Do YOU belive in Evolution?

Do you belive in Evolution? Why or why not? If not, what do you belive made humans come about?
The reason I belive in Evolution is when you see chimpanzies, and other types of great apes, you see such similarities between them and humans, that almost no other animal has, that it's creepy.They can understand and respond to many things taught to them, they can properly use tools, they both eat meat and vegtiables, and they both have warfare qualities to them. Plus, SOME people these days look a lot like the great apes XD
So..what do YOU belive?

Just quick post here (I haven't seen how these threads develop around here yet :) ) I don't "believe" in evolution any more than I "believe" in gravity.  I accept it as a scientific theory and recognize it's explanatory power in the development of life.  Among other things, without it medical science would still be barely out of the "spirits cause disease" age.

It's a pretty useful tool for learning about nutrition and diet by-the-by.  Understanding the developmental similarities in other animals as compared to hu mans makes nutrition itself a pretty interesting field.

 I do, and Im gonna be really po'ed when humans evolve super metabolisms due to consuming large amounts of food. I HATE future humans. Heh. But yeah, nature will eventually do something with all these extra calories being ingested that itll make humans become more efficient at using it. Perhaps making humans develop muscle faster and become denser, or perhaps increasing brain size, who knows, maybe a bunch of different adaptations will emerge. Super tall, muscular people/Super smart people/Super strong people/ etc.

If any creationists show up, I am warning you now I will be banned. Mods, you're on alert.

'believe' and 'evolution' seem like complex terms to me.  Even ID people will even say they believe in evolution in certain respects.

One thing I would address is the influence of evolution on medical science and nutrition.  I admit I'm pretty skeptical about this.   From I can't think of too many examples where the evolutionary development of humans was used to deduce a medical treatment or a nutritional system.  Let alone something that was intrinsic to the progress of modern medicine or nutrition.

Compared to say math and physics.  Without which modern medicine would be crippled.

can you give an example or two of what you're referring to?  I'm not familiar with the scientific facts of evolution having anything to do with medical science.  I can't see how any information about evolution could be used medically.  Care to enlighten me?

edited to add:  I accept the fact that plant and animal life evolved on earth because of the large body of solid, scientific evidence that we can see with our own eyes.

Original Post by sarkeizen:

'believe' and 'evolution' seem like complex terms to me. Even ID people will even say they believe in evolution in certain respects.

One thing I would address is the influence of evolution on medical science and nutrition. I admit I'm pretty skeptical about this. From I can't think of too many examples where the evolutionary development of humans was used to deduce a medical treatment or a nutritional system. Let alone something that was intrinsic to the progress of modern medicine or nutrition.

Compared to say math and physics. Without which modern medicine would be crippled.

Every drug currently in development is tested first on other animals in large part due to evolutionary similarities. But far before that, all of the work done in genetics (where drug discovery is done now) relies on the facts of evolution.  I won't get technical, but we can trace the evolution of a gene and by doing so we can find genes in animals (such as mice or rats) that, when perturbed, create a similar (if not the same) disease allowing us to research it more directly.

However, for an example a little closer to home: antibiotic resistance (evolution in action), HIV drug resistance, cancer treatments. All of these rely on research that's done with a view and understanding of evolution. Modern and especially future medical advances would be crippled without it.

Evolution is about as much as a "theory" as flight is....

We use it...we use it every day... its in many areas of our society currently....we have been using it for hundreds of years (even thousands).

The cows and animals we have....we breed them selectively to make certain qualities more pronounced.

The grains and crops we use are evolved into stronger and more effective crops...

The vaccins we use....they are developed in the same types of evolution process.

We have clear records in fossils of evolutional changes in creatures (big ones). The development of limbs and tails....the shrinking of arms... the addition of more eyes (or the eyes becoming useless when no longer needed).

Evolution is part of our world, we know about it, we use it... its not really a question of "if" it exists. It DOES exist (and we use it actively to better our societies). Asking if its "real" is, again, like asking if flight is "real"....

If humans evolved from Apes how come there are still apes today? 

How come they haven't all evolved into humans?

I have to agree. Evolution.. as in the Evolution of Man from EDIT: Yes, Fine, Ape's relatives, is a theory. Evolution as in the studied and accepted fact that things evolve.. that, FOR EXAMPLE, Life has evolved in the Chernobyl Reactors after the accident, a microbe that feeds off radiation.. this is not a theory. This is fact. Evolution, creatures evolving to fit their changing biomes is fact.

But if you're asking that I believe that Apes and Men are related, yes, I do.

Humans didn't evolve from apes, humans and apes evolved from the same common ancestor and took different branches of the "evolutionly tree" to fit their environmental needs. 

Here's another question to ponder.. why are there so many species of Dogs and Cats? Does a Collie really have a different spot in the evolutionary chain or biome than a Pomeranian? And if not, why did these separate breeds of dogs evolve?

Because humans, using the same fundamentals as evolution uses, breed those different dogs based on their needs for them. It worked a lot faster when we didn it however, because we knew what we wanted and were aware of what we where doing. A collie and a pomeranian may not seem to have different places in the evolutionary chain, however they have each has served a different purpose to man in the past. 

its called selective breeding, and has been used for thousands of years. 

the question in my mind is, is selective breeding, on purpose, the same as evolution? 

PS: Thanks for the clarification of how evolution influences modern medicine. 

I'd say, yes, Claire. It's the same mechanics.. Evolution is about taking one lifeform.. and watching it become something else. It's about mutation, adaptation, and natural selection

I wouldn't say I "believe" in evolution.

'Believe' implies that there is no evidence and that I'm taking it on faith. (to me anyways)

I would say that I acknowledge and accept those observations which point to evolution as part of the history of this world.

I'm a creationist.

Ban spriochete!  :D

Actually, I think we're all part of a big computer that will deduce the question of life, the universe, and everything.

Either that, or I blame evolution on those monoliths that keep popping up.

Then again, the Garden of Eden did sound pretty sweet.

If humans evolved from Apes how come there are still apes today? 

How come they haven't all evolved into humans?



Is this a joke post, I can't tell? Just in case someone actually thinks this, let me explain. Humans don't "come from" apes.  We have a common ancestor many thousands of years ago. Think of a tree trunk with different branches. The trunk is the ape-like hominid, apes became one brance and humans became another.


Here is a really basic graph of what I'm talking about

Original Post by uve_been_oatmealed:

 I do, and Im gonna be really po'ed when humans evolve super metabolisms due to consuming large amounts of food. I HATE future humans. Heh. But yeah, nature will eventually do something with all these extra calories being ingested that itll make humans become more efficient at using it. Perhaps making humans develop muscle faster and become denser, or perhaps increasing brain size, who knows, maybe a bunch of different adaptations will emerge. Super tall, muscular people/Super smart people/Super strong people/ etc.

[emphasis added]

I found an article recently about how Americans are producing much more amylase in their guts, this is the enzyme that breaks down starch and sugar.

This doesn't mean that those calories won't turn to fat, but yeah, our bodies are already responding to what we're doing to them via this SAD, Standard American Diet.

:)

haha, spirochete, i wondered the same thing.

i really really hope it was a joke