I just can't get over this intelligent design nonsense
I wonder when evolution will be taught in schools. They preface the shit out of you and say that it is just a theory (as if it is just as likely as the bible). Has no one pointed out to certain folks that the term "theory" is not synonymous with "hypothesis?" We say "theory" when explaining a certain process that consists of multiple processes. It does not detract from its factualness. There is such a thing as the "theory of gravitation"...there is also "germ theory", and they are rarely challenged.
In public school at least, they tentatively explain evolution by implying that animals gave birth to improved offspring that have adapted to their environment magically. As if a giraffe thought that a long neck would be better for eating leaves, and then some force made the next generation's necks longer...The wonderful part of evolution is in how it is just a term to describe what happens. It isn't a force that "improves" things...It is the result of mass amounts of time and randomness. Try to fathom billions of years...it is hard. Over that amount of time, many random mutations occur with every offspring...when we say a species adapted, it only means that of all the random mutations, one happened to be beneficial and because of this attribute, beings who possessed it lived longer and mated more...sorry to rant; ya know how it works... However, it is the way people look at this process that makes it applicable to life.
I think people see the world backwards. As if it is so complex and intricate that something divine had to have created it. Some think that all this fits too well to be the result of chance. But I think the exact opposite. Complexity arises from simplicity, and something seemingly complex is made up of many simple steps. Life is far from perfect...natural processes are like a dumb kid taking an open-book test 3 times; or like throwing 20 darts at a dartboard in hopes of one bullseye. Turtles lay tons of eggs so that a few will survive. We shoot minions of sperm so that maybe one can fertilize the egg. This isn't perfection, it is hedging your bets. When you see life as little plants and animals doing what they do, you see it isn't that complex. Some argue that there is a desire to live and spread your seed and say that it is the driving force, but who put it there? With other desires we can deduce that sex is pleasurable because it is necessary to propagate the species, but the desire to live and thrive, "they" say, must come from god because you can't adopt the will to live, it is the basis for whatever you do...I see their point, but It is silly logic. For one, blue-green algae has no concept of death...or purpose, or anything. Most animals do not have the ability to ponder existentially. A living thing just does what it does. An animal did not exist before it was born, and it only knows how to live. When you are a toddler, you don't think about the futility of life: You just do whatever you feel like. So what is the point of survival considering that you are a small fragment in a big process? What else is there to do?
Gaging life with respect to your importance on a cosmic scale is quite depressing. Hell, estimating your worth based on your impact to other lowly humans can be depressing. That avenue of thought all together is a counter-productive way of going about things...IMO, dat is.
In public school at least, they tentatively explain evolution by implying that animals gave birth to improved offspring that have adapted to their environment magically. As if a giraffe thought that a long neck would be better for eating leaves, and then some force made the next generation's necks longer...The wonderful part of evolution is in how it is just a term to describe what happens. It isn't a force that "improves" things...It is the result of mass amounts of time and randomness. Try to fathom billions of years...it is hard. Over that amount of time, many random mutations occur with every offspring...when we say a species adapted, it only means that of all the random mutations, one happened to be beneficial and because of this attribute, beings who possessed it lived longer and mated more...sorry to rant; ya know how it works... However, it is the way people look at this process that makes it applicable to life.
I think people see the world backwards. As if it is so complex and intricate that something divine had to have created it. Some think that all this fits too well to be the result of chance. But I think the exact opposite. Complexity arises from simplicity, and something seemingly complex is made up of many simple steps. Life is far from perfect...natural processes are like a dumb kid taking an open-book test 3 times; or like throwing 20 darts at a dartboard in hopes of one bullseye. Turtles lay tons of eggs so that a few will survive. We shoot minions of sperm so that maybe one can fertilize the egg. This isn't perfection, it is hedging your bets. When you see life as little plants and animals doing what they do, you see it isn't that complex. Some argue that there is a desire to live and spread your seed and say that it is the driving force, but who put it there? With other desires we can deduce that sex is pleasurable because it is necessary to propagate the species, but the desire to live and thrive, "they" say, must come from god because you can't adopt the will to live, it is the basis for whatever you do...I see their point, but It is silly logic. For one, blue-green algae has no concept of death...or purpose, or anything. Most animals do not have the ability to ponder existentially. A living thing just does what it does. An animal did not exist before it was born, and it only knows how to live. When you are a toddler, you don't think about the futility of life: You just do whatever you feel like. So what is the point of survival considering that you are a small fragment in a big process? What else is there to do?
Gaging life with respect to your importance on a cosmic scale is quite depressing. Hell, estimating your worth based on your impact to other lowly humans can be depressing. That avenue of thought all together is a counter-productive way of going about things...IMO, dat is.