I think HAPM deserves a round of applause, everyone.
He finally managed to correctly identify a fallacy (although given how often our little hypocrite accuses people of ad homs, it was inevitable really).
Like the stopped clock.
Look, I have a degree in evolutionary biology from one of the top UK universities, and believe me, I didn't scrape through my exams by a hair. I like to think I actually have a reasonably good idea of what evolution does and doesn't say.
And no, that's not an appeal to authority. That's pointing out that having a decent education in a subject has a tendency to lead to an understanding of said subject.
And enter the time of the gaps fallacy.
In what way? Are you arguing that the necessary time wasn't available? (in which case I'm happy to argue that it was) Or are you arguing that so much time is not necessary?
By the way,
these guys are still just lizards, and
these ones are still just green algae.
And that's probably the fastest that phenotypic evolution gets under "natural" mechanisms. I'd say it's a lot faster than good old Charles Darwin ever expected, but it's still not fast enough to make cats out of dogs in an observable period.
I ask again: under evolutionary assumptions, why
should we expect anything to turn into a "completely different" species in front of our eyes?
Of course, my intention is not to tear down evolution...
It
obviously isn't
I appreciate your view on Theory and Hypothesis, and you are correct. Sadly, a lot of people regard these things as Law, and that is the horrible misconception...
Um, subtle terminological distinctions notwithstanding, evolution is
still one of the best supported ideas in science. Call it what you want, it doesn't change that fact.
'Is some of the anti science movement to be blamed on scientists?'
And ABSOLUTELY YES, because of the constant misrepresentation of information, claiming to empirically know things that is not empirically known, etc.
What level of certainty constitutes "knowing"?
Well it's not that complicated. When I come across the Wiki page, it had it well illustrated.
Illustrating something doesn't equal demonstrating that it happens.
It showed taking different types of birds, kept having them reproduce with different types of birds until finally, the end birds could not reproduce with the original type of bird. They called it speciation.
Now, simply reverse the order.
Take the last bird and reproduce it back through the line, and you will have the original type of bird. Not rocket science here people.
Then cite us a study that actually did it, will you? Thought experiments are not generally considered a form of empirical evidence
