evolution

I am about to do a sequel of sorts to one my early SkeptiCamp presentations; going into what an Intelligently Designed life form would actually look like, as opposed to the evolved life forms we are used to seeing. I wanted to cover the difference between what Creationists think artificial...

The idea is that birds are what they descended from and therefore are dinosaurs. So then dinosaurs too are whatever they descended from. Surprise ... birds are dinosaurs and dinosaurs are what? If we are clever and accurate to say that birds are dinosaurs then what should we say that dinosaurs...

Is religion (the belief into some concepts of supernatural forces or entities) an inevitable step or byproduct or even necessary in the evolution of any conscious species during the process of learning and becoming a more advanced society? I tend to think it is almost inevitable. I've put this...

I came across this interesting series of YouTube videos recently. The author describes evolution from a mathematical perspective without bringing up too much maths. The mathematics that he does introduce (even more complicated concepts) are presented in such a way that even people who are not...

Many of you reading this thread will have heard of the “hard problem of consciousness“; WP is as good an intro as any. In this thread, I’d like to discuss a somewhat orthogonal question: is consciousness, of the “hard problem” kind, binary? It’s a question I’ve not seen discussed; if you know...

According to a new study, animals are becoming more nocturnal in order to avoid humans. Abstract: News report, for those who, like me, find science papers difficult to read.

If you suffer from migraine, the culprit could be a gene labelled TRPM8 The researchers: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5688093/Humans-migrated-50-000-years-ago-genetic-mutation-cold-predisposing-headaches.html This is interesting as I know so many people who claim never to...

Two questions: What is evolutionary reason (if any) we as humans more afraid of creepy crawl animals, rats, mice etc than other types of animals? If there is an evolutionary reason behind that (they are more likely to infect us, they are more abundant, we are less likely to see them coming so...

I often see people here and elsewhere who argue that the creationists are not entirely wrong when they think that abiogenesis is a part of evolution. One poster said that it felt like a "cop out" when we distinguish between the two. I wonder why? I cannot see any reason why abiogenesis can be...

I wonder if anyone here has researched how man developed into a creature that believes in an afterlife, that feels it has a "soul" apart from its body. I suggest dualism came about because of a need to believe in an afterlife, which reveals a fear of the end of one's own existence. Animals have...

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289607000463 http://www.iapsych.com/iqmr/fe/LinkedDocuments/lynn2008.pdf Dysgenic fertility means that there is a negative correlation between intelligence and number of children. Its presence during the last century has been demonstrated in...

What is it with Kentucky? I'm beginning to wonder if there is some kind of plot to increase ignorance in this state. :mad: link

I came across this article while looking for something else. What struck me was this paragraph: A minority of Americans fully accept the scientific explanation for the origins of human life. According to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, 60% of Americans say humans have evolved over...

Anybody who hasn't had or wanted to spare the time to get Nick Lanes' "The Vital Question" from the library and read it can now read a much shorter article discussing the same issues. It's the "Life force - Why energy shapes evolution" article of the VOLUME 37 NO 5 October 2015 issue of the...

Hello, everyone! I'd like to ask the help of anyone who knows evolution REALLY well. I am trying to identify where humans (or at least mammals) are on the simplified version of the Hillis Plot, attached to this post. After carefully tracing from a much more detailed version, I THINK I figured...

That is the title of Nick Lane's new book, that comes out in July in the U.S. and Canada but has been out since late April in the U.K. I have a copy of that version if anybody wants to bring up issues. I tried to give my best shot at summarizing the key issues in the best science and medicine...

I'm not a biologist but I thought this article was interesting. I'd be interested in comments from those more knowledgeable than I.

The current Pope has shown himself to be a quite rational, deep-thinking sort of person, whose views on science and the scientific process I admire. Recently he said: “When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand and able to do...

[URL="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/god-is-not-a-magician-pope-says-christians-should-believe-in-evolution-and-big-bang/[/URL] It should be noted as enticing as it may seem.

Let's see if we can use Creationist logic to disprove Evolutionary Theory. Let's start with a common assertion: Intermediate forms cannot exist because they wouldn't be adapted. Adaptations are only useful in their final form. 1.) Elephants have fully adapted, long trunks. You won't find...