Evolution Primer #6: Why Does Evolution Matter Now?

[TheDiscombobulatee]

@dextrospinoza - YOu are free to believe what you want to believe, but please don't try and spread your ignorant belief's on the web, Keep them to yourself, or why not just save it for conversation with those of the same belief when you can thrill all the others with your ideas....

Yours sincerely,

Ignoramus

[TV8472]

Hehe, I pressed Like when I was supposed to press Play :p

[PrimericanIdol]

4 creationists were infected w/ AB-resistant tuberculosis.

[NeonIsPyro]

Thank you or posting this here. My teacher linked our class to this video on a horribly broken site and assigned questions. You have helped me greatly. Thanks again

[quleughy]

Surprised they focused soley on micro-organisms.

A bit of coverage on the Cheetah and why genetic diversity is essentail to perpetuate life would have been a good addition.

[flygirl1789]

hey thanks so much for posting! i have to watch this video for bio, and the volume on quicktime and real player wouldn't work.....thanks again! :)

[gwposey]

MICRO evolution, maybe. But it has nothing to do with needing to study "common descent", "origin of species", etc. (Not that I disbelieve these things. It's more of a "so what if we did, so what if we didn't. What bearing or usefulness do THOSE have today).

I'm not advocating for teaching creationism, or prohibiting teaching macroevolution, or the big bang, etc. Just that we don't know, and we'll never KNOW whether we evolved from a common ancestor with apes - and it doesn't MATTER. Does it?

[DasKrabbe]

lol, what an idiot.

[gwposey]

@DasKrabbe

Thanks for posting such a well-reasoned response.

[DasKrabbe]

Evolution doesn't matter? Major breakthroughs of medicine is based on the fact that we are related to other animals.

It most certainly matters and we know it is true as much as humans can know anything.

[gwposey]

@DasKrabbe

No, evolution does NOT "matter". It's not an applicable science. Saying that "Major breakthroughs of medicine is based on the fact that we are related to other animals" demonstrates as much misunderstanding of evolution as the creationists that say "if we came from apes, why are there still apes?"

The theory of evolution has absolutely NO bearing on "breakthroughs" medical or otherwise. Leveraging similarities between us and animals doesn't rely on studying speciation/evolution.

[DasKrabbe]

I'll give you a simple example. Doctors limit the use of antibiotics because they fear that the bacteria it kills becomes resistant through evolution by natural selection.

If evolution wasn't real this would not be necessary.

[gwposey]

@DasKrabbe

I'll give you a simple example, limiting the use of antibiotics to reduce the chances of producing a resistant strain is MUTATION and perhaps MICRO-evolution. I would never dispute that micro-evolution occurs, is observable and is useful science.

MACRO-evolution, speciation, or common descent (whatever you want to call it) is USELESS. I'm not saying it's WRONG, but the unobservable, unprovable claim that we all came from a common ancestor over billions of years has no application.

[DasKrabbe]

I'm not even sure what you mean by useless... Even when written with capital letters. It's a scientific question and the correct answer to such a question matters to me and many others. Even if there's no concrete technology (I still claim there is) that can be related to this it still has meaning. It's like claiming art or music is useless.

Also, evolution predicts transitional fossils from (eg.) fish to land animals. Such fossils have been found (ie. observed) and provides proof for evolution

[AlexGruev]

There are no such terms as "micro" or "macro" evolution in science, RETARD. It's the same thing and same principle. It is a SCIENTIFIC FACT and is as real as the antibiotics you use when you get sick.

And btw it is the 21st century(check a calendar) and common ancestry with apes has been confirmed 100% by fossil records and molecular genetics and is definitely not one of those things that "we'll never know" :)

[gwposey]

@AlexGruev -

Oh, well thanks Pat Robertson. You've so eloquently asserted the "SCIENTIFIC FACT", so it MUST be so.

I mean, silly me to conclude that something which is completely unknowable wouldn't have "been confirmed 100% by fossil records and molecular genetics". To think that there's a difference between pigmentation change & gills becoming lungs - exactly the "same thing and same principle"? How silly of me.

Oh mighty evangelist - I embrace your unprovable claims on YOUR authority.

[AlexGruev]

Look BRAINDEAD RETARD, your genome is 98% identical to that of the chimp, 14 retrovirus insertions(that are in general almost random) are IN THE SAME PLACES(inserted before the species split), your 2nd chromosome is a result of two fused primate chromosomes, you have fossil record showing transitions from "ape-like" to "human-like" characteristics.

YOU WANT THE WHOLE PROCESS CAPTURED ON TAPE FOR IT TO BE "KNOWABLE"??? Is the THEORY that the Earth goes around the Sun also "unknowable to you"??

[AlexGruev]

"pigmentation change & gills becoming lungs" --> Yes EXACTLY THE SAME PRINCIPLE genius. The only difference is TIME SCALE. And this is basic stuff.

[gwposey]

@AlexGruev -

Seriously - the fact that you called me "RETARD" is quite hilarious. Because you sound like the "slow" kid in the schoolyard who, based on the fact that 2 + 2 & 2 X 2 equal 4, concludes that addition & multiplication are the same process. Then when the "normal" kid points out that 3 + 3 and 3 X 3 are different, he gets laughed at for being "dumb" by all the "special" kids.

You're free to believe what you like. Again, there's NO applicable use of this speculative "science".

[AlexGruev]

DO you actually mean to tell me that you watched a video about medicine being developed based on the studies of bacteria adapting on evolutionary principles and YOU DIDN'T UNDERSTAND A DAMN THING???Because the same thing also applies for developing vaccines for viruses, and genetic engineering of plants and so on. This is applicable in every aspect of biology and is inseparable part of it.

Now TELL ME what am I supposed to call you when I see that you are unable to put 2+2 together?

[puncheex]

@gwposey:Yes, it does matter. People are beating the bush for yeasts and fungi who can combat bacteria; from them we extract antibiotics. A study of the family tree of those fungi who we know create antibiotics gives us a good clue about what other might. Do you want ti understand why Cheetah's are such a difficult species to maintain in zoos? Study of their hereditary history is the key. Do you want to understand how cancer begins and develops? Genetics and heredity own most of the clues 

[gwposey]

This video is a little misleading. This is about MUTATION, not EVOLUTION.

To be completely open, yes - I'm a Christian. I'm also an Engineer with multiple Electrical Engineering degrees (not that this makes me an expert in biological sciences, but I have a healthy respect for the scientific method).

They use language like "the bacteria TRIES to survive", and "the bacteria EVOLVES".

Well obviously bacteria doesn't TRY, and if you replace EVOLVE with MUTATES, it's all the same.

[puncheex]

@gwposey: Hmmmm, have you bothered to view the entire series? Perhaps that would be a good move. Better yet would be to view the series of hour long shows which these are summaries of.

[puncheex]

@puncheex: Forgot to mention that the second big part of evolution, namely natural selection, was covered in preceding parts of this series.

[gwposey]

@puncheex - No, I haven't. And that's something that I'm willing to pursue to have a more comprehensive view of what has being stated. And thank you for the well-reasoned suggestion, rather than the nonsensical, insulting responses that I've witnessed in general.

That being said, to say that genetics and heredity are valuable areas of study (a statement with which I agree) - is one thing. To EQUATE that to Evolution/Speciation is quite another. Geometry ain't Calculus - though both Math.

[puncheex]

@gwposey: I agree that each piece - Evolution, Abiogenesis, Big Bang, all must stand on their own legs; no scientist would disagree about that. Worse than that, in the end they all have to sing together; that is, none of them can negate another. If they are true, they are all true simultaneously. That happenstance is in itself another sort of evidence.

[Omid45]

in a sense religion has it evolution too. The disease is spread and people that get immune to it pass on their thought, (genes) to their offspring's Natural selection will leave only the ones that don't believe in this BS ..

[325982668]

oh shit i saw this russia scene in my anthropology class, i'm not sure what the original series was but i remember it being narrated by Liam Neisson.

[omiteru]

The black plague. Science is very important. We hear many people try to debunk the theory of evolution, but they fail to realize that many scientific disciplines depend on the theory of evolution, help explain the theory of evolution, and support the theory of evolution. The theory of Evolution is the cornerstone of modern science.

[JOESGONNAKILLY0U]

this show is awesome

[numnums21]

this example of bacteria is a very good example as to why evolution is true.

i really don't see how anyone could, or want to, challenge it. its not a competition. its just an understanding of how life exists.

religion has reigned for thousands of years and yet has show nothing for the evolution of humans. we finally get a good view of things and these people get upset.

[snylekkie]

That's how TRADITION works. There will always be someone who wants to make your life shit.

Cause they feel good, real good, with the thought that they are the CHOSEN, THE ONE, truth and glory!

In reality, the weak. Too weak to face fact, evidence, discussion, science, reason. Bible is easier. But not evil, though.

[FlappyDraws]

This is not evolution, it is God's punishment for believing in evolution.

All we need is the bible to understand the world.

[deliwrek]

wow... wait until one of these guys coughs on you

[Erech01]

thats what people thought before germ theory, it shows how primitive your brain and thoughts are:/

[johnledgerwood2007]

why dont you try an experiment

go to a Russian prison

get exposed to TB

try praying maybe you won't get TB or you might be cured

[dextrospinoza]

YOu are free to believe what you want to believe, but please don't try and spread your ignorant belief's on the web, Keep them to yourself, or why not just save it for conversation at your church where you can thrill all the other ignoramus's with your ideas.... then i am with "johnledgerwood2007", and suggest you take a holiday to russia, and try out his idea....good luck to you.

[777jonah888]

@dextrospinoza

If people are 'free to believe what they want', why do you berate them for expressing their views? Try taking your own advice and dont post ignorant, insensitive and ridiculous comments...

[numnums21]

LOL

nuf said

[hominuslupus]

great videos. they really hit home on the need to preserve real science and fight Christian fundamentalist attempts to force their dogmatic beliefs on the rest of us.

[kurtilein3]

so if creationism takes over it might virtually blow up society as we know it.

we need to start fighting against religion on an intellectual level, because religion is the only thing that keeps creationism and intelligent design alife.

[Techrubbish]

Yes I agree. I see many times 'whats the harm of not beliveing in this Theory' (which is another ignroant method used to slow population awarness of evolution.) Most also state Pascal Wager and say they rather not take the chance of being wrong about religion so they dont want to threat that by learning evolution.

[Techrubbish]

This is a good video to reccomend. It may make them see that they are the cause of epidmics because not only do they refuse to learn about the solutiong they fight and slow its progress by %s diverting population back to religion, trying to cut funding to study, trying to take it out of schools, and outright like lie to make it seem that evolution theory only exists because people want religion gone.

[cryptographix]

Great video.