Evolution: an exercise in rationality -- Ben's Message Board

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Subject: Evolution: an exercise in rationality

Author:
Damoclese

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Date Posted: 11/18/03 2:48pm

Evolution is the simpliest explanation with predictive power for a mass number of occurences. It only expects the holder to accept that animals change usually gradually, and that over time, the changes can add up to something quite different than what was started with. The mechanism of how this end is obtained is intricate to say the least and not universally agreed upon, but evolution in and of itself is not under debate. It's a fact.

Anyone who "believes" in genetics cannot deny the fact that gene frequencies shift, and with those shifts come accompanying phenotypical changes in most instances. Furthermore, anyone who "believes" in genetics has to admit that there is a large quantity of DNA that isn't used for anything in particular. Such excess is easily explained by evolution; the variance of a species is inherited in that extra wad of material. Later, that extra wad of material may be used and expressed in the next generation.

Creationist theories or so called intelligent designer theories, fail to explain such a wide variety of phenomenon and offer little in the way of prediction. Why do we have extra genetic material? God do it. Why do species vary so widely? God did it. Why do they have so much in common? God did it. Leaving out the fact that creationist and intelligent design theories requires us to formulate the existence of something with no verfiable empirical evidence, the explanatory power of such a theory, if one can stretch the word "theory" to incorporate such nonsense, is extremely limited not to mention the fact that evolution is in a position now which underpins not just biology but many if not all scientific fields.

Intelligent design and Creationist arguments have no merit in the world of science where explanation and progressive understanding are the keys. One could rationally maintain that evolution was kick started by an intelligent designer as many do, but the designer obviously wasn't vastly intelligent in his or her blueprints, and not a very good designer as a consequence. Humans, on their own given the power to design life, could have come up with many more efficient, smarter designs.

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