Science, Creation & Evolutionsubstitute biology teacherOh my...where to begin! I appreciate your response...but you text is littered with misconceptions and statements that are simply not true. Nice try, but the argument is flawed in so many ways... About you dodo-argument - Dodo's lived on three small islands (Mauritius is the one that is best known). On these islands, they depended on an almost unique ecosystem: One without predators. With no natural defenses, even the introduction of RATS can seriously damage the population (think of the wild cats, dogs, toads, rabbits and other animals that were introduced in Australia and wreak havoc on the marsupials' ecosystem) Asking why other flightless birds did not go extinct is like saying: 'Someone dropped a burning match in a forest and it burned down. This must mean that a forest will completely burn down if someone drops a burning match in it'. This is not true, because not all forests are equal. In the same way, not all flightless birds are equal. Many of the flightless birds can intimidate predator: The casuaris has been known to hurt and kill even people. Others, like ostriches seek shelter in numbers or run away real fast. - But this comparison of the birds is not the biggest flaw in the quote (and I am uncertain what the exact point of the argument was in the first place). Anyway, this is the biggest flaw: You seem to be saying that man is responsible for the fact that quite a lot of species go extinct. I agree. You then draw the conclusion that man is "the ultimate" in evolution. I will explain in a moment why this statement is incorrect. Using this incorrect statement, you claim that we are surviving, but are not the fittest (because we make species go extinct). This SHOULD in your reasoning disprove that the fittest survives and it should disprove the Theory of Evolution in general. - First of all, useful information about evolution can be found HERE Evolution is a natural way of improving a species. Those who cannot survive die. When a species is dead, it cannot pass on it's genes. Those who manage to reproduce DO pass on their genes. Evolution does not seem to have a goal. Sometimes an animal can benefit from evolving flight. Elongated scales of reptiles have proven to be great insulation and later on, there was only a minor step to adapting these scales to become feathers. In other instances a species can become more successful by becoming flightless, as these same wings proof effective under water (penguins). There is NO GOAL in evolution. If intelligence was the goal of evolution, it would have evolved millions of years ago. Stating that man is the ultimate in evolution is false. There IS no ultimate, because there is no proof that there is a goal. Mankind has always had a great fascination with itself and always lifts him or her self above the animals, when in fact, we are just another species of animal; in no way better or worst than any other species. It has been said before (I think it was Tuppence) that 'fittest' does not mean that certain genes are 'superior' to others, but that certain genes produce an animal with has a greater change of surviving in the environment in which it lives. (When it gets cold, the gene that produces long, thick fur is 'the better one', but on the savannah, this gene is not very useful. Think of woolly mammoths and 'naked' elephants in Africa.) The fittest merely means: the one that manages to reproduce. I find it sad that the phrase 'Survival of the fittest' is so often misunderstood or misused (even by people like Hitler, that tried to use the argument to state that his race was in some way superior). You want proof of evolution? Here is a link to a site that gives a thorough explanation of transitional fossils. (Means: Species that evolved into other species, including fossils that bridge the gap between the two species.) YET ANOTHER LINK THAT PROVES EVOLUTION EXISTS - dealing especially with transitional fossils Evolution is a slow progress (like continental drift for example) but that does not mean it doesn't exist. There is an example of evolution that has been withnessed. It is often mentioned. (I mentioned it two posts up as well) After the Industrial Revolution, white birch strees were often covered in soot. The English moth or Biston betularia has got genes for both a white and a dark variation. This moth lives on birch trees. Before the Industrial Revolution began, people witnessed a lot of white moths. Camouflage made sure the birds didn't see them. The black ones however were picked of one by one. After the white trees got poluted, the birds started to notice the white moths and and black genes provided excellent camouflage. A typical example of 'survival of the fittest.' That one which manages to reach adulthood and reproduces, passes on its genes. Those who die early, cannot. Pffftt... that took awfully long.... Please use valid arguments next time, so I don't have to point out were your reasoning is faulty. |
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