an easy way to understand evolution...

Here is an easy way to understand evolution, with a few interesting factoids at the end.

think of evolution as language.

now lets say that language is latin. the romans created latin in italy and spread it to france, spain, and portugal. after rome fell, so did latin. each region started to change and adapt the language to suit its own region and culture. add to that the various invasions where the invaders language was incorporated into the mix; such as al, which is an arabic word from the muslim invasion of southern spain, into spanish. then you have regional differences within the language, such as lisping from spain spanish verses lack of vosotros in mexican spanish.

if it wasnt for the catholic church and western science, latin would be completely dead. think about it. italian is probably the closest thing to latin there is, but give an italian speaker a novel written in latin and see how well they would do in translating it. they could do it, but not well. this vast difference in language only took 2000 years to achieve. add another 2000 years and how different would it be?

how does this relate to evolution. well, the same principles apply. think of the genes of dna as being words. for the most part these genes stay the same and in the same order. however, sometimes the genes get out of place, or are recreated slightly off, and is carried on. just like some words get added to a language, or the use of that word changes. its the build up of small changes that create the large changes, like latin to spanish.

factoids!

did you know that the mitochondria of a cell was once a completely separate organism? see, way back there was an organism that was really good at gathering food source, but couldnt make energy, and there was another organism that was really good at creating energy, but not in gathering the food. one day these two joined. the first cell gathered the food, the second created the energy. a partnership was formed and holds till this day. that is why mitochondrial dna is different from your dna, even though it lives in almost every cell in your body.

some of the evolution deniers say that dna cannot be added to. thats not true. matter of fact, around 20% of your dna is viral dna. thats right, dna from virus is in your genetic code. without that viral code, we would not exist because it changed out dna enough to create a placenta! weird, right? even now there are virus that combine their dna with ours, namely hep b. fortunately hep b targets liver cells and not gamete cells, or we would be mutating all the time.

now think about this. a virus is not alive, or dead. it is just rna/dna surrounded by a capsule. rna and dna are nothing but proteins. they dont have any of the internal cell organelles that make a cell "alive". they dont take in nutrients or excrete waste like every other living thing. however, they reproduce. once they get near a target cell, they invade and replicate themselves. could virus be the "missing link" between protein formation and single cell formation? all the while single cell organisms are joining with mitochondria?

so, if language can change so rapidly over just 2000 years, how would dna change over millions of years? how would the dna changes effect the host over millions of years? homo sapiens has only been around for 65,000 years, btw, and in that time we changed from a black african to yellow asians and white europeans and red indians. we have gained in height. we have gained the ablility to drink milk from other animals, a mutation from 10,000 years ago. we've lost our wisdom teeth and gained new cancers not seen 400 years ago. change happens, and once all those changes build up, what is the result? evolution.

I don't need an explanation as to how evolution works because I get the principals behind it.
However for explaining it others this is brilliant.

Except language comes from a creator of language
Not only does it need to be designed, it also needs to be spread from one person to another, a code needs a code designer, a person to pass it on and another to decipher the code

DNA is a little more complex than language.
Add to that language comes from the living, not space dust and space water

a reply to: stormson

a reasonable analogy for a primer aimed at people with limited science background - but the wingnuts will just wave thier hands and scream the name of thier invisible friend to help them ignore it

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
a reply to: stormson

a reasonable analogy for a primer aimed at people with limited science background - but the wingnuts will just wave thier hands and scream the name of thier invisible friend to help them ignore it

Wingnuts?

And the other wingnuts will beat their chests and anyone with a different opinion to death with their faith in their imaginary science and childish analogies about language being the science behind evolution, like it's even relatable...

But hey, we are all sheep and follow what we want to believe

I have never heard a more ridiculous analogy than the one proposed above
We havnt lost our wisdom teeth, we don't chew roughage, our jaws are just smaller than our predecessors, that's just silly to assume it's about language
Cancers, new ones, we are subject to heaps more processed food, heaps more chemicals but it's evolutionary magic. Give me a break
This is what some people pass as science. One things a fact, people are getting dumber.

the romans created latin

What created DNA?

a reply to: stormson

Yes, there are a lot of analogies to evolution in how processes develop in the universe. Life isn't the only process that follows rules of recursion to create complex stuff. Planets, language, art, music, government, religion, economics, and many more things all have facets of evolutionary precepts driving their changes over time.

a reply to: Raggedyman

It's not a perfect 1:1 analogy no, but it certainly does a good job of relating the core concepts of the idea.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Raggedyman

It's not a perfect 1:1 analogy no, but it certainly does a good job of relating the core concepts of the idea.

I wouldn't expect anything other than such a well worded and complex breakdown of the analogy than from anyone but you KS
"Does a good job relating", yeah, how ?

As mr conspiracy asked and you completely ignored, want to try an answer?

Simpleton analogies, totally irrelevant in context, languages really.
It's embarrassing

a reply to: Raggedyman

I think you are missing the point. This wasn't supposed to be a complex breakdown of how evolution of life works. It's just a simple analogy for the not scientific minded to help process the over-arching ideas of how evolution works. Yes, the processes that prompt the changes in the different processes are different, but the idea of change over time and using the previous model to create a newer and more unique model shows up in so many different processes in the universe.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Funny, I thought you missed the point, a dumbed down irrelevant analogy is just that, irrelevant
But I guess that is science and how science works to you
We are not talking man made codes, life is far more complex than Sesame Street schooling

a reply to: Raggedyman

Dude. What is your problem? Why are you being so condescending and assuming things about me? I didn't write the thread. I just liked the analogy.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Raggedyman

Dude. What is your problem? Why are you being so condescending and assuming things about me? I didn't write the thread. I just liked the analogy.

Dude
It's a nonsense analogy and if you can't see that I am sorry for whatever country you were educated in, scientifically illiterate
Condescending, go read the op thread again

a reply to: Raggedyman

Fine. You don't like the analogy. Take it up with the OP. Again. I. Didn't. Write. The. Thread!

a reply to: stormson

Here is a simple fact, without first being created there would be nothing to evolve.

Evolution: proving the world will be destroyed by nature. Because "your world" is an artificial construct.


Man lived on free provisions for thousands of years and was thankful. Now, in the last 50, he's bought the lie that current techno (life support) will be around for more than a few generations before nature corrects that problem once again?

Life support= evolution? Natural selection comes in a can!?

Yes we know why these lies exist. Remember, white skin has only one evolutionary advantage: the illusion of bearing light, as it is all reflected and none absorbed. Find why the white man exists. I dare you. Solve all the worlds deception from evolution to religion. Caucasian are not original, they are modified..

A system of credit. No man outside of this span has bought any of the crap you've been told he accepts.

a reply to: Raggedyman

Our jaws are smaller due to genetic changes. Cancer is a genetic change. Source of the change is irrelevant, only location and outcome. If the change is in the gamete, it gets passed on. If the outcome is beneficial or neutral, it gets passed on. If negative, chances of breeding goes down so it tends to get weeded out.

Now, evolution says nothing about a creator, or the spark of life. It takes up after life begins and explains the different animals and plants that we see or have evidence for existing.

originally posted by: MrConspiracy
the romans created latin

What created DNA?

DNA most likely came from RNA, which came from proteins. Just as Latin came from proto-indo-european language roots around the 10th century in a place called Latium.

Now let me guess the next question. "Where did proteins come from?" Certain chemicals are naturally attracted to others. Like hydrogen and oxygen creating water. These chems build up, forming chains. The chains build up to form RNA, then DNA.

originally posted by: stormson

originally posted by: MrConspiracy
the romans created latin

What created DNA?

DNA most likely came from RNA.

And that's exactly why it's classed as a faith