Why does it matter if someone believes in the THEORY of evolution or not?

[GWhopper]

Because people who fervently deny the truth of evolution tend to be people who try to ignore or even avoid facts that are counter to what they want to believe. This leads to politicians spouting such delusions like, oh I don't know, vaccines cause mental retardation, some middle eastern dictator has weapons of mass destruction and strong ties to Al-Queda, fracking doesn't pollute ground water drinking supplies, pollution is actually good for the environment, and trees are just nature's little socialists.

[Ceist]

Originally Posted by GuyNTexas

Do you even realize how you destroy your own credibility with statements like "Nothing in science is proven" .... only to follow that with circular logic and double talk like "facts and theories are different things" followed by "evolution is both a theory and a fact"? According to this line of reasoning, everything is both right and wrong ... left and right ... up and down .... it's all, and yet it is also nothing. This is nonsense.

There are theories, and there are facts. A proven theory becomes an accepted fact. Of course, there is always the possibility that new information may come along that disproves an accepted fact, rendering it false and consequently, not a fact at all.

Facts and theories can also co-mingle .... while the existence of gravity is a scientifically accepted "fact", the various explanations for the effects and mechanisms responsible for gravity's behavior are theories.

I've got a news flash for you ... science has proven that the Earth orbits the Sun ....among many, many other things that are "proven" facts.





More double talk .... and totally false. Evolution defined IS the progression from more simple to more complex .... that's the process claimed of evolution, and it resides in your own earlier statement that said "Scientists do consider the evolution of all species on the planet from one or very few common ancestors to be established fact" This evolutionary process describes all species originating from more primitive earlier forms of life to more complex modern forms of life.

Your apparent confusion resides in not understanding the difference between what is considered "evolution" and "variation". Not all "change" describes an evolution event ..... some changes are simply "variation", such as what happens when two subtypes within compatible species interbreed, creating a hybrid variation. Dog breeders have been doing this for a long time ... and it has nothing to do with "evolution".

Evolution as is currently defined includes processes of change which are not evolutionary, though the fundamental premise of the theory of evolution remains a progression from simple to more complex.



Your comparison of different species, and their relative complexities between each other demonstrates a total misunderstanding of what evolution theory claims. The premise of evolution is that ALL of these various species which have existed or continue to exist evolved from an ancient common ancestor of lessor complexity.

No one suggests that a "Rose" is more complex than a Whale or a Monkey or a modern human .... the premise of evolution claims that the Rose and the Whale and the Monkey and the Human all share a common ancestor, which was less complex than all of them. The relative complexity between the rose and the whale is totally irrelevant.



My description was EXACTLY what defines gene mutation.

Mutation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What is a gene mutation and how do mutations occur? - Genetics Home Reference

And furthermore, my description of a mutation that is claimed to show a benefit or enhancement while actually resulting in a net negative is well defined here:

Gene mutation contributes to leukemia by enhancing function of blood stem cells

Excerpt:

"Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and New York University have discovered how a mutation in the gene known as TET2 contributes to the development of some leukemias. When a mutation in TET2 occurs, it enhances the function of blood stem cells in the bone marrow, causing them to renew themselves more efficiently than normal blood stem cells. This results in a greater number of mutant cells than normal blood stem cells, a condition that leads to leukemia".

There are literally countless examples of mutations that may show enhancement in a specific process, while directly or indirectly leading to a negative or undesirable outcome.

The facts are, even mainstream geneticists acknowledge that most mutations are either "silent" or cause harm. And it's highly questionable whether the "silent" mutations are actually silent ... they may only remain silent so long as their negative consequences remain unrecognized.

Also note the term used above "Blood Stem Cell" .. as this is pertinent to the next response.



You have already destroyed your own credibility, so this is just a continuation of the same, and more double talk, with an added element of creating a straw man, and relying on others to be as ill informed as you are.

I'm fully aware of the fact that each cell carries an identical copy of the DNA, though that is immaterial to the discusion, and simply shows your lack of understanding of what we're discussing here. The cited experiment dealt with adult stem cells. What you apparently don't understand is that there are two TWO basic types of stem cells .... pluripotent, which can produce any type of cell in the body except those that support a fetus in the womb, and are found in fetal tissue (embryonic stem cells) ... and multipotent stem cells that can produce only a limited number of cell types, which are referred to as "adult stem cells" (non-embryonic). And, according to "genetic control" these multipotent or adult stem cells can only produce those substances for which the gene sequence instructs naturally, free of any intentional genetic modification to force activate other gene sequences. The cited experiment proved that wrong, and that a specifically selected and cloned adult stem cell could produce cells they aren't supposed to be able to produce, based on the outside environment, and NOT based on the genetic code of that stem cell.

You may start becoming better informed about these different types of cells here:

http://stemcells.nih.gov/StemCells/Templates/StemCellContentPage.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGU ID={A604DCCE-2E5F-4395-8954-FCE1C05BECED}&NRORIGINALURL=%2finfo%2ffaqs.asp&NRC ACHEHINT=NoModifyGuest#classes



Yes yes .... anything outside your awareness, or anything that challenges your accepted beliefs is just crackpot nonsense.

Well, that would seem to cover a great deal of territory, as your awareness is lacking on many fronts.

Is this a joke?