cofty

Joined

• started 464 topics
• posted 24,957 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by cofty

• 
  48

  Evolution doesn't happen today...WRONG...

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last year i had a brother tell me that one proof evolution is false is that he doesn't see it happening today... i was going to bring of viruses evolving so fast that new vaccines must be developed each year but felt he was too closed minded to receive it.

  today i was listening to the audio book of 'an ancestors tale- richard dawkins' and noted oe point that shined through.. here is evolution happening>>>.

  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/05/2/l_052_05.html.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Could you specify what misinformation creationists like to use in their "debates"? - Saename

  The explanation is a bit technical but here is the explanation by Jerry Coyne.

  There are no ring species...
  
• 
  340

  Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

  by dubstepped in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

  i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

  i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Hi dubstepped. Sorry if I am repeating stuff that has already been covered above.

  Prothero very much focuses on the evidence for evolution from paleontology. He begins by defending his field from the false accusations made by creationists regarding the geological column and dating methods. It is full of great information - he has released a new volume recently - but for an introduction to biological evolution it's not a great choice.

  The book list suggested by Anders is excellent but I would add "The Blind Watchmaker" by Dawkins.

  I thought he was supposed to go into the primordial soup but he never even mentioned it.

  Very few books on evolution also deal with the origin of life. Abiogenesis is a distinct field of study. There is some really good work being done at UCL (London) by Nick Lane and his team that is approaching the problem via bioenergetics. In other words where did the energy come from to fuel the transition from geochemistry to biochemistry? "Organic soup" is not a likely candidate. Creationists are not wrong when they say that you can spark a can of soup as long as you like but you will never get life. If you want to look further into this topic Nick Lane's "The Vital Question" is extremely interesting. Alternatively you could get "Life Arising" by the same author where you will get one chapter on this topic and nine on other fascinating aspects of evolution.

  What I gather is that there are two types of evolution, micro and macro

  These are not really phrases that would be used by most biologists. Changes in the frequency of particular versions of genes -alleles - accumulate over time. Deciding when micro becomes macro is very subjective. Obviously when a population has changed sufficiently that they can no longer interbreed with the parent species then an important line has been crossed. That can be a subtle as the difference between Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls or as startling as the gap between chimps and humans. It's all the same mechanisms at play.

  Such evolution occurs due to environmental pressures or maybe some part of dna changing through reproduction. It is more likely to occur somewhere like on an island that is more isolated and where a change in one progeny is less likely to breed out due to a large population.

  Yes. The key thing to remember is that nothing ever adapts to its environment. Rather a variety of genetic variation exists within a gene-pool. When changes happen in an environment in an isolated breeding group then some of those variations will confer a slight advantage. The frequency of that mutation will then become more common - or even ubiquitous - in that population.

  Unlike the linear way that evolution was presented to us where an amphibian turns into a mammal that turns into a monkey and eventually a human (I butchered that), there were slight changes over time in chimps over time that led to us. There is only a small difference in dna between us and a chimp.

  Just to clarify we and chimps both evolved from a common ancestor about 6 million years ago. Both lineages have been changing since then. The genetic difference is now about 1.5% but that means that our genome has only changed by about half that amount in that time.

  I just can't seem to grasp how those different species evolved in the first place. I see that birds can evolve to have different characteristics, but are birds still evolving in a macro way into something as different as a dolphin is from a bird? Or if such a small genetic change as there is between a chip and a human creates such different creatures (we are quite different than a chimp even with 99% similarity in DNA), then why don't we see other large changes like that more?

  Three things to sort out here. One is that a change of just a few percent in a genome is still an awful lot of changes. We have three billion base pairs in our genome. Most mutations happen in the non-coding region and has a neutral effect.

  The other thing is to think about the genome more like a chemical formula or a recipe than a blueprint. A small change in a blueprint results in a small change in the building. A tiny change in chemical formula can have a radical change in the end result - be that a chemical compound or a sponge cake. Genes that build amino acids - that join up to build proteins - are unlikely to change much or often. There are lots of ways to make proteins that don't work but not so easy to make alternative ways to make ones that work better. However a significant part of genome are more like switches that turn on and off the production of proteins. A change in these parts of our genome can produce novel innovations. Think of it like the instructions for producing origami models. One change in the routine can make a real difference. In the nine months we were forming in the womb, cascades of genetic switches were turning on and off sculpting the embryo. This area of evolution is referred to as evolutionary developmental biology or 'evo-devo'. The most accessible books on this are by Sean B. Carroll (the biologist not the physicist by the same name) For example "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" and "The Making of thE Fittest".

  The third point I want to make is about selective pressure. Life has evolved over millions of years to fill every possible niche on the planet. Having refined their design by natural selection there just isn't a strong pressure on most species to change. Some species look identical in the fossil record as their extant descendants. Remember evolution only cares about passing on genes. If our design is good enough to leave behind viable offspring its job is done. We might want to evolve the ability to run like a cheetah but evolution can't do it unless that increases our ability to find a mate and breed. That is also why we get so many genetic illnesses in old age. There is no evolutionary pressure to eradicate those from the gene-pool.

  I hope that helps a little. Please feel free to ask more questions. It's really refreshing to see sincere questions about evolution for a change.
• 
  48

  Evolution doesn't happen today...WRONG...

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last year i had a brother tell me that one proof evolution is false is that he doesn't see it happening today... i was going to bring of viruses evolving so fast that new vaccines must be developed each year but felt he was too closed minded to receive it.

  today i was listening to the audio book of 'an ancestors tale- richard dawkins' and noted oe point that shined through.. here is evolution happening>>>.

  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/05/2/l_052_05.html.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  At the core of evolutionists and atheists is the hatred of irreligiousness and irrationality of religions. - Venus

  Well that's nonsense. The vast majority of theists accept the fact of biological evolution with no problem.

  You can have evolution with or without god.

  Typical example is modern day atheism High Priest Richard Dwakin's God Delusion. Book speaks more on religious irrationality than the process of evolution.

  Dawkins has written many books on biological evolution that say nothing at all about religion. I can think of 6 or 7 titles off the top of my head. His book "The god Delusion" speaks more about religion than it does about evolution because it is about religion and not about evolution.

  You will find that most atheists are not huge fans of Dawkins anti-god rants. He is nobodies "High Priest".

  even though theory cannot explain too great things such as origin of universe, origin of life, origin of consciousness

  That is like complaining that your umbrella can't predict when it is going to rain.

  Once again we see another member of your BK cult team posting on your account. One minute you have perfect English and the next it is back to broken English. Nobody is interested in your stupid cult.
• 
  340

  Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

  by dubstepped in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

  i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

  i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Hi dusptepped - marking for later .Will get back to you this evening UK time.
• 
  48

  Evolution doesn't happen today...WRONG...

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last year i had a brother tell me that one proof evolution is false is that he doesn't see it happening today... i was going to bring of viruses evolving so fast that new vaccines must be developed each year but felt he was too closed minded to receive it.

  today i was listening to the audio book of 'an ancestors tale- richard dawkins' and noted oe point that shined through.. here is evolution happening>>>.

  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/05/2/l_052_05.html.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  I was just trying to direct attention to a related truth. - Venus

  Except your comments could not be less related to the topic.

  Theory of evolution came as an act of frustration because excesses of religions were too intolerable at that time.

  No it didn't. Biological evolution was posited by religious men long before Darwin. His genius was to discover the mechanism of natural selection.

  To attack the very basis of religions something had to be invented which resulted in The Theory of Evolution.

  Evolution has absolutely nothing at all to do with any attack on religion.

  In other words, irreligiousness of all religions was the CAUSE, and expression of atheism through theory of evolution was the EFFECT.

  Evolution does not equate with atheism. The vast majority of intelligent theists accept the fact of evolution.

  It means Cause and Effect principle is at work behind everything.

  Please go away with your BK bullshit.
• 
  66

  Since leaving the JW Organization, who is believing?

  by Issa in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i left the jw organization last year during summer.

  maybe some of you can relate.

  who of you are agnostic or an atheist?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Hello Issa.

  After I left the cult I went on believing in god and in the inspiration of the bible. I was an evangelical christian for about a decade. I lost faith in faith in 2014 and have been pursuing an evidence-based view of life ever since then. I am an atheist.
• 
  21

  UK - please post names of congregations being disbanded/merged

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i will soon be done with my jw charity analysis project.

  can we make this an official thread for uk congregations being merged/disbanded so i can update the list.

  i will post the results when finished.. truthseeker.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Morpeth K/hall was put on the market and merged with Ashington.

  (Morpeth is a very nice market town, Ashington is a dump)
• 
  48

  Evolution doesn't happen today...WRONG...

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last year i had a brother tell me that one proof evolution is false is that he doesn't see it happening today... i was going to bring of viruses evolving so fast that new vaccines must be developed each year but felt he was too closed minded to receive it.

  today i was listening to the audio book of 'an ancestors tale- richard dawkins' and noted oe point that shined through.. here is evolution happening>>>.

  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/05/2/l_052_05.html.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Ring species are an interesting example of speciation. I have not yet done a thread on this in my series. There is some misinformation about subject that creationists like you exploit. It is a great challenge to ask creationists where one species stops and a new one begins. Thanks for the OP.

  Venus that is perhaps the most egregious example of hijacking a thread I have seen in a while.
• 
  315

  Flat earth vs round earth

  by Jrjw in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my brother has been talking about the earth being flat and some big conspiracy going on to make people beieve otherwise.

  what are people's thoughts on this?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Kairos are you also a Jew hating holocaust denying anti-semite?
• 
  315

  Flat earth vs round earth

  by Jrjw in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my brother has been talking about the earth being flat and some big conspiracy going on to make people beieve otherwise.

  what are people's thoughts on this?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  I've made my mind up.

  This cult of paranoia is not laughable after all. It is hateful and despicable.