I conclude evolution is guided (page 46)

Hadriel

LOL @Viviane I'll take that as you have nothing better to say...and you're saying UC Berkley is wrong by the way....buy hey thx for playin'

Caedes

What on earth does the fact that American universities have to include such platitudes to quell the fears of a superstitious populace have to do with anything.

Viviane

LOL @Viviane I'll take that as you have nothing better to say...and you're saying UC Berkley is wrong by the way....buy hey thx for playin'

Please remain honest. I made no comment on your post from UC Berkeley. I am simply pointing out that your comments, specifically "A good scientist will consider all possibilities not just the ones convenient for him" and "it's all about eliminating the possibilities" are incorrect. That has absolutely nothing to do with the UC Berkeley quote.

From the site you linked to:

Science is both a body of knowledge and a process. In school, science may sometimes seem like a collection of isolated and staticfacts listed in a textbook, but that's only a small part of the story. Just as importantly, science is also a process of discovery that allows us to link isolated facts into coherent and comprehensive understandings of the natural world.
Science is exciting. Science is a way of discovering what's in the universe and how those things work today, how they worked in the past, and how they are likely to work in the future. Scientists are motivated by the thrill of seeing or figuring out something that no one has before.
Science is useful. The knowledge generated by science is powerful and reliable. It can be used to develop new technologies, treat diseases, and deal with many other sorts of problems.
Science is ongoing. Science is continually refining and expanding our knowledge of the universe, and as it does, it leads to new questions for future investigation. Science will never be "finished."
Science is a global human endeavor. People all over the world participate in the process of science. And you can too!

Notice there is nothing about eliminating possibilities. If eliminating possibilities were the goal of science, we would be investigating whether or not the Sun were made up of fireflies made up of miniature Shetland ponies made up of teacups. After all, that's a possibility because we may just not have the means to detect it yet.

Hadriel

Confused by the "America" comment one given that many around the world clamor to attend Harvard, Berkley, Stanford, Yale among others every year.

Americans first to land on moon, created the internet, source of most technological advances today, Russia a close second.

This isn't about patriotism but to act as though U.S. schools are somehow not credited or to demean their statements is well...ignorant.

LoveUniHateExams

who said anything is guided? - Kate, in the OP, said that it's her belief evolution is guided.

The belief that evolution is guided by a higher power is an interesting one.

Well, let's look at the evidence: approx. 67-65 million years ago, Tyrannosaurus rex stalked the Earth. It most likely wasn't herbivorous, judging from its dentition. Some scientists believe it was a scavenger; some believe it was a predator. The two proposals aren't mutually exclusive - T. rex could have been both. It evolved from theropod ancestors but it suddenly went extinct at the very end of the Cretaceous period.

T. rex is a wonder of natural history. It and its close relatives - Albertosaurus, Gorgosaurus, Daspletosaurus and Tarbosaurus - were widespread across North America and central Asia.

So, if evolution is guided by someone, why did these magnificent animals disappear? Who guided them to extinction, and why?

A Ha

But I think Morris makes good points about convergence. Because if there is a plan there are still different ways of describing it. -- slimboyfat

What points does Morris make? I don't think Morris ever gets around to saying why we should think convergence is intentional or guided by God. Newton came up with a theory of gravitation which explained (most of) planetary orbits, etc. If someone came along afterward and said, "Gravitational forces explain the orbits of Mars, Jupiter, Venus, etc., but it's possible Mercury is being pushed around the sun by Planet Pixies--and it just happens to be the same orbit as if it was caused by only gravity." That's not very compelling, or interesting to consider.

Hadriel

@Viviane well I know what my professor preached.

Often it's more about what you don't know than what you do.

Ruling things out as you build your theory comprised of other facts is absolutely part of the scientific process of defining a theory. I don't know where you studied but...

Viviane

well I know what my professor preached.

What does that have to do with you being wrong?

Ruling things out as you build your theory comprised of other facts is absolutely part of the scientific process of defining a theory. I don't know where you studied but...

You mean hypothesis. A hypothesis doesn't have to contain any facts, that's why it's a hypothesis. You're a classic example of Viv's Law. And still wrong about science.

Hadriel

Uhhh evolution is a theory my dear. NOT a hypothesis but nice effort.

Hadriel

...and for the record closed minded people are not good scientists.

People who are less confident in their beliefs are more reluctant than others to seek out opposing perspectives, researchers said today. - LiveScience

I conclude evolution is guided

Share this