q-dragon
New Member
http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/letters/story.html?id=57abdf44-3a56-4bf7-863a-b59f9f06a607
my response
The Fact of Evolution
RE: 'Evolution Cannot Be Taught As Complete Fact'
(Daily News, May 5)
I completely agree that children should not be indoctrinated with religious beliefs. However, when this letter discusses evolution I noticed several glaring flaws. The first flaw I noticed is the fact that the writer does not think that advantageous genetic mutations and natural selection, have to do with each other. Natural selection is the process by which advantageous mutations are selected in nature. The second flaw is the statement that there are little to no positive mutations observed by science. While neutral and negative mutations are much more common than beneficial ones, to state there are none is incorrect. Scientists have documented the emergence of hundreds of beneficial mutations in other species, and several in humans. One example of a beneficial mutation that has been documented would be a species of bacteria that developed the ability to digest nylon. Another more recent case of an observed positive mutation would be the new H1N1 flu virus, which evolved the ability to infect humans. This may not seem like a positive mutation from our perspective, but for the virus in question it is.
Despite what many people may think the theory of evolution is not a guess. The main confusion comes from the definition of the word "theory". In common use the word theory means conjecture or a possible idea whereas in the scientific community a theory is an idea describing a natural phenomenon well supported by individual facts, objective evidence, and repeated experimentation. For 150 years the theory of evolution has gone through the rigorous scrutiny of the scientific community and has only gotten stronger as new evidence has come to light.
In academic settings evolution is treated as truth because currently it is the only scientific theory that describes how the diversity of life came to be, and is one of the most well supported theories in all of science. As far as Creation or its pseudonym Intelligent Design is concerned it doesn't have a leg to stand on within the scientific community. No objective evidence or repeated experimentation has ever surfaced in support of Creation. Only when Creation has gathered equivalent or greater scientific evidence for its claim, then the theory of evolution will it be taken seriously in an academic setting. Evolution is not being crammed down the throats of students. It is being taught to student, because scientifically speaking it is the only explanation for the diversity of life on this planet.
Quinn Fucile
Nanaimo
my response
The Fact of Evolution
RE: 'Evolution Cannot Be Taught As Complete Fact'
(Daily News, May 5)
I completely agree that children should not be indoctrinated with religious beliefs. However, when this letter discusses evolution I noticed several glaring flaws. The first flaw I noticed is the fact that the writer does not think that advantageous genetic mutations and natural selection, have to do with each other. Natural selection is the process by which advantageous mutations are selected in nature. The second flaw is the statement that there are little to no positive mutations observed by science. While neutral and negative mutations are much more common than beneficial ones, to state there are none is incorrect. Scientists have documented the emergence of hundreds of beneficial mutations in other species, and several in humans. One example of a beneficial mutation that has been documented would be a species of bacteria that developed the ability to digest nylon. Another more recent case of an observed positive mutation would be the new H1N1 flu virus, which evolved the ability to infect humans. This may not seem like a positive mutation from our perspective, but for the virus in question it is.
Despite what many people may think the theory of evolution is not a guess. The main confusion comes from the definition of the word "theory". In common use the word theory means conjecture or a possible idea whereas in the scientific community a theory is an idea describing a natural phenomenon well supported by individual facts, objective evidence, and repeated experimentation. For 150 years the theory of evolution has gone through the rigorous scrutiny of the scientific community and has only gotten stronger as new evidence has come to light.
In academic settings evolution is treated as truth because currently it is the only scientific theory that describes how the diversity of life came to be, and is one of the most well supported theories in all of science. As far as Creation or its pseudonym Intelligent Design is concerned it doesn't have a leg to stand on within the scientific community. No objective evidence or repeated experimentation has ever surfaced in support of Creation. Only when Creation has gathered equivalent or greater scientific evidence for its claim, then the theory of evolution will it be taken seriously in an academic setting. Evolution is not being crammed down the throats of students. It is being taught to student, because scientifically speaking it is the only explanation for the diversity of life on this planet.
Quinn Fucile
Nanaimo
