undefined | Better HN

0 pointstwinings18y ago0 comments

What problem do you have with 'millions of years'?

Forget about proof. Just consider this: Imagine small changes, occurring continuously over millions of years. Would they still be 'small' changes after a while? Of course not. They would be small_changes * millions_of_years = big_changes

Or do you disagree that millions of years passed?

0 comments

3 comments · 1 top-level

lst18y ago· 2 in thread

I don't have personally any problem with 'millions of years', and I don't say that the evolution theory is wrong, but for me it simply stays a nice theory, which can't be proven, and which isn't able to explain everything.

I do believe that the universe is millions of millions of years old, but I also believe that the humans arrived last (much later than any animal). And that humans have many attributes which can't be explained by an evolution theory.

Please offer me something more intelligent, I simply refute to think that some monkey thought by himself: "And now let's develop/incubate/whatever self consciousness, to be finally real humans!". Sorry, but that's too stupid.

rabagley18y ago

Evolution is an observed fact and even religious leaders 150 years ago did not argue this. Natural Selection is a theory which explains, without reference to any supernatural agent, how evolution might have happened. Darwin didn't posit evolution as it wasn't a subject that was very exciting. It happened, everyone agrees.

Natural Selection, on the other hand, is more than just a hypothesis (you're using the word "theory" incorrectly). It (with refinements) is one of the most widely established explanations for all of the observed phenomena of lineages, species differences. It also made a number of testable predictions that have since been borne out (it predicted DNA, among other things). More recently, natural selection has led to the development of new sciences, like evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, evolutionary linguistics, etc. which are taking our understanding of biology and behavior further than ever.

Evolution is a fact. Natural Selection is a theory (and not a hypothesis). No scientists are "moving away" from natural selection. Anyone who told you that is uninformed or lying.

lst18y ago

> Evolution is an observed fact [...]

Has it been 'observed' for a few years or for millions of years ;)

Again, it can't be observed for a period that would be sufficiently long to really prove for evidence.

Hence it's still a theory, sorry.

(Most 'scientists' need to learn philosophy, especially the greek one. It would help very much to understand logic, and to understand terms like 'theory'.)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse