Kansas beware...

[Waiting to Exist]

Well, evolution is always slow. I mean, we have documented history of humans that goes back a few thousand years. Humans were supposed to have evolved over a period of millions of years. Slow slow slow slow.

[thirdhour]

Dude, in just one or two generations in japan, people have shot up several feet on average. It's mostly due to different nutrition though. In pre-globalization times, milk products (and meat to a different degree) were really rare in japan, as they simply didn't have the landmass to raise cattle on. Now they can just import it, and it's making people alot bigger.

You can't say that people have stopped evolving, because evolution happens over millions, hell, billions of years. It's not like an ape gave birth to the first human child.

You have problems with darwinism because more apes aren't turning into human beings? That's what darwinism is all about. You have say...500 of one species. Each one lives in a slighty different environment, and has to adapt to it. Not every single ape will turn into a human because they have developed into different 'breeds' of monkeys. Think of dogs. I'm going to assume (without any research) that all dogs originally started as one kind of four-legged mammal. Then, they adapted to their surroundings, and then later on got breeded by humans. Soon enough, there was hundreds of different breeds of dogs that look and act not much alike. They didn't all turn into poodles, but a few of them did.

The only problem I have with darwinism is that human beings are really really really smart compared to any other animals. As a species becomes better and smarter by the less 'fit' members dying off, shouldn't all types of animals have one 'breed' that's at least close to humans in the brain category?

[happening fish]

I think it would help a damn lot if we had the advantage of comparing the growth and evolution of our plant's species with that of other inhabited planets. It would be interesting to see if they run on the same principles, and if so, then why, and if not, then why not?

[AnnieDreams]

If you haven't noticed the change in height in humans, go in a really old building. If you're tall, you'll be hitting your head off of all the door-frames.

I think what might make humans much smarter, is that at some point, we excelled beyond any other species, and when we did that, we completely cancelled out Darwinism. We started taking care of eachother, whether we be slow, stupid, crippled, or sick. Because of this, physical attributes no longer mattered like they did to every other species, and because of that, our intellect excelled even more.
Or, we could be God's chosen race in his own image, you know.

But, in cases I've studied, Darwinism seems exactly right. Have you ever heard of the Peppered Moth or the San Jose Scale?

I've never studies Darwin's tree of evolution though, so that's not what I'm talking about.

[happening fish]

There's a problem with that theory, though: They found ample evidence that neanderthals began to take care of each other as well. They've found remains of neanderthals with crippling injuries or illnesses who shouldn't have been able to live to the age they did, and could have only done so if the community had supported (fed, sheltered, protected) them. They also had the beginnings of language and rituals, as evidences by graves adorned with pollen and other decorations and gifts.

It seems like homo sapiens, when they stumbled across this other genetic branch, killed off most of them (being more advanced at that point) and possibly interbred with some of them.

This is a satisfactory explanation to me as to why there is only one dominant species: if more than one species begins progressing that far, then the most evolved of the species will kill off the others (since they are in direct competition for dominance).

And by the way, the thing that catapulted humans to the forefront is that we began to be able to not only learn things (as any animal can do), but to somehow pass on a RECORD of things previously learned to our children and so on, with a cumulative effect. I believe Kurzweil uses the example of a river otter who learns how to use a rock as a tool to break open clamshells, but every otter learns that anew. There is no possibility of improvement on previous designs without some form of language.

[Henrietta]

I don't know about other religions, but I was taught that evolution has happened to a certain extent, and that God caused it to happen. I believe in both...maybe that's why it never upset me that much that evolution was being taught.

[happening fish]

[nikki4982]

[Joe Cooler]

[Joe Cooler]

[closeyoureyes]

[Henrietta]

[happening fish]

[nikki4982]

[Joe Cooler]

[happening fish]

The answer? MAGIC!

[happening fish]

[Joe Cooler]

[closeyoureyes]

I <3 Alexxx

[Joe Cooler]

Who the heck are you anyway "Closeyoureyes" I went away for awile and I may have missed the name change. If there was a name change...