Evidence of evolution

[torq]

Not to make light of the situation or anything, but here's a little evidence of evolution at work:

'Brian Griffin was pulled under the dark water Wednesday, minutes after two friends spotted alligators and screamed for him to get out of the Dead River where they had been swimming, witnesses said.

"We saw gators all day," said 14-year-old Justin VanGorder, who said he was swimming with Brian. "Every time we saw them, we would get out of the water."

Justin said he and the other boy saw alligators and got out of the water, but Brian wouldn't get out.'

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/06/19/alligator.attack.ap/index.html

[Alejandro1]

Umm... I read the article, but I don't see how it pretains to evolution at all.

[torq]

At 6/19/03 09:47 PM, alejandro1 wrote: Umm... I read the article, but I don't see how it pretains to evolution at all.

Two boys had the instinct to remove themselves from the vicinity of alligators. One did not.

The two with that instinct will probably procreate, while the other one never will.

[Alejandro1]

At 6/19/03 10:32 PM, torq wrote: Two boys had the instinct to remove themselves from the vicinity of alligators. One did not.

The two with that instinct will probably procreate, while the other one never will.

Survival of the fittest, my friend, survival of the fittest.

[Commander-K25]

Darwin Awards, anyone?

[Dobio]

At 6/19/03 10:32 PM, torq wrote:
Two boys had the instinct to remove themselves from the vicinity of alligators. One did not.

The two with that instinct will probably procreate, while the other one never will.

It's natural selection folks. But, this doesn't prove evolution, per sa. It might prove that some people are idiots, and some people have natural instincts that alligators = danger. Then again...we didn't need prove of that, cause it's a known fact.

[torq]

At 6/20/03 12:34 AM, Dobio wrote:

It's natural selection folks. But, this doesn't prove evolution, per sa. It might prove that some people are idiots, and some people have natural instincts that alligators = danger. Then again...we didn't need prove of that, cause it's a known fact.

True, this isn't really evidence of evolution, this is evidence of natural selection, which is evidence of evolution.

[CyborgClock]

and why were they swimming with alligators in the first place

[swayside]

At 6/20/03 12:55 AM, torq wrote: True, this isn't really evidence of evolution, this is evidence of natural selection, which is evidence of evolution.

natural selection is not proof of evolution. it's proof that dumb people don't think fast enough to get out of bad situations. it's proof that a creature with long legs will probably outrun a creature with short legs while running away from a preditor. big deal. this doesn't have anything to do with evolution.

Actually since any human can procreate, we're not likely to evolve.

[Commander-K25]

At 6/27/03 10:06 PM, nailbomb wrote: Actually since any human can procreate, we're not likely to evolve.

True. Technology has probably severely slowed human evolution, in the natural sense.

However, technology is what allowed man to survive, prosper and become the dominant species. We don't physically evolve so much as our technology evolves for us.

It's the old case of adapting to fit your environment, or adapting your environment to fit you. We chose the latter.

At 6/28/03 12:36 AM, Commander-K25 wrote:

However, technology is what allowed man to survive, prosper and become the dominant species. We don't physically evolve so much as our technology evolves for us.

Yes but it was the ones with the knowledge of tools who reproduced while those who had no knowledge of tools became food for predators or died of starvation; technology made us the dominant species but knowledge of technology is what made us evolve

It's the old case of adapting to fit your environment, or adapting your environment to fit you. We chose the latter.

Let's see if the environment evolves....or dies. 'O_o

[PsychoDoughboy]

This has what to do with EVO?

[Commander-K25]

At 6/28/03 01:09 AM, nailbomb wrote: Yes but it was the ones with the knowledge of tools who reproduced while those who had no knowledge of tools became food for predators or died of starvation; technology made us the dominant species but knowledge of technology is what made us evolve

Yes, at first a tool making species had to come about, (evolution of homo sapiens), but as time went by, the tools kept evolving via the skill of the toolmakers, but the toolmakers didn't evolve much physically.

[Renegade51]

Heres something about evolution I found interesting. Did you know that in the millions of years cockrotchs (SP? you know those gross things in your apartment) have not evolved at all? That really saying that they have reached there peak, there as strong as they are ever going to get.

[PsychoDoughboy]

Cool, i figured by next year i'd need a can of raid per roach.

[leperchaun81]

it just shows that 2 of them are smarter than the dumbass who stayed in the water.

[Nylo]

At 6/28/03 07:04 AM, leperchaun81 wrote: it just shows that 2 of them are smarter than the dumbass who stayed in the water.

Lol, no kidding. How this even remotely pertains to evolution is a mystery. Just because some kid is too stupid to get out of the water doesn't mean it's evolution at work. The kid's a dumbass. As someone stated, why swim in crocodile infested waters anyways? Considering "natural selection", all those idiots have a death wish.

[aviewaskewed]

At 6/28/03 04:19 AM, Renegade51 wrote: Heres something about evolution I found interesting. Did you know that in the millions of years cockrotchs (SP? you know those gross things in your apartment) have not evolved at all? That really saying that they have reached there peak, there as strong as they are ever going to get.

hmmm, you ever wonder if we've peaked? And I don't mean so much as, whether you think we could evolve or whatever further than where we're at now...but just as our tools evolved, so did our ability to kill each other...you ever notice that? Just about any useful thing we have ever made you can turn it around and turn it into a fucking weapon...what species does that? So I have to wonder if we haven't peaked just because it seems like we just get more violent, and more stupid as time progresses.

[TheTio]

Pah, proof of evolution can be found in bacteria
Evolution happens over many generations, so we wont see it happen in ourselves (unless xmen is a prophecy) or in many other species
but look to creatures in which new generations come about every 30 minutes or so and they are completely different organisms week to week, new resistances, new cell structure etc...

I think we are still evolving, physically we are larger than ever & also, dont just look at our natural born abilities and physical prowess, our technology evolves constantly, and i consider that a part of humanity

[Commander-K25]

At 6/28/03 04:19 AM, Renegade51 wrote: Heres something about evolution I found interesting. Did you know that in the millions of years cockrotchs (SP? you know those gross things in your apartment) have not evolved at all? That really saying that they have reached there peak, there as strong as they are ever going to get.

That's probably true. Evolution does not have to reach towards complexity or advances as we might think of them. It merely strives to find a niche where that species can thrive. I think we can certainly say that the roach has done that.

Jane Goodall, who studied chimpanzee behavior on Ngamba Island, found that when all the chimps were under one tribe they lived peacefully but when the tribe grew too bigger and separated itself both sides went to war with each other within a matter of months.

The way I see it, we're still chimps in our tribes waging war against other tribes. This time though we have nuclear bombs instead of sticks and stones...

[aviewaskewed]

At 6/29/03 09:48 PM, nailbomb wrote:

The way I see it, we're still chimps in our tribes waging war against other tribes. This time though we have nuclear bombs instead of sticks and stones...

Yeah, that's what I said above...I mean, this is one of the only species on earth that feels a need to really kill each other over reasons that don't have to do with food, territory, or any of those other "neccessities" of life (although, we DO kill each other in some instances over that I know).

*sigh!* And I thought we were evolved. No time to cry, we have to make way for progress, greed and the war machine.

[torq]

At 6/27/03 07:48 PM, swayside wrote:
natural selection is not proof of evolution. it's proof that dumb people don't think fast enough to get out of bad situations. it's proof that a creature with long legs will probably outrun a creature with short legs while running away from a preditor. big deal. this doesn't have anything to do with evolution.

You're accurately describing the process of evolution. If a creature that has been born with long legs outruns a creature with a gene for short legs, it survives longer and has a higher chance/rate of reproduction. When the longer-legged creatures outnumber or outlive the short-legged creatures, the species is fully evolved one more step.

THANK YOU!!! It's nice to see that someone else knows about Darwinism.