Evolution vs Creationism debate tonight in 'murica

[Xant]

It is well made, but trying to make it seem deeper and more profound by adding dramatic music and images of people and things is gay.

[Chosen1]

I found this article on infowars: http://www.infowars.com/fact-check-did-bill-nye-tell-a-huge-lie-about-the-fossil-layers/

Basically saying that there have been fossils of modern animals found with dinosaur fossils and that Evolution is incorrect when it says all organisms evolved chronologically.

Any thoughts or counter-arguments? I'm not picking sides, I'm just curious.

[Huscarlton_Banks]

If Bill Nye wants to believe in the theory of evolution that is his choice.  But he should quit calling it “science”.  Those that choose to believe in the theory of evolution are choosing to have blind faith in an ancient pagan religious philosophy despite what the scientific evidence actually demonstrates.

Pffthahahahaha.

[Xant]

I found this article on infowars: http://www.infowars.com/fact-check-did-bill-nye-tell-a-huge-lie-about-the-fossil-layers/

Basically saying that there have been fossils of modern animals found with dinosaur fossils and that Evolution is incorrect when it says all organisms evolved chronologically.

Any thoughts or counter-arguments? I'm not picking sides, I'm just curious.

All of the sources link to creation.com, sounds legit

[BASNAK]

gg dirty science believers

[KingBread]

I found this article on infowars: http://www.infowars.com/fact-check-did-bill-nye-tell-a-huge-lie-about-the-fossil-layers/

Basically saying that there have been fossils of modern animals found with dinosaur fossils and that Evolution is incorrect when it says all organisms evolved chronologically.

Any thoughts or counter-arguments? I'm not picking sides, I'm just curious.

Basically by not taking sides you take side of crationism cos you think they are equally right. While its not, its comparing flinstones lightbulb with insects inside to a electricity and saying "im not taking sides but in flinstones lighbulbs works on insects"

[Kafein]

Oh god, it's one of those videos.


*slow, dramatic music*
*random images of people, animals and stars*

So much of this

[Rumblood]

I found this article on infowars: http://www.infowars.com/fact-check-did-bill-nye-tell-a-huge-lie-about-the-fossil-layers/

Basically saying that there have been fossils of modern animals found with dinosaur fossils and that Evolution is incorrect when it says all organisms evolved chronologically.

Any thoughts or counter-arguments? I'm not picking sides, I'm just curious.

The words "modern" and "fossil" put together should have clued you in...

[SixThumbs]

You're basically a modern fossil. 

[Osiris]

Read a bit of that They seem to suggest that because there are mammal fossils that its all a lie cuz mammals are not dinosaurs?

Then i read further

Where did the atoms that made up the Big Bang come from? Nye has no idea. Where did man’s consciousness come from? Nye has no idea. How can matter produce life? Nye has absolutely no idea. This surely is all one needs to know to recognize the utter bankruptcy of the theory of evolution.

and

In the end, by making a ridiculous spectacle of himself and mocking Christianity, Bill Nye is actually fulfilling Bible prophecy.  The following was written nearly 2000 years ago…
Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

made me have a nice lul before sleep

just made me lul

[Banok]

As someone who actually got a degree in mostly evolution and genetics, I found the entire thing painful. I wrote a hasty post on it:

Anyone else think Bill Nye made a bit of a hash of it?

I actually watched the whole thing, which I regret since it was utterly pointless and almost 3 hours long. I admire Bill and his motive, but I kind of think someone else could have done a much better job.

Almost everything Ken said was blatantly untrue, and yet Bill didn't really pick up on kens bullshit and explain why he was completely wrong. But instead talked alot about general science and even stuff which didn't feel that relevant. You don't need to talk about the big bang, or possible life on mars, to prove that the world is not thousands of years old.

For instance Ken talks about how they have reinterpreted the bible's "kinds" to be like animal families, so god created groups of animals which have recently evolved. This is quite easily proven to be untrue, by the most compelling evidence for evolution; DNA hierarchy showing relativeness between animal families just as you would expect if they all came from one ancestor.

Bill didn't even go into DNA evidence, or any of the incredibly observable and obvious biological stuff like whales having vestigial hip bones. Its quite obvious he is a physicist, but he still could have made much more relevant arguments by focusing on carbon dating.

Instead he talks at length about how impossible it was to build the ark. Surely that is a waste of his breath, its obvious the ark is entirely impractical, but trying to prove that only gives it credibility it doesn't deserve. He could have been explaining concisely how its provable that the earth is way older, instead of talking about largely irrelevant history of boat-making.

Its absolutely pointless arguing with creationists, anyone worth their salt knows the "theory" of evolution is as much a theory as the "theory" of gravity.

[Xant]

Yeah, Nye was awful as a debater. Ken said so much bullshit that would've been extremely easy to disprove and would've destroyed his credibility. But instead, it was Ken who asked questions from Nye that Nye never answered. When Ken said that the ice layers could have been formed because of colder years that produced more ice, Nye didn't even rebuke that by saying you can see the summer/winter cycles themselves, the amount of ice is not relevant -- making it seem like Ken got one over Nye.

[kinngrimm]

Psychology tells us, when Propaganda is repeated often enough, people start believing everything. Chrisitanity had quite some time to take roots in general public mindsets. The debates on this topic are more often aimed to leave so to speak "reasonable"  doubt in the minds of people, so they can keep believing.

Additionally what makes it easy for the demagogues to discredit science, is the often rather limited understanding or the discomfort which leads to not wanting to understand the scientific ways. What theory really means, how they are disproven and then replaced by a better theory, that uncertaintinty is not euqal untrue and much more.

I am for a long time now and still am of the opinion that the Age of Enlightenment, which arguably started inbetween the second half of the 17th century, never ended.
As we humans are an empty container, lacking experience and knowledge when we are born and there is all kind of believes and knowledge with whom we get in touch over our lifetimes, therefore we also need to put some energy to keep a general level of understanding in the population, otherwise that what has once been thought is lost or ignored or put into chains by those who think they know/believe "better".