Can someone please in detail explain to me the evidence behind evolution?

Question

i feel like talking to someone outside of my box on this particular subject.

Answer 1

Don't tell Haley to do her homework.  YOU do your homework.

Tsk, Tsk, very poor answers here to a simple and direct question.  Shame on you all for your emotional and cynical responses.  Does religious fear blind you?

Army retired guy:  shifting attn to adam and eve is pathetic

harmon:  has to bring the church into this. no value

dashes:  can't formulate answer, must defer to "higher power"

jan n:  can't answer.   "go somewhere else to get answer, but I can roll my eyeballs and make you look dumb"

darklydrawl:  no anwser, only fear of intelligent design.

frankinus:  fetus? embryonic developmental biology, you mean?

maxs:  no discussion of THE evidence

illinga:  religious red flag obsession

tsr21: the only one who even came close to answering this question, but cynically defensive.

bluemoon:  nice try.  weak ideas.

OK....

The theory of evolution does not explain the ultimate origin of life, but  it does show that over millions of years, life forms changed as demonstrated by fossils of animals that were adapted for ancient world conditions.  DNA patterns of organisms show relationships to adaption.  Animals are adapted to their environments to survive, giving rise to new phenotypic expressions.

We see transitional forms of species, anatomical and biochemical parahomology, and vestigial organs and atavisms like the egg-shell tooth in marsupials and limbs of dolphins.

It appears that evolution occurred based on what we observe.

*Thank you Haley for asking a great question that deserves a decent answer right here on this forum.

Answer 2

There are specific answers to this question.  I'll provide an overview of the key concepts and evidence.

-  Concept 1:  Small, random, inheritable differences among individuals result in different chances of survival.  Those best adapted to the environment are most likely to survive.

  Evidence:  Variations within a species like finches that come from common ancestors that develop different beak types to take advantage of the environment.  Over hundreds/thousands of years, finches in dryer environments develop longer beaks to reach water deep in crevices.  Finches in environments with hard nuts develop short, tough beaks to crack the shells.  Darwin studied these finches in detail.

-  Concept 2:  Genetic changes sometimes accumulate within an isolated segment of a species, but not throughout the whole, as that isolated population adapts to the local conditions.  At a certain point, it becomes irreversibly distinct, such that it cannot interbreed with the original species.

  Evidence 1:  "Closely Allied" species inhabit neighboring patches of habitat.  For example, several species of zebra live in Africa, but none in the Americas though the habitat could easily support zebras.  Similar species occur in nearby space because they have decended form common ancestors.

  Evidence 2:  Paleontological evidence (studying ancient bones) reveal extinct species that appear to be "missing links".  A whale-like skeleton of a creature called a "dorudon" has been found with detached hips, tiny, useless legs, and human-like hand bones attached to front fins.  This is just one of dozens of "missing links" that have been found.

  Evidence 3:  Vistigial physical characteristics are apparent in current species.  Human males have nipples that serve no purpose.  Some snakes, notably boas, have rudimentry pelvises and the remnants of tiny legs.  Some flightless beetles have wings that never open.  These are signs of physical characteristics which come from common ancestors, but which are no longer needed by the current species.

The topic is very far-reaching, but it does not in any way deny the existence of a divine creator.  You should read up on the subject in more detail if you are truly interested.  National Geographic did a good study of the subject a few years ago, but it is a highly technical matter with a great deal of biology and archeological evidence.  Good luck with your studies!

Answer 3

Try the Discovery Channel, that might help.

Try speaking to someone that has an open mind; do not just speak to the close minded people in your church.

I hope you can open your mind to all the possiblities the world has to offer.

Answer 4

just take for example the growth of a human embryo.first its just a cell.it develops into multi cellular.it looks like a fish with gills then.it also develops a tail.during later stages it develops internal organs,ears brain etc.them tail and gills reduce off.in its place legs and hands develop.and at the end human orginate.

by putting a baby soon after the birth into the water,the baby can breath under water.this suggests that we were once aquatic and life orginated in the water.

Answer 5

The evidence - for me - is the route the fetus takes to become fully developed.

Answer 6

Assuming this is not a joke question...

...there is an enormous (and I do mean enormous) amount of evidence via the fossil record, and also via our DNA.  We as humans are so close in our DNA to chimpanzees and even dogs and even fish and even oak trees that it staggers our intuition...

On a more everyday basis, look at how different you are from either of your parents.  Even more so with those who suffer from some disability, or exhibit prodigious abilities.  Now imagine those differences extended not only over hundreds of years, or thousands of years, but millions of years....

...and if it is a joke question, imagine an intelligent designer designing a man with an appendix (completely useless) and exterior testicles (completely ridiculous)....

.

.

Answer 7

Hi Haley,

The following link is fairly lengthy but has a lot of information from a creationist point of view.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles...

Also these are pretty interesting books:

-“The Case for a Creator” A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God - Author: Lee Strobel - Publisher: Zondervan

-Darwin on Trial: Author: Phillip E. Johnson

Personally, I’m not an evolutionist.., because I don’t have enough faith to believe in it.  In basic terms; from nothing (chaos & disorder) came something i.e. from disorder came order and not only order but ultimately super complex order life as we know it. But again it is all by chance and by chance the big bang happened and things got from primitive to more & more complex…by chance?  Have you ever read about the human brain or eye or nervous system…I would definitely use the word “complex”  I heard a story once where a scientist-professor took a colleague to his lab to show him a new model of our solar system, the colleague said wow its great where did u buy it from? "Buy it? Well, it just appeared one day by chance perhaps a big explosion."  His colleague laughed & insisted "come on where did you get it?"  Finally the other scientist said, "so you don’t believe it just by chance came about?...yet you believe that the real Solar System which is infinitely more complex just.. happened by chance?"  

So I think it's way cool that you felt like looking a bit beyond “your box”

I use to wonder a lot about a creator, but know for me…I know there is a creator who is pretty awesome.  And beyond that…the Creator “God” can and wants to be known and have a relationship with His creation.

I know it sounds kinda...out there but imagine.  The creator that made us with the ability to experience emotions and love, cares about us & wants to have a relationship with us.  Pretty cool.

I found this site and thought it was key when you have a couple of minutes click & give a sincere listen:

http://www.yoursforlife.net/alpha or call 1-888-966-7325.  

I hope you find what you’re looking for :)

Take good care

J

Answer 8

The "science" of evolution is pretty patchy at best (just not enough evidence, as much as archaeologist may disagree)!  But for want of any other explanation even remotely scientific i guess it will have to do until something better comes along.

Answer 9

I was born with a tail but they cut it off when i was little...I used to hold my bottle with it

Answer 10

There is no "evidence" behind evolution.  it is a theory with no solid prof.  maybe I am bias because I am a christian and believe in intelligent design, but to be honest it would be harder for me to believe that everything we see around us came from a whole bunch of atoms that happened to run into each other and may be it is just easier for me to think that some one planed every thing and created it and is still in control.  an example of this is the bat.  we know that a bat uses echolocation to find food as well as navigate.  the bat has a extremely complex brain and according to evolution it would have slowly learned and developed over thousands of years.  but how did it get food to eat while it was evolving.  if god did not create the bat then it would have starved to death and all the bats would have died out long before they would have developed its echolocation through evolution.  I would suggest that you do some further research. Good Luck

Answer 11

http://www.talkorigins.org/

They have a far better explanation than I could possibly give you.  They also provide a host of rebuttals and refutations of "evidence" against evolution used by creationists.

Answer 12

You were born a baby. You are not now a baby. You evolved. Do you doubt that?

Answer 13

*shrugs* look up Charles Darwin, Lamarck, Wallace and theories of evolution, have a read, maybe it'll help make up your mind whether or not to research further or stick with your religous beliefs *assuming theyre religious cause i don't know what else they'd be*

Answer 14

Bare with me on this one.

Evolution and Creation are opposites, just as most Christian based religions oppose just about every other religion out there as well as the science that backs up evolution.

There is a book that came out about 10 years ago, it is called "Conversations with God".  Whether you believe in God or not it is an excellent book.  I am not a Christian by any means, but now I do believe that there is a God.  Not the God of religions, but the god that is part of each and everyone of us.

In this book he gets into the two theories, he makes a statement that goes.....   Why does one have to be wrong and the other right?  The truth is that life was created from both theories.  There was the big bang and as science has proved, we are still expanding outward.  According to the book, this has happened multiple times, which means that when it reaches it's maximum point everything returns back to a single point.  Only to occur again.

Now about the creation theory.  We create everything around us.  Every thought ever created, every word ever spoken still exist in the mass consciousness.  What this means is that as we continue to think we are creating our future.  For example.....  The fear that we experience everyday is what creates the world around us.  The negative thoughts not only go to the mass consciousness, it is also what you attract when you have those negative thoughts day in and day out.  If you feel love for all those around you, which is as simple as a positive thought or an appreciative thankfulness for the things in your life that you generally overlook.  You attract the positive things back to you.  It is a matter of knowing what you are putting out and understanding why you are getting the results in return.  

So as you can see we create from what we know and experience, only to know and create again.

Answer 15

Ive got a pretty decent grasp on that, what I'd really like is someone to explain the bible story, Adam & Eve, mmmm I have a hard time with that.

Answer 16

Well they would if they could, but there is no evidence.   None.  Evolution is a theory, nothing more.  It was created to try to explain God out of the universe and everything in it.

Answer 17

The theory of evolution is not perfect and does not have all the answers, however it does have most of the answers, and those answers can be scientifically proven and verified.  It is much too detailed to get into depth here but there is excellent evidence from multiple sources support the theory of evolution.

On the other hand the 'intelligent design' / creationist theory (or theories) explain(s) nothing and cannot be verified anywhere in science, or even logic.

Sorry that is brief, but i hope it helps you get started.

Answer 18

Good grief!  This is rather a complicated question to ask someone to provide a detailed answer to!  Why don't you read up on the subject first, and then have an informed discussion with people??!!