Evolution
Highlights of Part B:
EVOLUTION - Chapters 4 to 8
4. EVOLUTION BASICS
Life can only be properly understood when one has a solid stance on whether or not gods exist. And since many theists will bring up the creationist god hypothesis, then the Theory of Evolution must also be solidly dealt with.
Introduced as the three arguments of:
Fossils (time)
Islands (space)
Similarity (form)
Each are briefly explained and then later examined in their separate chapters.
Clarifying Evolutionary Pressures:
Evolution as driven by heritable gene changes.
Where “useful” traits increase between generations.
Listing of the primary pressures that drive evolution.
Frequent Issues (and answers) per Evolution:
“I believe in microevolution but not in macroevolution.”
“Why don’t you see monkeys turning into humans?”
“Where is the half-ape-half-human fossil?”
“You never see evolution happening today. Why not?”
“One species never mutates into another.”
. . .
“Just simply prove evolution with a single argument.”
Creationism – the Progression:
Flat Earthers
Geocentrists
Young-Earth Creationism
. . .
Intelligent Design Creationists
Theistic Evolution
5. FOSSIL ARGUMENTS
Primarily the “What and When” - The most visual evidence.
Basic concepts such as:
(a) Understanding geological layering of enormous time periods that correlate with paleontology discoveries per the increasing complexity of fossils.
(b) Relative and absolute time dating which details and correlates and substantiates evidences for the various methodologies used.
A Short Recap of 4.5 BILLION Years
The Earth gets formed - 4,500 mya.
First organisms (simple life like bacteria) - 3,500 mya.
. . .
Humans - 7 mya (million years ago).
Fossils:
Complexity over time indicating increased adaption.
The "Hole of Life" and "Tree of Life" discussions.
Comparing 10,000 years to almost 5,000,000,000 years .
Transitional fossils and "missing link" discoveries.
Environmental difficulties per the exposing of fossils.
Species that have “reverted” back to the sea.
Time Determination:
Relative Dating & paleomagnetism fingerprinting.
Absolute counting & radiometric dating correlations.
Potassium-argon vs. Carbon-14 dating methods.
Other radiometric (and other) methods that evidence.
6. ISLAND ARGUMENTS
Primarily the “Where and Why” - The geographical evidence.
Life-forms that become isolated from a particular reproductive gene pool tend to promote increased speciation which then exploit new environmental conditions. This phenomenon also provides clear evidence for the overall mechanism of evolution.
The myriad of issues per Noah’s Ark is made simple so as to demonstrate its impossibility.
Speciation:
Sexual selection and sexual compatibility.
Seasons of fertility of a life-form.
Geography of separation.
Some Island Evidences:
Australian marsupials and monotremes as examples.
No land mammals and marsupials in New Zealand.
Oceanic islands vs. continental islands explained.
Mythical Distribution “Theory”:
Construction per size and manpower (eight people).
Lack of expertise required to construct a massive ark.
Care and feeding of the Life-Forms to ensure survival.
Issues of waste disposal and air quality.
. . .
Lack of evidence per geology and fossils per the flood.
Insufficient time to repopulate within 10,000 years.
7. SIMILARITY ARGUMENTS
Primarily the “How” - Macro and microbiology.
Similarities and vestigial (leftover) features of life forms, whether per the macro or micro points of view, which all provide very strong evidence of common descent.
Macrobiological homology (eg: bat’s wings and human arms), “imperfections”, vestigiality and atavism.
A microbiology review including ARE’s and Chromosome 2 (comprehensive listing is included) which is likely the most definitive evidence for evolution.
Macrobiology:
Skeletal comparisons among animal arms and legs.
Theistic Reuse Theory and its absurdities.
Fibonacci sequence (1-2-3-5-8-13…) per sunflowers, etc.
Absurd imperfections within the “created” animals.
Vestigiality dramatically reducing functions of organs.
Useless wings of the kiwi and similar per other life forms.
Transitional forms like the egg-laying platypus.
Atavistic occurrences of “broken” remnants.
Microbiology:
DNA chemical similarities of all life.
ARE's per neutral non-functioning mutations
Chromosome 2 and Robertson translocations
Translocation evidences of Chromosome 2
The overwhelming evidences of everything combined.
8. EVOLUTION EVALUATION
Denying evolution pretty well requires the denial of the physical existence of fossils, dating methods, geological stratigraphy, DNA, similarities per the macro and micro biological life-forms, plate tectonics, biogeographical studies, plus the myriad of scientific evidence and methodology that accompanies each of these.
This overwhelming amount of supporting information can not be easily ignored (but unfortunately is by some).
1859 was a good year. Darwin (and Wallace) did rather ok.
Fossil Arguments (time):
Fossil complexity increasing over time provides the most visual evidences, as it easily demonstrates that simple plants and animals adapted and advanced to significantly more complex forms.
Island Arguments (space):
Distributions of related species indicate where migrations happened, as well as per the reasons of why they adapted to their new “island-type” environments that separated them from their parent species.
Similarity Arguments (form):
Similarities and vestigial features of both macroscopic body homology and microscopic genes conclusively show that all life-forms have evolved from common ancestors. As well, gene analysis clearly demonstrates the mechanism of evolutionary adaptation.