\". They were rejected as (most) people saw how unjust they were. Religious people resisted the Vietnam war and marched with the civil rights movement, both causes that a century before would have been decried with the words \"God is on our side\".
Churchill\'s quip on democracy works here too. Science is the worst way of explaining the universe, except for all the other ones.
Now that IS the truth.
 

Prophet

New member
Originally posted by Dragonsreach
Originally posted by Prophet
..........Plus you\'re failing to consider that altruism is a product of evolution. It is our very nature to help out one another and to ease the suffering of others. This is behavior that has been observed throughout the animal kingdom.
I\'d like to see some evidence on that. As I\'m more of the opinion that Altruism is am individual product of social attitudes and group conditioning rather than an instinctive behaviour.
However I\'m open to being proved wrong.

I\'ll see what I can dig up. I\'ve got the articles around somewhere...
 

demonherald

New member
Originally posted by Prophet
Originally posted by demonherald
interesting point on the \"it fit\'s your religous ideal..\"

I guess scientists are the same as well new theories are always shunned until enough evidence is put down to disprove the unbelievers..
.

I wouldn\'t say those are the same things at all. Science is, above all, a meritocracy. Any idea is worth only as much as the supporting evidence. The theory of plate tectonics was correct, but it took sixty years after it was first presented for the evidence to become so overwhelming that the theory gained universal acceptance. The idea of a heliocentric solar system took almost 2 millennia for the available evidence to catch up. Consider that it\'s been 500 years since that issue was put to rest and 25% of Americans still believe the sun goes around the earth. :rolleyes:

Skepticism is good.

Science is self-correcting albeit sometimes very slowly. Religion, on the other hand, just stays wrong. Churchill\'s quip on democracy works here too. Science is the worst way of explaining the universe, except for all the other ones.

That\'s basically what I said.. just not in as intelligent a way....
 
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