Is there evidence of recent evolution?

[Gene2memE]

Aren't most of these changes just mutations or adaptations that have been recorded in the genome?

That's what evolution is ... changes in genetic expression that get passed on through generations that eventually become fixed in a population.

They don't need to give a species a new set of eyes or armoued shell. They just need to be something that improves the survival of that creature given the environment it is located in and are passed on.

When I think of evolution I envision one creature becoming an entirely different creature, not mutation or adaptation.

This is the cartoon version of evolution.

Small, successive changes are what creates new species.

Even when biologist talk about biological 'explosions' (rapid diversification events producing lots of new types creatures) like the Cambrian, these are measured in tens of millions of years.

Generally, rapid morphological changes occur in reaction to something major, like rapid changes in the environment or the development of a new evolutionary novelty opening up new 'innovation space' for species to exploit.

Heck, I adapt to the cold each winter and to the heat every summer. That's just a design feature, like becoming fat if you overeat.

Is your adaptation passed on to your offspring via genetic inheritance? Then it's not evolution. Don't confuse scientific definitions with everyday definitions (and don't blame the sciences if you do).

Wiki is always a pretty solid place to start:

Adaptation - Wikipedia
Phenotypic plasticity - Wikipedia

 

[VirOptimus]

I'm giving examples where the data doesn't support the conclusion.

No, you are simply trolling.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

No, you are simply trolling.

Trolling is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Ophiolite]

Trolling is in the eye of the beholder.

No. It's between troglodyte and trollope in the dictionary.

 

[AirPo]

When I think of evolution I envision one creature becoming an entirely different creature, not mutation or adaptation. Heck, I adapt to the cold each winter and to the heat every summer. That's just a design feature, like becoming fat if you overeat.

Well perhaps your "envision" should be worked on.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Well perhaps your "envision" should be worked on.

Or science's presentation of it.

 

[AirPo]

Or science's presentation of it.

Science's presentation of it is not "one creature becoming an entirely different creature."

 

[Jjmcubbin]

That's what evolution is ... changes in genetic expression that get passed on through generations that eventually become fixed in a population.

They don't need to give a species a new set of eyes or armoued shell. They just need to be something that improves the survival of that creature given the environment it is located in and are passed on.



This is the cartoon version of evolution.

Small, successive changes are what creates new species.

Even when biologist talk about biological 'explosions' (rapid diversification events producing lots of new types creatures) like the Cambrian, these are measured in tens of millions of years.

Generally, rapid morphological changes occur in reaction to something major, like rapid changes in the environment or the development of a new evolutionary novelty opening up new 'innovation space' for species to exploit.



Is your adaptation passed on to your offspring via genetic inheritance? Then it's not evolution. Don't confuse scientific definitions with everyday definitions (and don't blame the sciences if you do).

Wiki is always a pretty solid place to start:

Adaptation - Wikipedia
Phenotypic plasticity - Wikipedia

That was very well written. I could not have done that without slightly insulting the other person. Are you a teacher, by any chance?

 

[Astrophile]

That the data doesn't necessarily lead to the right conclusion. We are awash in data, yet our problems keep growing. Science assures us that we came from pond scum then is surprised by our behavior.

Regarding crime. Crooks killing other crooks is not a problem, it's a solution. The problem is those rare times when an innocent person is killed in their drug wars.

Regarding crime and punishment; we no longer crucify criminals, and we don't hang people for theft. Are these changes a result of the scientific belief that we evolved from pond scum?

 

[PsychoSarah]

When I think of evolution I envision one creature becoming an entirely different creature, not mutation or adaptation.

Sounds like a personal problem.

Heck, I adapt to the cold each winter and to the heat every summer. That's just a design feature, like becoming fat if you overeat.

-_- wrong type of adaptation. You know for a fact that in 48 degrees Celsius (118 F) weather that you'd inevitably roast, since that's a bit above the maximum temperature humans can survive in. When it comes to temperature tolerance, many factors influence the range. This includes temperature maintenance mechanisms as well as the optimal temperature for proteins to be active in. In order for organisms to shift their temperature range, physiological changes must occur.

If this was simply a matter of the sort of temporary adaptation you are thinking of, which is like a tan, then the Triops would have been having full lifespans from the start. It's not as if the first generation was introduced to those temperatures more suddenly than the following ones.

 

[Gene2memE]

That was very well written. I could not have done that without slightly insulting the other person. Are you a teacher, by any chance?

Former educator (tutor, teacher and very occasionally a lecturer). Currently I'm a content editor and analyst, as well as an in-house training leader. It comes with the territory.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Regarding crime and punishment; we no longer crucify criminals, and we don't hang people for theft. Are these changes a result of the scientific belief that we evolved from pond scum?

Are you saying that we are descendants of the Romans?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Sounds like a personal problem.


-_- wrong type of adaptation. You know for a fact that in 48 degrees Celsius (118 F) weather that you'd inevitably roast, since that's a bit above the maximum temperature humans can survive in. When it comes to temperature tolerance, many factors influence the range. This includes temperature maintenance mechanisms as well as the optimal temperature for proteins to be active in. In order for organisms to shift their temperature range, physiological changes must occur.

If this was simply a matter of the sort of temporary adaptation you are thinking of, which is like a tan, then the Triops would have been having full lifespans from the start. It's not as if the first generation was introduced to those temperatures more suddenly than the following ones.

So we didn't evolve from a totally different creature, or that acclimatization isn't due to evolution?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Science's presentation of it is not "one creature becoming an entirely different creature."

Only because it doesn't happen in one generation.

 

[Micah888]

Is there evidence of recent human evolution?

No. But there is plenty of evidence for human DEVOLUTION.

Descent or degeneration to a lower or worse state.

 

[Jjmcubbin]

When I think of evolution I envision one creature becoming an entirely different creature, not mutation or adaptation. Heck, I adapt to the cold each winter and to the heat every summer. That's just a design feature, like becoming fat if you overeat.

That's what I used to think as a kid. But what you are saying, sudden extreme changes in a single or very few generations, that is mutation theory. A discarded idea because mutations are non directional, mostly harmful. Darwin's theory of evolution is directional, after all nature selects it. Mutations aren't the only reason for change in allele frequency, after all. Variation can occur due to Chance fertilization of gametes, TYPE of gamete, Crossing over, segregation, genetic drift, gene flow betweem two populations, etc.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Very likely because you start them.

I ask questions, which leads to arguments.

 

[DogmaHunter]

What evolutionary changes are evident in the age of modern man?

The Bajau: natural selection at work

Curiously, only one creationist responded in that thread and he didn't even address the topic.

 

[DogmaHunter]

Yeah, a computer that was clearly designed, but the human body wasn't when it's vastly more complex? Complexity speaks of design more than it just 'happened'.

Complexity isn't an indicator of design at all.

Case in point: I can "design" a hammer, which is just a chipped rock.
A hurricane, is a lot more complex then that. The chipped rock was "designed", the hurricane wasn't.

So there you go: a simple thing that was designed, and a vastly more complex thing that wasn't.

This proves that "complexity" isn't an indicator of design.
Furthermore, there's no unit of "complexity".

 

[Ophiolite]

The Bajau: natural selection at work

Curiously, only one creationist responded in that thread and he didn't even address the topic.

If we postulate that the creationists frequenting this forum lack a rudimentary grasp of evolutionary theory (and a questionable understanding of rigorous theological concepts) then, faced with a well constructed argument based on unassailable evidence, it is predictable, rather than curious, that they would fail to respond in that thread.

But then, that's what you actually meant by "curious".