Surprising Number Of Americans Still Don't Believe In Evolution

Klassified
reply to post by jimmyx

 

you and me both...the only surprise for me is that the creationists believers make up only 33% of the population....I thought it would be in the range of 55% to 65%

Your estimates may be closer than you think. Who knows how accurate this research really is. I noticed the percentage of those who answered "I don't know" are not included. That's one variable, how many more are there?

the "I don't know crowd" holds a wetted finger up in the political winds, to assure themselves that they are on the right side, at the right time.

reply to post by nixie_nox


no harm meant Ms Nox

Do me a favor though next time you get the sniffels try green tea, raw honey, fresh garlic, and salt, and gargle this and drink it. It tastes like ass. But The shot of jaeger at the end does well to wash the taste out of your mouth.

reply to post by TLomon


I think the problem is that people are so used to instant gratification, they refuse to consider anything that takes time. In the day of smart phones, tablets, broadband internet and the like, people get the answers they want to hear in a split second.

This is why the theory of gravity is accepted without question, people don't fly off the planet if they jump and if they throw something in the air it comes back down. With evolution you have to actually do some research, but that take time and energy and is considered "boring".

There is also a fairly large sub community of religious fundamentalists on this board these days that are very anti-science. They will play mind games and use blatant logical fallacies to try and prove that all of the evidence for evolution is faulty, wrong, faked, or just doesn't count despite hundreds of years worth of undisputed evidence. They consider science to be a religion, so they take all of the logical arguments against their religion and try to use them on science. It never works because science is not a religion, but that's just another thing on the long list of things they are willfully ignorant about.

You would think with all the people that have "irrefutable proof" that evolution is wrong, there would be some kind of published paper laying out the evidence. Something as simple as fossils being found in the wrong date order would set the study of evolution, and the world back hundreds of years, but despite everything the anti-evolution crowd claims to have not a piece of real evidence has been presented.

DC

reply to post by DocScurlock


Sounds like you are confusing science with technology. Scientific theories are never "proven". The Big Bang was indeed accepted as a scientific theory. There is still nothing to "believe".

stonergeek
reply to post by peter vlar

 

For example, the evolutionary jump from lizard to bird. That would be cross-species evolution.

www.sciencedaily.com...

www.sciencedaily.com...

There certainly is enough evidence to support a theory, but personally, I don't see how it would support a belief. When you "believe" something, you are merely entertaining one of many possibilities, and usually ruling out any others. One does not "believe" a scientific model or paradigm. One works with that paradigm until it shifts

So you agree that there is enough evidence to support Evolution but don't see how evidence can give way to belief? When I say I believe in evolution my belief is based on the sum of empirical data from the fossil record, the DNA evidence and my own work. Things I proposed and was laughed at in grad school are now being taken seriously and have been vindicated by many new finds and improved DNA testing capabilities. My belief is based on looking through all the data not cherry picking what works for me and ignoring the other possibilities as you seem to suggest.

Evolution is a workable model, but a belief in any model requires more Faith than it does evidence. Until recently, we HAD enough evidence for many to believe The Big Bang Theory. New evidence suggests this model is incorrect. Sometimes when we believe we have the truth, we stop looking for the truth.

No, faith is what you have when there is no evidence to support it but feel in your heart is the best personal truth for you. That's why religion is faith based and religion is clearly not homogenous as there are many contradicting and competing faiths across the world and each of them thinks theirs is the best and most righteous. That's faith. While we're already there, what evidence do you have against the Big Bang?

DocScurlock
reply to post by TLomon

 

Is there 100 percent irrefutable evidence that evolution is real?

Im just saying there are many on this site alone that will not except evolution as truth because science cannot prove it indefinitely.

Just because we don't have a dinosaur egg hatching into a chicken doesn't mean evolution hasn't been proven. Those that currently reject evolution in favor of ID/creationism will simply reject any theory that does not fit in with their preconceived notions regardless. Has nothing to do with the validity of scientific findings.

Evolution is possible, but if a life form was introduced to this planet from space that flaws the current theroy. now life forms cant naturally evolve with in their own environment and they are subject to outside influence.

This doesn't make any sense. Why does it have to come from space? Does it have some property that is not included in life that originated on earth like say a silica base instead of carbon? How does that refute evolution as opposed to supporting evolution? Theories change in accordance with the data we receive over time; however, there is no data out there denying evolution and certainly no data that supports creationism. If that changes, the scientific community will embrace it.

Surveys, top tens, top twenty fives, polls, studies and new researches. This "survey" is just a simple example of reverse psychology, the survey of people that don't believe is suppose to impose a feeling of something that truly exists as hard facts about something to people who may not be sure, a lowly attempt to sway people to one side or the other.

I don't see enough hard evidence for Evolution (we came from apes,missing link) Also not being able to blindly believe that a carpenter from Galilea died for all our sins.

It's funny though to see the pseudo science wielded by people to support either of the two.
You can map all the genomes and research the morphology of all the eyebrow lines you want to. I can see it holding interest for people and that's fine. Just don't turn into evangelicals about it.

I think the key word to explain it all is simple adaptation. Species can slowly adapt to a new environment. But a duckbilled platypus didn't turn into what it is after being an elephant to somehow become more advanced.

You can see neaderthal like qualities in many humans today. If it was such a broad spectrum of separate species(as claimed)...you wouldn't see that as often. imo.

reply to post by TLomon


Surprising number of Evolved people don't believe in America, hahaha

Science is based on the scientific method. Religion based on faith. Both have different goals. Because of our brief existence on this planet, we cannot prove evolution. However there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that supports evolution and there will be a lot more once we discover life on another planet.

Those who dismiss evolution are blind. The religious fanatics make all kind of flawed analogies that in their eyes disprove evolution, I've heard plenty of them. Evolution does not disprove God.

nixie_nox
science is not a faith.

Science is many things to many people.

The dictionary is wrong – science can be a religion too

So if we evolved from monkeys/apes, you choose, why aren't they still evolving into humans today, why did evolution stop? Why have crocs and sharks not evolved over billions of years? No I do not believe in evolution, why have we not lost our appendix or wisdom teeth, why do we have to have them removed?

A surprising number of Americans still don't believe in flat earth theory either.
Even the so called great Darwin, had second thoughts about his own theories, it is too bad that the Nazi's and so many other negative forces, used his half baked theories as their basis for order.
If there ever was a missing link, Charles Darwin could never have found it.

Well seeing as most Americans still cling hopelessly on to the belief they are the land of the free Im not surprised in the slighest

Well politics is part of the study and to tell the truth I am not surprised by the results. A little saddened but not surprised.

The study said in 2009, 54% of Republicans and 64% of Democrats said humans have evolved over time, a difference of 10 percentage points. Today, 43% of Republicans and 67% of Democrats say humans have evolved, a 24-point gap. The actual percentage of people overall in the US that believe hasn't changed since 2009 just the demographics.

whatnext21
So if we evolved from monkeys/apes, you choose, why aren't they still evolving into humans today, why did evolution stop? Why have crocs and sharks not evolved over billions of years? No I do not believe in evolution, why have we not lost our appendix or wisdom teeth, why do we have to have them removed?

I still have my appendix and all my teeth not everyone needs them removed.

We did not evolve from the monkeys and apes that are on earth today, we share a common ancestor. Huge difference and that is one of the many flawed arguments the anti-evolutionist tries to present. It fools those with little knowledge of evolution, the fossil record, DNA, ect..

Sharks and crocs are very well adapted to their environment so they've been able to stay the same, survival of the fittest. Evolution does not stop, when a species can thrive as is random mutations are not likely to give the 'mutant' specimen an advantage and it does not reproduce to pass that mutation on.

whatnext21
So if we evolved from monkeys/apes, you choose, why aren't they still evolving into humans today

We had a common ancestor and I suspect it is extinct now.

why did evolution stop?

It didn't, Culex pipiens is a nice (recent) example.

Why have crocs and sharks not evolved over billions of years?

Sharks are awesome predators, what mutation do you think would increase their survival? (re: natural selection)

No I do not believe in evolution, why have we not lost our appendix or wisdom teeth, why do we have to have them removed?

Because the opposite sex does not use that as a criteria for reproducing with us, if the opposite sex only found people who have no mouth crowding issues as possible breeding candidates then guess what trait would become fairly dominant in our species... That's right - less crowded mouths...

reply to post by Klassified


Black and white questions, aimed at certain limited groups are designed to mask the variables. There is a very large segment of population sandwiched between any two extremes that will never have a national voice on any subject much less this one, who, in my opinion are secure enough with their own beliefs and self truths that could care less whether their voice is heard or not.

We all create our own reality, and my reality has an intelligent creator....me.

Elton

Sharks are awesome predators, what mutation do you think would increase their survival? (re: natural selection)

Laser beams on their heads would be a nice start.

reply to post by BlueMule


Well I can not argue with that, who wouldn't want sharks that awesome to breed!!!

jrod

whatnext21
So if we evolved from monkeys/apes, you choose, why aren't they still evolving into humans today, why did evolution stop? Why have crocs and sharks not evolved over billions of years? No I do not believe in evolution, why have we not lost our appendix or wisdom teeth, why do we have to have them removed?

I still have my appendix and all my teeth

not everyone needs them removed.

We did not evolve from the monkeys and apes that are on earth today, we share a common ancestor. Huge difference and that is one of the many flawed arguments the anti-evolutionist tries to present. It fools those with little knowledge of evolution, the fossil record, DNA, ect..

Sharks and crocs are very well adapted to their environment so they've been able to stay the same, survival of the fittest. Evolution does not stop, when a species can thrive as is random mutations are not likely to give the 'mutant' specimen an advantage and it does not reproduce and pass that mutation on.

edit on 30-12-2013 by jrod because: (no reason given)

Ok, I do believe in natural selection but...

In the example of the wolf who is today who it was long ago, a few of them cozied up to early man and as opportunists ate the scraps we threw away and in return alerted man of dangers. So man saw the dog was good and in return man breed and changed the dog to suit his needs so today although all dogs are related to the wolf, the only reason we have so many species of them is because man intervened.

Could someone else have intervened with man?