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Sunday, September 18, 2005

Dawkins explains evolution

Richard Dawkins has an excellent summary of the idea of evolution in this week's New Scientist, in an article titled "The world's ten biggest ideas". Here it is—it's a very clear, short, six paragraph explanation of a big idea, fewer than 600 words. Now if only everyone could just understand this:

The world is divided into things that look designed (like birds and airliners) and things that don't (rocks and mountains). Things that look designed are divided into those that really are designed (submarines and tin openers) and those that aren't (sharks and hedgehogs). The diagnostic of things that look (or are) designed is that their parts are assembled in ways that are statistically improbable in a functional direction. They do something well: for instance, fly.

Darwinian natural selection can produce an uncanny illusion of design. An engineer would be hard put to decide whether a bird or a plane was the more aerodynamically elegant.

So powerful is the illusion of design, it took humanity until the mid-19th century to realise that it is an illusion. In 1859, Charles Darwin announced one of the greatest ideas ever to occur to a human mind: cumulative evolution by natural selection. Living complexity is indeed orders of magnitude too improbable to have come about by chance. But only if we assume that all the luck has to come in one fell swoop. When cascades of small chance steps accumulate, you can reach prodigious heights of adaptive complexity. That cumulative build-up is evolution. Its guiding force is natural selection.

Every living creature has ancestors, but only a fraction have descendants. All inherit the genes of an unbroken sequence of successful ancestors, none of whom died young and none of whom failed to reproduce. Genes that program embryos to develop into adults who can successfully reproduce automatically survive in the gene pool, at the expense of genes that fail. This is natural selection at the gene level, and we notice its consequences at the organism level. There has to be an ultimate source of new genetic variation, and it is mutation. Copies of newly mutated genes are reshuffled through the gene pool by sexual reproduction, and selection removes them from the pool in a way that is non-random.

What makes for success in the business of life varies from species to species. Some swim, some walk, some fly, some climb, some root themselves into the soil and tilt green solar panels toward the sun. All this diversity stems from successive branchings, starting from a single bacterium-like ancestor, which lived between 3 and 4 billion years ago. Each branching event is called a speciation: a breeding population splits into two, and they go their separately evolving ways. Among sexually reproducing species, speciation is said to have occurred when the two gene pools have separated so far that they can no longer interbreed. Speciation begins by accident. When separation has reached the stage where there is no interbreeding even without a geographical barrier, we have the origin of a new species.

Natural selection is quintessentially non-random, yet it is lamentably often miscalled random. This one mistake underlies much of the sceptical backlash against evolution. Chance cannot explain life. Design is as bad an explanation as chance because it raises bigger questions than it answers. Evolution by natural selection is the only workable theory ever proposed that is capable of explaining life, and it does so brilliantly.

The ten big ideas, if you're curious, are:

  1. The big bang
  2. Evolution
  3. Quantum mechanics
  4. The theory of everything
  5. Risk
  6. Chaos
  7. Relativity
  8. Climate change
  9. Tectonics
  10. Science

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Comments:
#41612: — 09/25  at  08:49 PM
I think the problem is this, you can't understand anything I'm saying because your mind is in a battle with the one who made it and just like he said he would if you chose to serve the enemy, he has confounded you, whilst making the things you consider complex, plain to those who hear his voice and stand in his counsel. You know I spoke regular english, maybe a little too branched for my final editing standards, but simply put and the fact that you can't understand any of it proves whom you serve. See you want to prove yourself knowledgable, but every sentence confounds itself and shows your true colors. You speak of my ancestors? well let me be blunt, my ancestors were more than likely killed, raped, tortured, and murdered by your ancestors, and I love the way you chose to take an unproven bs theory and type it to me as fact, knowing full well I called it propaganda when the tv does it. Though I'm no child and you will not decieve me that easily, I'm sure you've told your lies to anyone who would listen to them. Beware you are at war with your maker. He won't be mocked, and he will show you with whatever kind of graph or presentation you want just how much of your energy you spent whilst here, incomparison to how much time you spent seeking him with all your heart, mind and sould. This is not eeeny meeny miney moe, all three. The answer is blatantly obvious= zero, nada never. Because he doesn't lie, and he is faithful to his word, and when he steps into your life, removes the scales from your eyes, and converts your heart of stone to flesh which can support life,, well the knowledge he gives you freely pales in comparison to the guilt you/I/anyone feel for having turned your back on him, and rejecting not only his spirit, but the messengers he has sent to you. I speak english here man but you fellowship with devils and constantly entertain yourself by inventin new ways to do evil. I have some bad news for you, you are way way way short on time, and this transition you have to make is a very hard one, I seriously doubt you have it in you, unless you end up in prison, or somewhere terrible like that, and even then, you'd have no reading materials, and end up making it up as you went along, just as you do from word to thought and day to day.

So with that said, here is some advice, Read This
A Hidden Torah Secret
In some of our messages we have mentioned an unusual discovery concerning characteristics of the Hebrew text of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. We have received many letters requesting clarification of this, so we’ve taken the liberty of including this brief review. I’m indebted to my dear friend, Gerry Schroeder, a nuclear physicist in Jerusalem, for this little jewel.
The first five books of the Bible (the Books of Moses) are known as the Torah, (Remember, Hebrew goes from right to left; in this article we’ll transliterate these four letters as “TORH.”)
A Hidden Structure
In the Hebrew of Genesis, if you take the first “T”, then count 49 letters, the next letter (the 50th) is “O”; the next 50th is “R”; and then the next 50th is “H”. In other words, after the first “T”, in 50 letter increments, we find the letters spelling Torah (TORaH). (See Figure 1.)
In the Book of Exodus, we also encounter a similar result. What a coincidence! (The rabbis insist that Coincidences is not a kosher word!)
It doesn’t seem to work with the third Book of Moses, Leviticus. But stay tuned.
In the fourth book of the Torah, the Book of Numbers, we discover this 49-letter interval works with HROT,” that is, TORH backwards. (See Figure 2.) A similar 49-letter interval also appears in the fifth book of the Torah, the Book of Deuteronomy.
However, in the middle book, the Book of Leviticus, it doesn’t seem to work either way. But it does work for YHWH, the sacred name of God (“Yahweh or Jehovah,” translated “Lord” in the King James Version), if you count in seven letter increments. (See Figure 3.)
Here is the overview:
Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy
TORH TORH YHWH HROT HROT
---> ---> <--- <---
It appears that the Torah (TORH) always points toward the Name of God.
This may be just another hint that there is much more hidden in the structure of the text itself than we have ever dreamed. Clearly, there is much more to this than first meets the eye of the casual observer.
The Interval of 49
The use of seven with the name of God shouldn’t surprise us, with sabbaths of days, weeks, months, and years, and the many other heptadic structures throughout the Bible.[1] But why the intervals of 49?
The square of seven is 49. But is there more to it than this? [2]
Leviticus 23:15 instructs us to count 49 days from Passover and then to celebrate the Feast of Weeks on the next, the 50th, day. The Feast of Weeks commemorates the giving of the Torah (the “law”) on Mount Sinai.
Our inquiry is just beginning.
The Prophetic Feasts
We know that the Feasts of Moses are not only commemorative; they are also prophetic.[3] (Review our Briefing Package, The Feasts of Israel, highlighted on page 22.)
John the Baptist first introduced Jesus publicly as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” That’s a very Jewish label! Jesus is, of course, “our Passover” Lamb.[4] And it was on Passover that this feast was fulfilled when Jesus was crucified as an offering on our behalf. On the morning after the Sabbath after Passover, is the Feast of First Fruits.[5] It was on this very morning that the empty tomb was discovered. He, indeed, is the “first fruits”[6] of “the harvest.”
The Feast of Weeks
It is also widely recognized that the Feast of Weeks (also known as the Feast of Pentecost, “50”) is predictive of the Church. It was during this feast that the “Church” was born.[7]
Since this feast points to the Church, it is interesting that the Feast of Weeks involves the only use unleavened bread in the Levitical observances. Leaven is always an idiom for sin: leaven corrupts by puffing up. Even in the New Testament, Jesus and Paul both refer to leaven twice as an idiomatic application for sin.[8]
Since the Feast of Pentecost is associated with the Gentile “Church,” this is telling us something.
Furthermore, this feast may not yet be completely fulfilled.
The Flood of Noah
There are three groups of people with respect to the judgement of the flood:
a)Those that perished in the flood;
b)Those that were preserved through the flood:
Noah, his three sons, and their four wives; and
c)Those that were removed before the flood:
Enoch, who was “raptured” or translated.[9]
Is there a pattern here? “As the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” It is provocative that there is also a rabbinical tradition that Enoch was both born and “raptured” on the 6th of Sivan, the Feast of Weeks. Perhaps the coming judgment of the earth will follow the same pattern and Enoch will turn out to be a foreshadowing (a “type”) of the Church! [10]
Let’s watch and see.
Remember, the Feast of Weeks is associated with the harvest. It is in celebration of this feast that the Book of Ruth is traditionally read. Study this charming little book, especially from a prophetic perspective, and you’ll be blessed out of your socks! (Or should I say out of your shoes?” Check it out.)[11]
In Summary
It is interesting that even in the hidden structure Of the Biblical text itself there are hints and evidence of careful and skillful design.
We are dealing with 66 books, penned by 40 authors over thousands of years, yet they are demonstrably the result of precise, supernatural engineering. Every detail, every letter, even the place names, are all there by deliberate design. Even the parts of the letters, Jesus said, are significant.[12]
Would you expect anything less from the “Word of God?”
But if that is so, then what a fantastic opportunity we have! What other treasures has He hidden there for our learning? What a fabulous “hobby” to study, explore, and discover!
Isn’t God great? And He is anxious for us to be involved in what He is doing!
“torah.html”>More details on the above material Bibliography:
McCormack, R.,
The Heptadic Structure of Scripture,
Marshall Brothers Ltd., London, 1923.
Missler, Chuck,
The Feasts of Israel,
Koinonia House, 1993.

Schroeder, Gerald L., PhD,
Genesis and the Big Bang,
Bantam Books, New York, 1990.

Notes:
1.See McCormack, Bibliography
2.Gematria is the study of the numerical value of the letters.
The “law of the square” will be explored in subsequent articles.
3.Matt. 5:17,18; Rom. 15:4; Col. 2:16,17
4.John 1:36; 1 Cor 5:7
5.Lev. 23:10,11
6.1 Cor.15:20-23
7.Acts 2
8.Matt. 16:6; Luke 12:1; 1 Cor 5:6-8; Gal 5:7-9
9.Genesis 5:24.
10.See Feasts of Israel on page 22.
11.See our study “Romance of Redemption”, a propbetic view of the Book of Ruth, on page 27 & 30
12.Matt. 5:17,18.



#41618: — 09/25  at  10:18 PM
I think the problem is this, you can't understand anything I'm saying because your mind is in a battle with the one who made it and just like he said he would if you chose to serve the enemy, he has confounded you, whilst making the things you consider complex, plain to those who hear his voice and stand in his counsel.


As a matter of a fact, I think I don't get what you are saying because your sentences are incoherent, and your points are hearsay repeated in a incomplete/incomptent ways.
There is nothing in your post that actually is related to science.

You know I spoke regular english, maybe a little too branched for my final editing standards, but simply put and the fact that you can't understand any of it proves whom you serve


I think we can safely conclude that you are way into Christian paranoia land. Congratulations, I think it's the first time I've been accused of serving the Devil. Serious, have you considered profesional help? I think you might need it.

Oh, and just for the record, there are plenty of Christians who believe in evolution. They regard it as God's tool for creating mankind.



's avatar #41619: Virge — 09/25  at  11:18 PM
Aubrey's off-topic spam is about the worst case of religiously paranoid crackpot diarrhea I've seen in a long time. It'd be hilarious if not for the probability that the author believes it.

For those who need help to understand Aubrey, look up apophenia.



#41621: — 09/26  at  12:54 AM
1st I am not a christian. Jesus is a name that equals zeus, replacing the messiah's name Yashua, and christ means nothing and was never in the scriptures. God is not a title, it's the name of a pagan worshipped in babylon:(dictionary), or any person, place or thing overly admired or worshipped, it comes from the caananite word el, which is a singular word that means all the hosts of heaven, or the total of all the gods worshipped, including the stars and totem poles and statues, and whatever, but not the creator. Yahweh, is the name that was replaced in the christian bible over 6700 times in the old testament by the word Lord, which means Master, which as a title, could be a husband, a landowner, etc, but is the name used by devil worshippers. Yahweh's name means :self existent, he who calls that which is not as if it were. Yashua means Yahweh saves. I highly doubt you've ever heard a christian refer to our heavenly father as Yahweh, even though that is the name he commanded us to use and to teach to our children throughout all generations. we have been told not to worship the creation, but the creator, in truth and in spirit, and never to let him hear these names coming from our lips. Religion is a latin word which means: to re-align yourself with the world, and it does not mean what you thought it meant, those who worship in truth and spirit have nothing to do with religion, but cast it off because if you had any understanding, you would realize that the dictionary is full of suprises, now if one is to re-align his/herself with the world, then it suggests that there was an original alignment. Can any of you remember your childhood, when you weren't afraid, and just lived life innocently floating on a cloud of joy? Well you got religion when the world re-aligned you with it's ways, which are contrary to Yahweh's ways. I hope this isn't going over your head. Revelation informs us that the devil decieved the whole world, Now I know you think that your not included cuz you don't believe, but such fresh keen minds as yours should understand that the book of yahweh, or even the mistranslated bible neither needs you to believe, or says that you will, in fact it's says that at this point in the timeline, barely any only a few will actually believe the message and uderstand it. So your disbelief proves that your right where he said you'd be. but if you think that the scriptures need your ok, or approval, or belief to have their way then you're double decieved, once by the world's ways and once by your pride. If you understood that time doesn't exist except that you argue it does, time was made by stubborn man, and 6000 years is a long time to you who's time is very short,(a mere 120 years!?MAX). So you busy yourselves with all your worldy thoughts and doings, which is your mark, because a mark between your eyes show your thinking, and a mark on your hand stands for what you do or the way you carry out the thoughts between your eyes.

Now I'm going to stop this nonsense becuase their is no communication going on here, a barrier you don't believe in, that exists never-the-less without your approval. But there is something coming which will shake your foundations and you will relearn everything, if you don't die in the next 12 months, so when I say you are making war against Yahweh with your pursuit of this topic by trying to prove he doesn't exist, I say it so that when you snap, and you will soon, hopefully you will remember the house of Yahweh when you try to figure out how your going to keep on living, just like the flood prisoners of New Orleans and Louisiana. In the beginning, is the beginning of the book of yahweh, but it doesn't even pretend to try to tell you the answers to the questions you so longingly try to answer by looking to the creation, and the work of your own hands, and doing everyone, as it pleases him/herself. You guys will become familiar with the house of Yahweh before this last days time period ends, or you will never. I'm not paranoid either because that would require me to be afaid of something, or to worry, but to do those things, goes contrary to what our heavenly father yahweh inspired his prophets to say about these (faithless) characteristics. I apologize for not being professional, or if I insulted you, but the evoloutionists are just like the fags, I always said hey let the fag do his thing so long as he stays out of my life and doesn't try to push his beliefs or sex my way. Now look at the fags, they have about half the tv stations at their disposal to say or do anything they want, even though they proclaimed they just wanted to be left alone, but you evoloutionists are the same way, you just can't keep your stuff to yourselv'es, you have to try to indoctrinate the whole world with your unprovable theories, presenting them to future generations with stunning renderings which catch a child fancy, and by flaunting your theories as fact with out even stating anywhere or anytime that the whole show is based on an unproven theory, nor do you try to tell or make it known to all participants that the whole show is fictitious and barely theorietical. All this without a shred of evidence to unanamously prove yourselves correct. But you lack patience, not understanding that Yahweh has much more planned than the short years youve resigned yourself to being enveloped in. All you have to do is ask him and he'll show you the answers to all those questions you wonder about. I'm done, don't ,,just pretend I was never here, and whatever. I know that the amount of time you guys spent in criticizing me with the keyboard, you could have made a couple clicks and already have done some reading or watched something from the house of yahweh's website and maybe you ...well you didn't but you still have a little time, so by all means, take your sweet time. I'm sure youll be able to talk your way out of the corner you painted yourself into, just as smoothly as you insult and criticize me, I mean afterall you guys are here telling us how the world came to be, and all that bullshit, and should you somehow meet up with Yahweh in person, you will surely school him too!

Here's an idea, just follow the majority, surely they know where they're going right? I'm done wasting my time with you smarties, but with a final word. A scientist should've been able to at least tell me the minimum age of that petrified tree, without any data, but I'll just say, it and many others are only as old as the mount saint hellens last eruption because they formed in less than 10 years, so once again your measuring methods and stubborn tackits have led you down a deadend path. Have fun I'm out. write your own book and send it to the leaders and maybe you can have have your own words printed up to replace the old one.
Goodbye you



#41624: — 09/26  at  02:07 AM
I apologize for not being professional, or if I insulted you, but the evoloutionists are just like the fags, I always said hey let the fag do his thing so long as he stays out of my life and doesn't try to push his beliefs or sex my way. Now look at the fags, they have about half the tv stations at their disposal to say or do anything they want, even though they proclaimed they just wanted to be left alone


Oh, my. Not only a paranoid lunatic, but a homobigot as well.
I think we have spent enough time on you.



#41781: — 09/27  at  03:44 AM
the evoloutionists are just like the fags

This statement is mean spirited, hurtful to many and simply not cool.


without a shred of evidence to unanamously prove yourselves correct.

Just as you are typing on your computer which science produced, so too have geneticists produced substantial results for the betterment of mankind.


just as smoothly as you insult and criticize me

Life is reflective, what we do and say comes back at us through people and events. If you treat others negatively, expect to be treated negatively; treat others well, you will get the same in return. It is not always easy or possible, but we must do our best, and think first before speaking (or writing).


afterall you guys are here telling us how the world came to be

That is one misconception which I personally endeavor to correct. The essence of the idea of 'creationism' is 'intelligent design'. Intelligent design is not in conflict with evolution - even though many perceive it as conflicting.

Evolution attempts to throughly explain the process of how life becomes more complex and changes over time. Not how the world came to be.

If you are genuinely interested in the truth and feel you are ready, this link will begin your journey:

http://www.eaisai.com/baba/


For those of you who have heard about concepts relating to a 'holographic universe' you will also find the link and related 'googling' to be extraordinary, given due diligence.



#41938: — 09/27  at  06:33 PM
Aubry:
You do not discuss. You do not debate. You have not responded to thoughtful presentation of ideas. You preach.

You are obsessed with your mind, deluded into a fantasy that it formulates the truth, even in the absence of data. You "know" the truth. You believe you are gifted, and see beyond what the untalented masses can grasp.

How do I show you the err of your ways?
I cannot. Anything I might say could not have value when compared to your inspired insight. Already, you have forgotten this dribble and are furiously banging away at the keyboard, amazed at your own ability at lucid discourse.

I wish you well.



#42143: — 09/29  at  10:11 AM
How does someone account for the ID proponents saying that evolution theory fails the predictive test of a scientific theory?



#46383: Kim — 11/01  at  04:27 AM
I am fed up while reading the theories of evolution of Drawin and Lay Mark and I don't believe either of them.



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