Are we all blind to the obvious?

Question

Train of thought -- "How can people deny evolution when the evidence is so apparent? ... Is there anything equally as visable that I'm refusing to acknowledge? ... Does everyone deny what's right in front of them? ... How can we discover what we don't want to?"

Wow, I really wasn't trying to start an Evolution/Creation debate, but these answers are good examples of what I'm talking about....

Evolution has little to do with my question...Please read it before answering.

Answer 1

People are not blind to the obvious; rather, they are conditioned to accept, learn about, and focus on information that conforms to their specific world-view. Misinformation helps serve as a psychological "buffer" between unpleasant truths and pleasant misconceptions. For example, consider the following misconceptions:

"DNA and the human body are far too complex to be thrown together by chance." - Evolution does not posit that anything is "thrown together by chance", but rather that the nonrandom process of natural selection tends to promote beneficial traits. Additionally, abiogenesis is not an aspect of evolution; and the fact that something seems improbable does not make it impossible.

"Even simple Bacterial Flagellum contains a sophisticated acid-powered rotary propulsion system much like an electric motor!" - Which evolved from slightly less sophisticated Type III transport system. The evolutionary mechanism of exaptation (a structure changing functions) accounts for apparent irreducible complexity.

"Upon scraping the crust away, the scientist is amazed to find a perfect, sphere of polished metal." - Note the interesting fact that this example relies on a sphere of metal. We have observed metallic artifacts being intelligently designed, so we know how they could be made artificially; however, we have never observed an intelligence creating brand-new life (and we have never observed any sort of supernatural creator making anything), making the inference of design less plausible. However, even if such design was plausible, the intelligent designers themselves (in the case of terrestrial artifacts, humans; in the case of space artifacts, presumably aliens) need their origins accounted for. We can either posit that human intelligent designers were themselves intelligently designed, or try to find ways humans could arise without being designed; if we take the former tact, then we must in turn explain how the nonhuman intelligent designer came to be, since if human intelligence is so complex that it requires an intelligence, the superhuman designer is all the more complex and requires yet another intelligence. This leads to an infinite regress. The only way to solve the regress is to posit, at some point, intelligence arising without being intelligently designed; and arbitrarily stating that God must be where we draw the line, when man would work just as well (if not better), seems quite unwarranted.

"The data examined spanned a 400-year period of solar observation," - Actually, it only spanned a 90-year period of solar observation. You clearly haven't even read the paper you're citing. Even the title of the study makes this clear: "Secular decrease in the solar diameter, 1863-1953". Moreover, Eddy & Boornazian themselves did not make the false claim that their study supported the idea of long-term solar shrinkage, and all other studies since their paper have disproven the idea.

"Evolution, which is merely a theory accepted as fact" - In science, a theory is more important than a fact. Gravity is a theory, for example. Be careful not to equivocate between the scientific and colloquial meanings of "theory", which refer to entirely different things.

'No species has ever turned into another' - Numerous species have been observed turning into new ones. For example, speciations have been observed: from Oenothera lamarckiana to Oenothera gigas; from Stephanomeira exigua to Stephanomeira malheurensis; from Culex pipiens to Culex molestus; and from a variety of different fruit flies species to new species within the Drosophila melanogaster group.

Although careful examination of the facts does indeed lead to the inevitable, and perhaps "obvious", conclusion that evolutionary theory is at least predominantly correct, the unfortunate fact is that most people have neither the time nor interest in such a careful examination. Most people do not enter the creation-evolution debate to learn or to freely exchange ideas; they enter it to try to promote their own views. And that sort of atmosphere is entirely unconducive to growth and education; it's more the climate of political and religious arguments than of scientific debates, complete with empty claims and rhetorical flourishes.

Answer 2

Funny thing. Evolutionists say: "the evidence is so obvious". Creationists say: "the evidence is so obvious". For me, for instance, I don't understand how a person could not believe in God, whether he created by evolution or by direct immediate creation. Because there is no way that all this could happen without a personal intelligence behind it all. But lots of educated people don't see it. Even though the evidence is so apparent.
Now I went to school And I have discussed with a lot of people. And I'm sorry, but I don't find the evidence for evolution to be "so apparent". Just saying that it is obvious doesn't make it obvious. In fact, using that as an argument kind of weakens the argument, doesn't it?

Answer 3

People deny evolution the same way they deny GODS creation and its also very apparent JUST take a look at urself us, as humans we breathe air yet we never run out we our make up our design how could it not be a supreme being a GOD that created us so divinely? it must be some thing more than a big BANG! or apes that scratch flea from themselves. it also doesnt make sense if we evolved our evolutionary pattern would have surely continued yet we yes even we procreate little humans. and babies we create them. think about it.

Answer 4

Some are but some are also blinded by their faith. The believers refuse to accept the proof that is right in front of their noses. Instead of accepting evolution like most intelligent beings they claim that it was their god that put the proof there so humans can have fun finding it. Sound just plain goofy but such is religion and its fanatics.

No there is nothing equally visible that "proofs" religion. Religion or lack of religion is a personal choice of spirituality nothing more.

Answer 5

How can people deny evolution when the evidence is so apparent? DOES THE APE HAVE A SOUL?

Answer 6

What apparent evidence? Do you know of one species that totally changed into another...a completely different species. No...it has never happened. There have been small changes within a species for environmental adaptation, but that is not proof of evolution per Darwin.

Answer 7

...What have been in front of me tonight were all my family, at the dinner table. Each person is a complex creation of God, and each one believes on Christ as Savior; they are not some mass of body parts, thrown together during millions of years, plus natural selection, plus chance, by some cosmic accident, which by the way, was not witnessed by anyone, and cannot be recreated in a laboratory...so much for scientific method.
...They are God's workmanship (meaning His unique design), with the potential in Christ to live lives of worthy service to God and others.

Answer 8

DNA and the human body are far too complex to be thrown together by chance. DNA is a very complex organic computer program that could never evolve. So either you believe in the ET seed theory, or in a Designer. Evolution requires billions of years to even get to the simple cell. Even simple Bacterial Flagellum contains a sophisticated acid-powered rotary propulsion system much like an electric motor! http://www.meta-library.net/media/flglm-lg.jpg Sorry, the sun would have been too hot only a million years ago to sustain life.

Now, suppose a secular scientist were sent to investigate a meteor that impacted the earth. Upon scraping the crust away, the scientist is amazed to find a perfect, sphere of polished metal. Back at the lab, he sees that he can unscrew the hemispheres apart. Inside he finds a very elaborate system of gyros, propulsion and visual cameras. If damaged, the internal systems can repair itself. Would the scientist marvel at how long it took to have such a mechanism accidentally evolve in space? Or would he choose to believe it was created by an advanced designer somewhere outside of terrestrial domain? Because he is a secular scientist, he has no problem with thinking the latter. Yet if we say we believe in a Creator, we are branded as unscientific or mindless zealots.

In order for the math of evolution to be even remotely possible, you would need millions of years of mutation and adaptation. . John A. Eddy (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and Aram A. Boomazian (mathematician with S. Ross Co.) have determined that the sun has been contracting about 0.1% per century. The data examined spanned a 400-year period of solar observation, so that this shrinkage of the sun, though small, is apparently continual. If the sun was larger in the past than it is now by 0.1% per century, a creationist, who may believe that the world was created approximately six thousand years ago, has very little to worry about, for the sun would have been only 6% larger at point of origin to now. However, 100 thousand years ago, the sun would have been twice the size it is now, and it is hard to imagine that any life could exist under such altered conditions. Yet 100 thousand years is a minuscule amount of time when dealing with traditional evolutionary time scales.

Science has its own set of beliefs and faiths. Evolution, which is merely a theory accepted as fact, is just an agenda to keep God out of the public arena. If those who wish to cast out any form of religion out of the schools, they must also do the same with evolution--it is a faith with just as many zealots.

Answer 9

What Schneb said is true,as far as it goes.The plain and simple fact
is,that evolution, is one of satan the devils biggest and most successful lie's.But it seem that more and more people are
finally getting wise to that ole lie.There are people who still cling to
that belief,"refusing to acknowledge" that it just does not fit...

Answer 10

Yes, people are bind to the truth and that is why they believe in evolution.