Evolutionists have long claimed that the order of fossils in the rock layers directly supports Evolution, and that their theory even gives them the power to predict specifically where certain types of fossils will or will not be found.
So, evolutionists, this challenge begins with a thought experiment:
Imagine that scientists have thoroughly studied all living things, but nobody has ever gone digging for fossils. So, you know everything about human,mammal,bird,reptile,amphibian,etc. anatomy, but no fossils have been dug up yet.
Now, since you love to claim that Evolution "predicts" the order of the fossil record in the geologic column.... tell us where you expect to find different types of fossilized animal groups, and provide specific arguments for your predictions. Keep in mind our thought experiment: You know all about living animal anatomy, but have zero prior knowledge of fossil appearances in the rock record. Therefore, these should be true predictions of the fossil record, supported with well-reasoned arguments.
Here are just some examples of the types of questions you should be able to answer:
-When do the mammals evolve? Where do you specifically expect to find them in the geologic column?
-More specifically, when do hominids evolve? Is it possible that hominids were an early innovation within mammals, or could they have only appeared very recently?
-What about other sub-groups? Lions, tigers, horses, rabbits?
-Do birds evolve long before, at the same time, or long after mammals evolve? Why?
-How about turtles? Did they evolve very early on, or could they be a relatively recent evolutionary innovation only found in the upper rock layers?
-Can fossils be out of order? (i.e. can you find the remains of the grandchildren in rock layers older than the grandparents?)
-Is there any sensible fossil order at all? Or do major contemporaneous radiation events confuse it? (e.g. the selection pressures for mammals, dinosaurs, birds, etc. all manifest in relatively the same timeframe, causing their fossils to be mixed in with one another) Explain why you do or do not expect to find traces of such a pattern.
(Remember... Evolution theory supposedly "predicts" a specific order of fossils. So you should be able to argue for such a fossil order without prior knowledge of it.)
So, evolutionists, this challenge begins with a thought experiment:
Imagine that scientists have thoroughly studied all living things, but nobody has ever gone digging for fossils. So, you know everything about human,mammal,bird,reptile,amphibian,etc. anatomy, but no fossils have been dug up yet.
Now, since you love to claim that Evolution "predicts" the order of the fossil record in the geologic column.... tell us where you expect to find different types of fossilized animal groups, and provide specific arguments for your predictions. Keep in mind our thought experiment: You know all about living animal anatomy, but have zero prior knowledge of fossil appearances in the rock record. Therefore, these should be true predictions of the fossil record, supported with well-reasoned arguments.
Here are just some examples of the types of questions you should be able to answer:
-When do the mammals evolve? Where do you specifically expect to find them in the geologic column?
-More specifically, when do hominids evolve? Is it possible that hominids were an early innovation within mammals, or could they have only appeared very recently?
-What about other sub-groups? Lions, tigers, horses, rabbits?
-Do birds evolve long before, at the same time, or long after mammals evolve? Why?
-How about turtles? Did they evolve very early on, or could they be a relatively recent evolutionary innovation only found in the upper rock layers?
-Can fossils be out of order? (i.e. can you find the remains of the grandchildren in rock layers older than the grandparents?)
-Is there any sensible fossil order at all? Or do major contemporaneous radiation events confuse it? (e.g. the selection pressures for mammals, dinosaurs, birds, etc. all manifest in relatively the same timeframe, causing their fossils to be mixed in with one another) Explain why you do or do not expect to find traces of such a pattern.
(Remember... Evolution theory supposedly "predicts" a specific order of fossils. So you should be able to argue for such a fossil order without prior knowledge of it.)
