Question: WHY CAN'T EVOLUTIONISTS ANSWER MY QUESTION?

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Answer #1:

You make your own argument against evolution, and not in the way that you think.

Answer #2:

Evolution is merely a theory, and in many ways it's a valid one. Have you read Darwin's Origin of Species? Neither have I. But you're too smart to need to read it - you know everything already.

Answer #3:

Do you really want an answer to this question or would you just prefer if everyone just replied with a
"Nope that's unanswerable, I'm defecting to Intelligent Design theory!"

Answer #4:

That's why they can't answer...all their reasons are retarded, and I know I didn't come from some speck of dust or a monkey.

Answer #5:

What beats me is why monkeys have suddenly stopped evolving.

Answer #6:

It's quite clear to me that you haven't understood evolution by natural selection and have no idea of the branching of the tree of life. Also, evolution has not made humans the ultimate design or its ultimate creation, humans are just another successful species, and perhaps not as successful as certain bacteria, worms and flies which have existed for hundreds of times as long as Homo sapiens. Reading between the lines; perhaps you are really playing the devil's advocate with your question and examples.

Answer #7:

An organism does not anticipate a novel trait, it simply happens. You can’t argue with a philosophy like evolution they can always rely on random chance. Random chance although highly improbable (actually with an understanding of chemistry and physics, it is false) cannot be ruled out. It is the “I don’t know.” It is the philosophy of the gaps. They claim we have a God of the gaps, philosophy in science creates a materialistic crutch to fill gaps as well. Enlightenment comes through those willing to oppose the masses!

Answer #8:

Our "special trait" as you call it is our amazing ability to think and deduce and rationalize. You said it yourself, we aren't able to do those things, but we have such an amazing trait that we are actually able to replicate those special traits of other animals. I don't know if you realize how incredible it all is. Destructive yes, but incredible all the same.

I don't mean to insult you, but you don't know what the hell you're talking about. You don't even have a clear understanding of how the evolutionary process works. You asked this question with your own preexisting biases and me trying to explain it all to you would be like trying to explain quantum physics to a two-year-old.

To put it simply, I can't account for why other Evolutionists can't answer your question, but I can't because frankly I have better things to do than try to convince someone of a theory that he already thinks is BS.

Answer #9:

Instead of JUST being able to fly like a bird, or JUST stay under water like a whale or JUST move fast like a cheetah, we developed intelligence and can do ALL of those things. Evolution isn't a 'choose this, not that' process from a catalog. You don't get to PICK the traits you have, discard the ones you don't like. Something occurs, its a mutation, but it works, it makes things better. Then it gets passed along. Eventually, its just there as normal.

Answer #10:

First, we didn't come from monkeys, we both came from a common ancestor.

Second, you are referring to evolution as us making a choice. That's not how it works. The species adapts to its specific needs over millions of years, it doesn't just think "hey, I bet my children would really dig some wings, I'd better just get right on that." It isn't a conscious decision.

Thirdly, we evolved to be able to create scuba gear, and planes, and boats, and sports cars, etc, etc, etc, so we could make up for our physical shortcomings. That is humanities most defining attribute. For most of us, anyways. You don't see any other species on the earth creating scuba gear, planes, boats or sports cars etc etc etc, do you?

And yes, some creatures have EVOLVED to have their own special traits, unique from all other species, some we have, some we don't. Human being's ancestors probably never could fly, so that is just an idiotic statement. Humanity's ancestors were, for the most part using intelligence and creations to their advantage, such as their ability to make tools.

Next time, maybe knowing something about the subject you are trying to disprove would be helpful.

EDIT@Citizen: no we didn't evolve from monkeys. WE SHARED A COMMON ANCESTOR!! Even the people on your own side are still against you....

Answer #11:

hey idiot, we evoleved from monkeys, not cats, lizards, birds, nor fishes, you should be happy you have colored sight, thumbs, emotions, and the ability of problem solveing and complex reasoning, we never had these abilitys to begin with, why are you bitching about it

Answer #12:

We do not decide the path we take in our evolution to the best of my understanding, we cannot say “Hey I want to keep my wings”, or “I want to run 70 miles an hour”. These things aid those animals in their own way. We as humans evolved in our intelligence, the need for evolution to steer us towards wings, or fast legs, so forth so on became pointless. Will a bird given the intelligence to make a jet keep his wings? Will a Cheetah who makes a Race Car keep his fast legs? A fish that had a submarine need gills? These creatures you speak of evolved to suit their environment as best to the patterns of evolution as they could. As humans we create our on environment so the need for such things is simply not there.

I’m no evolutionist, I also don’t worry much with creation, so I don’t care to argue the point either way, however we have not “de-evolved” just because we create things that mimic the natural world, our brain has evolved ways for us to build, to create, always for good? No, it is always up to the choice of those who create. Men are builders, what they build matters little, the fact that they can is amazing.

Answer #13:

Somebody can claim also that (holding breath under water for an hour at a time (like a whale), flying over the Atlantic ocean (like a bird), walking on water (like a Jesus christ Lizard), running 70 mph (like a cheetah), etc. etc. etc) as you suggest as good and necessary features, why the "maestro" didn't schedule it or design it.

The creation theory by the mighty, obliges its supporters to defend it since they are good believers, not to attack others because the believers are strong enough plus supported by the mighty designer, so they should be cool and assured.

Answer #14:

We did retain a good many of the "special" traits that we developed through the evolutionary process.

What seem to totally misunderstand, if you ever understood it in the first place (which is highly doubtful) is that humans and the majority of our long gone evolutionary ancestors never had the genetic potential nor developed abilities to run as fast as a cheetah, or to fly like an eagle, or to swim like a whale, etc.

When what would eventually evolve in homo sapiens arose on the scene it followed an evolutionary path that lead to the development of speech, long and short term memory with the ability to pass acquired knowledge down to the next generation, an imposable thumb, the ability to reason, to stand erect, bipedal motion, stereoscopic sight and hearing and efficient digestive system that allowed us to eat a wide variety of foods, an effective reproductive system, extreme curiosity and inventiveness, and on and on. That is, we began a long process that lead us to develop into exactly what we are today by adapting to the environment as needed or to use our developed intelligence (something you may be lacking apparently) to deal effectively with the effects of the environment.

We haven't been directly evolving for billions of years and even billions of years, in the grand scheme of things is a virtual drop in the bucket when compared to the age of the cosmos.

What you seem to desperately need is a good course in biology and evolutionary theory of development which you can possibly find at a local junior college in your area. If all else fails, go to the local library and investigate the subject which you so obviously have no knowledge of.

If humans were designed in a deliberate manner by some existence that is outside of the material reality we now inhabit then one must say that said designer made an awful lot of needless and senseless errors that have greatly complicated our lives such as the break down of our chromosomes, the way our systems fail, the weakness of many of our joints and the fact that it did not make us the super humans you seem to wish we were to name just a few.

I am certain that I am not the only evolutionist who has now answered your questions and tried to point you in the direction wherein you might learn even more however, it is now up to you to pursue the same path or not.

namaste

Answer #15:

1) Evolutionists CAN answer your questions.
I have a feeling some have, but you don't seem the type to listen, or at least believe the answer you are given. Still, I'll give you the answers and maybe this time they'll take.


2) We didn't have all those things to begin with.
We didn't "keep some of those wonderful traits" because no one in our direct lineage ever had most of those traits. There was nothing there to be kept.
The evolutionary tree forks many millions of times. And traits evolve on the different branches. If they evolve on a branch your not on, no one would expect you to have those traits. A cheetah is not fast because it "kept" being fast from some mythical previous uberorganism, but because that branch of the cat family slowly evolved ever-increasing speed to catch prey (which also evolved ever-increasing speed to escape, forcing the cheetahs to evolve faster speeds, and so on. It's known as an evolutionary arms race).
Let's say that you have a brother. He has some random trait you do not. Years later, his kids inherent the trait. Your kids do not, because you never had it to pass on. Your kids would not be expected to share traits with their cousins, because the trait does not exist on their branch of the family tree. That's how most animals are. They are all cousins, not direct descendants. Thus each group develops its own traits and the only shared traits are the one passed on from the last common ancestor (in you and your brother's case, the last shared ancestor will be your parents).


3) Humans are not some "end point" or "goal" of evolution.
Evolution is a natural process related to the increased ability to survive in one's immediate environment. It has no goal other than survival. It has no aim, no end point, no perfect design. It is mindless and amoral. Thus, if a trait doe not help in survival, evolution will do away with it.
While we may think it would be "cool" to fly, it provides us with no real survival benefits (or at least not enough to justify the cost). Thus, we never evolved wings, and if an ancestor did have them, we got rid of them to save energy.
Remember, evolution is about survival, not convenience.
We are what we are because this set of traits worked to help us survive and thrive. Not because it was cool or the best or anything else. Just because they worked. And if they work, you are under little pressure to develop additional traits.


4) Here's the real meat to your point: Such traits use up energy.
That's the end all be all of the thing. Traits use energy.
Energy is related to survival. Take in enough, you live. Don't get enough, you die. Period.
We call that starvation.
To have wings, you would have to consume more calories every day. And that's just to have them sitting there. To use them would up your food need enormously. Same with being faster, taller, stronger, etc. To be all the things you suggest, we'd all be eating 20 or 30 thousand calories a day just to maintain. We'd overeat our environment and starve ourselves to death.
This is why you see things like cave fish with skin over their no-longer working eyes. The eyes are slowly going away. Why? Because in the dark, eyes are useless. But they still cost energy to maintain. So, over time, the organism gets rid of the eyes and either saves energy or spends that energy elsewhere.


5) Traits require trade-offs.
Cheetahs may be fast, but they are explosive sprinters and have no endurance for more than a few hundred yards at most. That's the trade off for speed. Many other animals run slower, but can run longer and farther.
Birds can fly, but they have hollow, light-weight, easier-to-break bones and are mostly very small. There are very few flying birds larger than the size of a small cat. A few, but not many, and they usually pay for that in other ways (again, only short distance flyers or primarily gliders with little true speed or maneuverability). The bigger a bird gets, the less and less able it is to fly (penguins, emus, dodos, ostriches, etc. They all got big, and that grounded them).
Even things that seem negative to you may well be survival advantages. Sloths are EXTREMELY slow animals. Everything about them is, from their physical movement to their respiration and heartbeat. This seems like a weakness until you look at two things. One, the food they eat. Many of it contains poisons that cannot be eaten by other mammals. Why can they eat it? Because they are so slow that they bodies have more time to break down the toxins during digestion. Also, birds of prey are big predators in their environment and fast movement attracts hunting birds. The slower you move, the less likely you are to be noticed by a hawk, the more likely you are to live. Slow is an advantage.
Plus, even seemingly helpful traits can be a detriment when the environment is altered. Large animals require more food and die off when food supplies dry up. Look at the dinosaurs. Size was beneficial so long as they just fought each other, but one meteor strike and size was a death sentence. They couldn't get enough food and they died out or slowly evolved to smaller and more efficient forms.
And humans? Our advantage is our brain. We pump more energy to the brain than almost any other animal on earth. But it has allowed us to develop larger social structures, language, tool use, and things like art and music that no other animal on earth has. The trade off is that we are not as strong or fast as some, but, as there are now 7 billion of us, I'd say we do OK for ourselves.
Again, it is all about energy. You may gain in one area, but you have to offset that cost somewhere else. You tend to lose or weaken traits for every trait you gain. Or, you up your caloric intake to maintain the new trait, but that can only happen if food is ample enough to absorb the increase.


6) The boneheads that we are?
We're bone heads because we don't run fast? I'm sorry. but do you see any other species landing on the moon or inventing iPods lately?


@Jumper:
"What beats me is why monkeys have suddenly stopped evolving."

This may be the single stupidest, most mis-informed statement I've read on Yahoo!Answers in a very long time.
A) Monkeys have NOT stopped evolving.
B) We ahve not stopped evolving either for that matter.
C) If the implication was that modern monkeys should "still be changing" into modern man, then go back and get even a 6th grade education on the topic of evolution and you'll realize just how silly and erroneous your statement was. Seriously, that is middle school level understanding.


@Cornflakes
"First, we didn't come from monkeys, we both came from a common ancestor."

Well, technically...we did not evolve from modern moneys, but the share ancestor of all primates was a primate, so if that shared ancestor was what we might call a monkey then we did come from moneys. Just not the monkeys around today, but an earlier monkey. We also came from apes, just not the great apes around today. But what gave rise to all four great ape lineages was itself an ape.

Answer #16:

I'll grant to you that the manifestation of life through Intelligent Design is 'possible'... Remember that I said that.

Notwithstanding your fundamentally flawed view that humans came from 'monkeys',
The other points you make may seem logical to you but they are illogically unilateral.
Your argument is that evolution is not possible because each animal could have been 'designed' to have its own 'special traits', - without at all considering the more plausible conclusion that each 'special trait' was the result of an evolutionary process. Evolution doesn't allow for an animal to decide to 'keep' traits that are unnecessary for its survival; it's simply nature's way of conserving resources and energy.
Hence, humans do not NEED the natural ability to breathe underwater, or to fly, or run fast.
We, the boneheaded morons you seem to think we are, designed and developed scuba gear, planes, boats, cars, etc..., not because we NEEDED to but, rather, because we WANTED to and that difference, my good man, is HUGE; human intellect is, at least at present, the ultimate of all evolutionary traits.

Now, I'd be the last to state that the theories about evolution are completely ironclad. I also understand that my response to your query will, most likely, fall on deaf ears - and that's okay.
However, within the argument of 'Evolution vs. Intelligent Design', the preponderance of evidence which has been gathered and analyzed by scientific methodology weighs heavily in favor of evolutionary theory; the room for debate here, whether you like it or not,... is very small, indeed.

Remember what I said:
Manifestation of life via Intelligent Design is, one could say, 'possible'; then again, virtually anything is 'possible'.
But to say that it is even remotely 'probable' is another thing altogether, - and not a good thing, at that.
-

Answer #17:

you used the word moronic do you understand how ironic that is .why would you or anybody worship and idea of an super being that no one has ever seen .doesn't growing out of slim seem like a more likely idea now that we don't live in caves anymore wondering where all this came from . I know you will say he sent down his son to show us the way ,don't you realize that the cops throw people in jail every day that say i am the lord.oh wait your right lets let them free he might be the one... grow up there is no god .and what is wrong with that ? just learn to make up your mind that you will do good for the sake of us, not some super guy in the sky .if there really was a god that decides what will happen to us after we die then why do the most religious people on the planet ,priests, want to do little boys .god see's everything doesn't he/ she/it. don't fall for it just be a good person

Answer #18:

Modern technology and "medicine" is killing us.

The industrial revolution has only afforded us the ability to eat and breed ourselves into oblivion.

We either get back to nature soon, or turn back to stardust - either one is fine with me.

Answer #19:

To put it simply (And mind you I believe in Intelligent Design, just in a more intelligent way (-: )

Once humans started reproducing so quickly and realized that we had thumbs, we got incredibly lazy, most of our evolution is in the brain, not in cool tricks like Jesus Lizardry and flying. We made tools to make life easier, we had a bunch of kids to defend us, we didn't need to fly, but, we do fly. We fly with our minds by creating air planes, or even more simply hang gliders. We do run across the water, it's called a boat.

Answer #20:

"After billions of years of going through evolutionary phases, we have surely had some of aforementioned traits available to us at some time or another (since we did come from the water...and from monkeys...and whatnot) ...right?"

No. That's not how it works. We didn't used to be able to fly then lose it! Though we do still have residual tails, for all the good that would do

If you actually wanted an 'evolutionist' to answer this why not ask the Biology section? This is philosophy, not science. You're mistaken about how the process works.





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