question about evolution

i have always been taught a "creation" perspective on the origin of the universe and understand that theory quite well. I am very curious to learn about the evolutionary viewpoint. i certainly do not disagree with the principle of natural selection, but the aspect that assumes we are descendents apes brings some confusion. now for my question...

if apes evolved to eventually become humans as we know them today, why did only some of us evolve and some stay as apes? why did all in between perish, leaving only the beginning and end "products" (apes and human) with no in between?

thanks to anyone who can shed light with an educated, intelligent response!

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Originally Posted by hazetwostep

i have always been taught a "creation" perspective on the origin of the universe and understand that theory quite well. I am very curious to learn about the evolutionary viewpoint. i certainly do not disagree with the principle of natural selection, but the aspect that assumes we are descendents apes brings some confusion. now for my question...

if apes evolved to eventually become humans as we know them today, why did only some of us evolve and some stay as apes? why did all in between perish, leaving only the beginning and end "products" (apes and human) with no in between?

thanks to anyone who can shed light with an educated, intelligent response!

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Aye I've often wondered the same man.

How is it that no other types of beings evolved with a brain capable of such complexity? You'd think species like lizards that have been here much longer than primates would have developed a brain way before us...

~The mysteries of life!

millions of years in different places? apes are evolved, just not as much as us.

there are millions of different species, who says all primates have to be the same?

fish - sharks, why aren't all fish sharks?

I find it asburd a human being can teach creationism through stories alone from uneducated ancestors with the need to believe in a higher power.

Adaptations only occur, under the theory of evolution, when there is something in nature for the animal to adapt to. So, in other words, apes in one part of the world live there, and fill in a new niche in the environment and apes who don't fill in the new niche or live in another geographic area don't adapt.

I suggest reading up on the process of Natural Selection, it will shine light upon many of the questions I assume you have.

Evolution doesn't claim that we descended from apes, but rather that human and ape descended from a common ancestor. There were several mutations in that common ancestor somewhere along the line. It is not just a one time mutation also. When a mutation is suitable for the conditions of the habitat, the gene is passed on to the next generation. But just because one mutation is helpful to a species, does not mean that the parent set of genes is harmful and will die out.

For instance, humans with hanging earlobes came from the same common ancestor as humans with attached earlobes. One could ask, "But why did only some of the humans mutate, but not the others?". Well, at this point in time, ear lobes don't really have much to do with the survival of our genes. However, if for some reason, women become sexually attracted only to men with attached earlobes, then those men will reproduce at a rate faster than those with hanging earlobes, and the attached earlobe genes will prevail.

Wow I'm writing a lot. But the point is, just because certain animals encounter mutations that nature(or the other sex for that matter) deems desireable, doesn't mean that all examples of the species that do not have that gene are going to die out.

I personally believe that we all got to be via the cyclic model of the universe, panspermia, natural selection, and evolution. But that's just me.

Well, evolution is a very slow process. Things evolve to adapt to the environment they live in. Evolution can be looked at kind of like...birth defects. I guess a better word would be a genetic difference. When something is born with that "defect," It carries the gene along with it, and passes it along to whatever it breeds with. Through time and breeding, the trait becomes more and more common, and eventually is just a normal part of that type of animal. Of course, this process takes a very long time. I'll use an colony of people that starts living underwater as an example.

Ok, so just say a colony of people were to start living a lot of their lives underwater, but coming up every minute or so for air. Over generations, the people in the colony will be able to breathe for longer and longer amounts of time. This is their body's way of adapting to the environment.

It is the same way gills were created. Then, when animals developed legs and started coming onto land, they developed lungs, because that's what they need to get nutrients from the air.

I think that the reason not all apes turned into humans is the fact that they are so spread out. I'm not sure why we developed so much intelligence, but it makes sense because animals have been becoming more and more intelligent over time. Anyway, since not all apes were bunched together and not all bred with each other, the ones who were not around the ones who carried this new trait obviously did not get this new trait. You can see this in people too, as the first humans developed in Africa, they were black. Eventually, some of them started to move to colder climates, and the ones that did, developed lighter skin colors, making white people. There are still both whites and blacks living today, as there are apes and humans. Now, I am not exactly sure why the earlier versions of humans no longer exist, but my theory is that, like many species of animals, they became extincted. I think that at one time, the more primitive humans and the ones more like now co-existed.

Thats is about what I know about evolution. I hope I explained it clearly and that it helped. :thumbsup: :rastasmoke:

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Originally Posted by GotWake88

Evolution doesn't claim that we descended from apes, but rather that human and ape descended from a common ancestor. There were several mutations in that common ancestor somewhere along the line. It is not just a one time mutation also. When a mutation is suitable for the conditions of the habitat, the gene is passed on to the next generation. But just because one mutation is helpful to a species, does not mean that the parent set of genes is harmful and will die out.

For instance, humans with hanging earlobes came from the same common ancestor as humans with attached earlobes. One could ask, "But why did only some of the humans mutate, but not the others?". Well, at this point in time, ear lobes don't really have much to do with the survival of our genes. However, if for some reason, women become sexually attracted only to men with attached earlobes, then those men will reproduce at a rate faster than those with hanging earlobes, and the attached earlobe genes will prevail.

Wow I'm writing a lot. But the point is, just because certain animals encounter mutations that nature(or the other sex for that matter) deems desireable, doesn't mean that all examples of the species that do not have that gene are going to die out.

I personally believe that we all got to be via the cyclic model of the universe, panspermia, natural selection, and evolution. But that's just me.

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Haha, ours is pretty similar. Pretty much all these were posted while I was writing that it took me a while lol.

People seem to think that our DNA has some sort of conciousness, and when the conditions change, so do the genes. But that is not what evolution says. The mutations are completely arbitrary. For example, Giraffes. If for some reason, one giraffe is born with a mutation that gives it a longer neck than the others; then there is a draught which creates a food shortage. Well, the giraffes with longer necks are going to have a better chance of survival, as they will be able to reach higher branches on trees to obtain food. Genes do not mutate because of a change in conditions, but a change in conditions can be the reason some genes are passed on more frequently than others.

yeah, its the result of the common ancestor, as has been said by several people already. I suppose the phrase "man is decended from apes" is misleading, but I think it was actually coined to that effect. Correctly speaking, both man and modern apes evolved from some previous common ancestor within the primate family.
We share the most genetic traits with the chimpanzee I believe.

A lot of the driving force of natural selection has to do with what niche the organism is filling, and whether or not its competitive to keep filling it. There are some "living fossils", mostly fish, that have remained remarkably unchanged for millions of years because there's no pressure on their population to evolve significantly. Same goes for many reptiles come to think of it.

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Originally Posted by Polymirize

We share the most genetic traits with the chimpanzee I believe.

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I believe about 96 percent. Weird stuff huh.

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Originally Posted by meloncoly

millions of years in different places? apes are evolved, just not as much as us.

there are millions of different species, who says all primates have to be the same?

fish - sharks, why aren't all fish sharks?

I find it asburd a human being can teach creationism through stories alone from uneducated ancestors with the need to believe in a higher power.

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ownnnnnned lol hah ooo im so high

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Originally Posted by hazetwostep

i have always been taught a "creation" perspective on the origin of the universe and understand that theory quite well. I am very curious to learn about the evolutionary viewpoint. i certainly do not disagree with the principle of natural selection, but the aspect that assumes we are descendents apes brings some confusion. now for my question...

if apes evolved to eventually become humans as we know them today, why did only some of us evolve and some stay as apes? why did all in between perish, leaving only the beginning and end "products" (apes and human) with no in between?

thanks to anyone who can shed light with an educated, intelligent response!

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There are several different reasons organisms evolve. In the case with humans and apes, humans didn't evolve directly from apes. Humans and Apes evolved from a common ancestor. The reason we turned out different than apes can be explained by different modes of speciation (most likely allpatric speciation)

It's a complicated process to track the evolution of species, but we have mapped out a lot of evolution, and many of the common arguments against evolution have been disproven. Evolution is a "theory", but it's regarded as fact by every biologists that I've encountered.

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Originally Posted by meloncoly

I find it asburd a human being can teach creationism through stories alone from uneducated ancestors with the need to believe in a higher power.

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i can understand you perplexity of religious people and there simplicity of certain matters. remember not all people believing in a higher power simply accept stories of creation. that is a huge generalization, especially considering the majority of Christians believe creation stories are not actually events, but stories with important morals.

i do think it is interesting that human kind cannot get away from a "feeling" or "belief" that there is some higher power... just interesting

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Originally Posted by hazetwostep

i can understand you perplexity of religious people and there simplicity of certain matters. remember not all people believing in a higher power simply accept stories of creation. that is a huge generalization, especially considering the majority of Christians believe creation stories are not actually events, but stories with important morals.

i do think it is interesting that human kind cannot get away from a "feeling" or "belief" that there is some higher power... just interesting

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It's human nature. When man cannot find a natural answer, he creates a supernatural one.

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Originally Posted by GotWake88

It's human nature. When man cannot find a natural answer, he creates a supernatural one.

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Well, if the "laws of nature" don't describe an observable event, does that mean that its necessarily a supernatual one?
That could mean rising from the dead after three days... or, something like a blackhole or heisenburg's uncertainty principle.

I don't think human beings necessarily need to fall to supernatural answers, unless its simply defined as outside of our understanding of nature.

What's human about it, is that we assume an answer might exist.

rickytikki... that article is amazing! wow...

We didn't evolve from apes, we and apes share a common ancestor.

This type of evolution is just a theory. You're rejecting that God created man in his own image.
Everything was created for man, including the Earth. Man did not evolve from beast. What is your proof?

It's funny how everything just landed on the earth perfectly. The sun shines, the white clouds drop dew on the green grass which the animals eat and drink. Man eats out of the ground he was created. Where else outside the Earth is this happening? A christian is often accused of lacking logic. Where is the logic in believing that there is life outside Earth? Can you see it anywhere else?

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."

This includes the Monkeys and Apes. Monkeys did not become men. Since it didn't happen, I'm sure there is no scientific proof of it.

In the kingdom of God, even the animal kingdom will be at peace. They will play together.
We're coming back. Re-incarnation. Better than before. Hope in the afterlife. :hippy:

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Originally Posted by Pass That Shit

This type of evolution is just a theory. You're rejecting that God created man in his own image.
Everything was created for man, including the Earth. Man did not evolve from beast. What is your proof?

It's funny how everything just landed on the earth perfectly. The sun shines, the white clouds drop dew on the green grass which the animals eat and drink. Man eats out of the ground he was created. Where else outside the Earth is this happening? A christian is often accused of lacking logic. Where is the logic in believing that there is life outside Earth? Can you see it anywhere else?

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."

This includes the Monkeys and Apes. Monkeys did not become men. Since it didn't happen, I'm sure there is no scientific proof of it.

In the kingdom of God, even the animal kingdom will be at peace. They will play together.
We're coming back. Re-incarnation. Better than before. Hope in the afterlife. :hippy:

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Not to condescend, but, can't you read? Of course monkeys didn't become humans. Both humans and monkeys decended from the mighty sasquatch. Beast-man. Were-monkey. Whatever.

Our planet compares to the rest of the universe like a grain of sand to our galaxy, only less so. You don't seem to appreciate the scope. If the entire meaning of our universe is to be found here on earth, then the grand story is most definately a comedy.

It's true, we share the common ancestor of the homonid. We didn't evolve directly from the apes we see today.

I think the concept is simple: it's survival of the fittest. The organisms that fit their environment the best or most efficiently, go on to create the most offspring, which go on to create more offspring with those same features. These minute changes lead to large change over time, which accounts for the great variety of species specialized to their environment.

i always get these weird moments where you get this thought that just comes to you and evolution has to do with some of them. like i was brushing my teeth a little bit ago and was like how did we come from other beings to the point were we can make all these things around us and brush our teeth with this toothpaste. it was really weird. just thinking about the theory of evolution can have you thinkin for a long time.

i'm not a monkey nor were my ancestors and i'm not an animal or else i wouldn't even be typing this......why don't we see apes turning into men now..........evolution sounds a bit farfetched when a monkey starts talkin to me with knowledge i'll then believe it.......probably you guys are monkeys cuz my human brain knows i didn't come from no damn monkeys.......if we did then giraffes came from donkeys and elephants came from mice on steroids

you have to remember chino that the theory of evolution is taught that it all happened over hundreds of millions of years and then theres always the first bacteria from billions of years ago, so it's very hard for us to grasp how long that really as well as trying to understand how organisms evolved into the things that we see today.

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Originally Posted by krazy chino

i'm not a monkey nor were my ancestors and i'm not an animal or else i wouldn't even be typing this......why don't we see apes turning into men now..........evolution sounds a bit farfetched when a monkey starts talkin to me with knowledge i'll then believe it.......probably you guys are monkeys cuz my human brain knows i didn't come from no damn monkeys.......if we did then giraffes came from donkeys and elephants came from mice on steroids

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I think I'm starting to get this whole anti-evolution thing. If the answer isn't childishly simple and explainable within a few sentences, it didn't happen!

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Originally Posted by krazy chino

i'm not a monkey nor were my ancestors and i'm not an animal or else i wouldn't even be typing this......why don't we see apes turning into men now..........evolution sounds a bit farfetched when a monkey starts talkin to me with knowledge i'll then believe it.......probably you guys are monkeys cuz my human brain knows i didn't come from no damn monkeys.......if we did then giraffes came from donkeys and elephants came from mice on steroids

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can you say "fucking retard?"

fucking retard

the interesting thing is that there is no reason that evolution and "a higher power" cannot work together instead of being at odds like everyone tries to make them... just my opinion..

i believe in evolution as it is simply a logical result of life over a long period of time. the stronger genes prevail... simple (except that humans screw it with medical technology).

i believe in a higher power... there is nothing that can definitively prove it according to empirical science, but that does not mean it is not real. i choose to believe that the power is there. you have to choose not to believe or to believe... i choose the later.

we certainly don't have STRONG understanding about the "start" of the universe and to me this makes as much sense as any other.

simple... no conflict!