The problem with the Darwin theory. Where are the missing stages. Please help?

Question

I believe in the theory of Darwin as the alternative is absurd, however can someone explain, if evolution is one thing developing into another why do we not still see the in-between stages. I.e. we still have apes and we are modern man so where are the Neanderthals? Apes should still be evolving into us!

Answer 1

Darwin's theory is a theory (hence the name). It fits the evidence we have (or he had at that time). If you can get all the pieces, it's no longer a theory.

Darwin's theory (as Einstein's theory) is going to remain a theory for a long long time. New evidence may confirm it, modify it or deny it. In the last two cases we have to rewrite a modified theory or a whole new one fitting all the evidence known.

This is a process called Science.

Answer 2

I'm with you pardner. I don't understand either.

Now I have seen some people that came

awfully close to resembling an ape. What

stopped the evolution?  Maybe one celled

creatures are still crawling out of the ocean and

evolving into "whatever?"  If they are, we don't

know it.  Maybe someone will do more with

this than I.

Answer 3

Its really sad to see the apex of evolution keep asking questions like these.

For the lat time-

Apes do not evolve to humans.

Apes and humans have gone through the exact time in evolution (so has sum bacteria)

You think Lucy is human like us? There is your transitionals.

Please dont read creation thinking its a theory! Its fiction.

Man!!!

Answer 4

re knownowt's mention of Neanderthal and homo sapiens mating - there is some thinking that the gene which produces red hair is in fact a Neanderthal gene!

re evolution - think of the old "chicken and egg" question of which came first.  Something, not a chicken, laid an egg.  The egg hatched and the young bird was not like it's parent - it was in fact, a mutation, the first chicken.   The parent then became a "dead end" and the rest of its offspring for all future matings also weren't chickens. The baby chicken interbred and was the matriarch of a whole new breed.  Apes are, in effect "dead ends" until one of them produces a mutation which goes off in a different direction.  That mutation could be a lesser or greater Ape.

Answer 5

Evolution does not happen overnight but over millions of years, modern man has maybe only be around for a maximum of 60,000 years not long enough for fossils to form. There are skulls of Neanderthal ancestors..there is a threory that they did in fact mate with modern man and they are indeed still amongst us. It is not true to think that Apes have stopped evolving, there is evidence that they are indeed changing behaviour as a result of contact with man...Like geology it is such a slow process that there is no way that it can be evidenced in a human life time.

Answer 6

the same comment keeps on coming up wether we evolved from apes. H.s.s. are great apes.  therefore since all of us are H.s.s. we are all apes.  Since we are all great apes, and so were our parents and grandparents back the through H.s.n. even crogmagnon  and H.e. we are all by default the current end result of our branch of the ape family.  then absolutely we all evolved from apes.  my parents are apes.  my grandparents are apes.  and so are all of your parents and grandparents.  they did not drag their knuckles and beat their chests or even climb skyscrapers with damsels that they snatched from a window.  they were what they were children of their parents.  that is like saying an orange ceases being an orange when the friut comes from a tree that has been genetically altered by nature or through contact with another species.  it is still an orange, but has some variation.  those minor variations are your missing stages.  punctuated equilibrium.

Answer 7

If you look at history, you'll find that paople are generally taller now than in the past, if you ever see a real suit of armour it will be relatively small.  Things are evolving all the time, but it takes a long time.

Answer 8

Humans are not the only outcome of ape evolution.  Chimpanzees and gorillas evolved from more primmitive apes, as we did.  So maybe other apes are evolving into some higher form.  It's just too slow to observe very well.

  Creationists like to say there are no transitional forms.  When there were only four or five fossil samples to go by, they may have been right.  But in the last 50 to 100 years many intermediate forms have been found.  Now there is a very smooth transition series on record for our species.  Sure, they could keep claiming there are gaps all the way down to the individual generations.  The important thing is that human development has been documented to the point where we have clearly established our simian ancestry.

Answer 9

Actually, apes will probably not evolve into us.  By theory, we come from a common ancestor.  So, they branched off at a different point than we did.  We did not evolve from apes.  This seems to be a key point that is missed in a lot of these questions.  Now Neanderthals has been in debate as to where they branched off.  Some people thing that they interbreeded with Homo Sapien Sapiens.  There is some evidence of this.  There are a lot of fossil remains of Neanderthals and they seem to be like us in a lot of ways.  They did have a culture as evident from some burial practices and such.

Part of the problem with finding other stages is that we are lucky to find any remains at all.  The fact is, biological remains usually decay completely.  It's like trying to find bear remains in the Rockies where you know there are a bunch of them.  But it is rare to find anything like that.

Also, we have not been finding these older species for very long really.  It has been less than 100 years and they are finding more all of the time.  So, who knows what will come up in the end.

Answer 10

Ya know, I look around and around at the world and think to myself, this isn't very intelligent.

And according to your idea, if there were no in between stages still around, shouldn't man (or roachs) be the only thing here? Being at the top of the evolutionary ladder, shouldn't we (or roachs) be the only thing left?

Answer 11

Omg, you don't even have the slightest grasp of evolution, yet you call it 'absurd'?

Yeah, an invisible man living in the clouds, is a MUCH better explanation.

EVERY discipline of science supports evolution. Biology, anthropology, medical science, etc.

NOTHING supports creationism, except a fictional book, written by goat herders, a couple of thousand years ago.

#1 There ARE many 'transitional' fossils that have been found.

#2 Evolution takes place over thousands, if not, millions of years.

#3 We cannot 'see' evolution happen over night.

Do some actual research and stop listening to fairy-tales.

Answer 12

The missing link is on my settee picking his nose.

Answer 13

Evolution is not progressive, linear, nor does it have a plan. Evolution by natural selection is a response to environmental conditions preceded by the proper beneficial mutation. Apes are evolving, as are all organisms. Where is not evolutions business, as it is blind and plans for no future. Apes are in their niche and have no mutation/environmental changes that we know of to drive any complexity into the future.