How many know?

Question

What is evolution?

In other words define it for me please.

Seriously you accept evolution now define to me what you accept.....

If evolution is mutations then how come we never see any beneficial mutations?

Like the fruit fly we gave it four wings but it made it harder for it to reproduce and the wings are useless.....

What evidence do we have of species evolving into new ones?

Answer 1

Evolution.........where a species.....um...evolves.

Gee that was a tough one. Whew.

Answer 2

As you no doubt know, there are mutations constantly occurring within the living world. These mutations, if of benefit to the species, will be carried on through the process of natural selection (one branch of evolutionary theory), so that eventually all of the species will carry this mutation in order to survive. This constant process of mutation leading to advancement in a species is known as evolution.
That's the best I can do remembering back to High School.

Answer 3

A false belief that creatures evolve or change from one form to another while in the process of supposedly improving it's chances of survival, but tell me, really, how a creature with four legs could evlove or change into a creature with two legs and two wings and instead of scales, feathers. Somewhere down the road of this so called evolution this creature would not have had a good set of front legs or a good set of wings, NOW! tell me how that was an improvement to survival, this would have been instant dinner for every predator and the creature would have gone extinct. Because it would not have had four good legs to run on or two good wings to fly away, and how difficult would it have been to hide with two unusable leg/wings stubs that gave no aid at all. ding! ding! ding! ding! DINNER TIME.

Answer 4

1. any process of formation or growth; development: the evolution of a language; the evolution of the airplane.
2. a product of such development; something evolved: The exploration of space is the evolution of decades of research.
3. Biology. change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.

Answer 5

I'd like to answer this question in story mode;

Little Johnny's a fifth generation cigarette smoker. The previous four generations all died from lung cancer. According to little Johnny's understanding of evolution, he has a much less chance of developing the same disease which killed his ancestors.

"That's what evolution does, doesn't it?" asks little Johnny, "My bloodline is slowly changed to become more resistant to that which killed my father and his father and his father...? You know, adapt and evolve, survival of the fittest etc"

Wrong, little Johnny.

Though you may well have a genetic structure which is slightly more resistant to cancer, but if you do it will be by random chance, not for the reason that you think. What is more likely to happen is that you or several smoking generations from you, will succumb to this disease and die before passing your addiction and cancer prone genes on to the next generation.

'Survival of the fittest' is a true cliché, but is not a complete description of the process of evolution. A more accurate phrase if a tad crude would be, 'Early death and less sex for the weakest'. If evolution were a conscious being, one could say that it cares not for individuals, but cares only for species. It doesn't care if you die, little Johnny. In fact, it would prefer you to die before you procreate.

"I see," says little Johnny, "So I'd be doing the human race a favor if I died before I got my girlfriend pregnant?"

Yes, little Johnny, sorry as I am to say it, your death would in all probability be the only way you can benefit our species.

A single tear rolls down little Johnny's cheek.

Answer 6

Most non-scientists seem to be quite confused about precise definitions of biological evolution. Such confusion is due in large part to the inability of scientists to communicate effectively to the general public and also to confusion among scientists themselves about how to define such an important term. When discussing evolution it is important to distinguish between the existence of evolution and various theories about the mechanism of evolution. And when referring to the existence of evolution it is important to have a clear definition in mind. What exactly do biologists mean when they say that they have observed evolution or that humans and chimps have evolved from a common ancestor?

One of the most respected evolutionary biologists has defined biological evolution as follows:


"In the broadest sense, evolution is merely change, and so is all-pervasive; galaxies, languages, and political systems all evolve. Biological evolution ... is change in the properties of populations of organisms that transcend the lifetime of a single individual. The ontogeny of an individual is not considered evolution; individual organisms do not evolve. The changes in populations that are considered evolutionary are those that are inheritable via the genetic material from one generation to the next. Biological evolution may be slight or substantial; it embraces everything from slight changes in the proportion of different alleles within a population (such as those determining blood types) to the successive alterations that led from the earliest protoorganism to snails, bees, giraffes, and dandelions."

- Douglas J. Futuyma in Evolutionary Biology, Sinauer Associates 1986

It is important to note that biological evolution refers to populations and not to individuals and that the changes must be passed on to the next generation. In practice this means that,

Evolution is a process that results in heritable changes in a population spread over many generations.

This is a good working scientific definition of evolution


It sure makes more sense to me than just saying, "god did it"
And if "god did it" which god was it? There are thousands of them and several of them predate the abrahamic god so which one did it?

There is much more evidence for evolution than for any religion on earth.

If you think I’m wrong, show me some evidence. REAL EVIDENCE

Answer 7

Change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.

So says the dictionary... Jim

Answer 8

Only the strongest live to reproduce making a species better over time.

Answer 9

the gradual change of a life form over time for survival.usually a mutation that is better than other creatures that make it and the poor adapting creatures die off

Answer 10

when something evolves.... is created on its own from something else..

eg. we are said to have evolved from slugs->something else-> eventually to monkeys and from monkeys to humans....

but is this correct?

is it possible for something so intricately detailed to evolve on its own?? Can you take a jar full of bits of a watch and shake it up....hoping in the end to come up with a complete watch??

I think not. There is only one Creator.... that is the living God of heaven and earth that created everything

Answer 11

The theory that animals and humans evolved from prehistoric ancestors. which makes sense if you look at the evidence of prehistoric bones from humanoid and animal creatures.