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The Richard Dawkins Thread - Page 20

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MyLostTemple *
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
United States2921 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-07-15 09:26:10
July 15 2008 09:24 GMT
#381
On July 15 2008 17:20 LuckyOne wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 15:46 geometryb wrote:
i actually think there probably is something more out there. but, it's beyond our ability to understand. Kind of like how ants dont have the capacity of knowing about more than the little tunnels they build.

ever seen those lizards that spit blood out of their eyes to scare predators?
i cant explain how they got there with evolution , anyone know?


i'm really starting to question your background in education. this is easily explainable.

the earth is 65 billion years old. lets say this lizard species in some where in the later half of this 65 billion years. mutations occur in evolution, so in lets say we have a bunch of brown lizards but every once and a while there is one that is closer to black. now lets say that the environment that these lizards grew up in is very dark and predators have a harder time seeing the darker brown lizards. Over time there are more dark brown lizards left over than the lighter brown ones since the more visible lizards are easier to get spoted and eaten. imagine how many how many mutations may occur over the hundreds of billions of years life has existed.

now lets take your example. a mutation occurs where we have a lizard that has oddly wired blood vessels in the eyes. at times blood shoots out of his eye sockets during stressful moments because of increased blood pressure via adrenaline. As it turns out the predator has, via evolution, learned to avoid red because he too has a predator or something in his environment that causes him to avoid this color. over time the predators end up eating all the other lizards while this small group of mutated lizards manages to survive via it's genetic mutation. now we end up with almost all the lizards shooting blood out of their eyes since it was passed on in their gene pool. some can shoot a lot of blood, others can shoot only a small amount. maybe there are even ones who shoot so much blood out of their eyes that they end up with a massive amount of blood loss and die because of it. Those lizards are then weeded out of the gene pool too due to their genetic mutation working negatively for them. what we are left with over time are the lizards you are talking about today.

i'm still asking you to define the scientific method and the "magic" you're talking about.
Follow me on twitter: CallMeTasteless
LuckyOne
Profile Joined December 2006
266 Posts
July 15 2008 09:46 GMT
#382
On July 15 2008 18:24 MyLostTemple wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 17:20 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 15:46 geometryb wrote:
i actually think there probably is something more out there. but, it's beyond our ability to understand. Kind of like how ants dont have the capacity of knowing about more than the little tunnels they build.

ever seen those lizards that spit blood out of their eyes to scare predators?
i cant explain how they got there with evolution , anyone know?


i'm really starting to question your background in education. this is easily explainable.

the earth is 65 billion years old. lets say this lizard species in some where in the later half of this 65 billion years. mutations occur in evolution, so in lets say we have a bunch of brown lizards but every once and a while there is one that is closer to black. now lets say that the environment that these lizards grew up in is very dark and predators have a harder time seeing the darker brown lizards. Over time there are more dark brown lizards left over than the lighter brown ones since the more visible lizards are easier to get spoted and eaten. imagine how many how many mutations may occur over the hundreds of billions of years life has existed.

now lets take your example. a mutation occurs where we have a lizard that has oddly wired blood vessels in the eyes. at times blood shoots out of his eye sockets during stressful moments because of increased blood pressure via adrenaline. As it turns out the predator has, via evolution, learned to avoid red because he too has a predator or something in his environment that causes him to avoid this color. over time the predators end up eating all the other lizards while this small group of mutated lizards manages to survive via it's genetic mutation. now we end up with almost all the lizards shooting blood out of their eyes since it was passed on in their gene pool. some can shoot a lot of blood, others can shoot only a small amount. maybe there are even ones who shoot so much blood out of their eyes that they end up with a massive amount of blood loss and die because of it. Those lizards are then weeded out of the gene pool too due to their genetic mutation working negatively for them. what we are left with over time are the lizards you are talking about today.

i'm still asking you to define the scientific method and the "magic" you're talking about.

well it would be more obvious if they got selected for their running / hide hability this is something so specific they even have to aim for it to work.btw i believe in evolution just that i think there must be something more to it like adaptation modifying genes.

as for the definitions i agree with wikipedia. but you dont try to understand the main idea.

DrainX
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
Sweden3187 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-07-15 09:52:10
July 15 2008 09:51 GMT
#383
On July 15 2008 17:58 MyLostTemple wrote:
speaking of which, would anyone be interested in me compiling some Nietzsche documentaries?

I'd love it if you did so. Ive been interested in Nietzsche for some time but ive only seen one documentary and havnt read any of his books. Could you recommend me one of them that is good to start out with? Also Sprach Zarathustra?

Btw Nick did you watch the video I linked on the last page?

+ Show Spoiler +
On July 15 2008 09:05 DrainX wrote:
I found an interesting video interview with Richard Dawkins. Maybe not so focused on religion. Apparently he is now working on a book that will contain proofs of evolution. I bet it will be a good read The interviewer is a Computer Scientist and many of the questions are different from what he is usually asked in interviews today. The questions stretch from things like artificial intelligence to the effect the bacteria in our body's might have on our evolution. A 40 minute good watch:

http://www.richarddawkins.net/article,2566,3QD-interviews-Richard-Dawkins,Three-Quarks-Daily
DrainX
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
Sweden3187 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-07-15 10:12:09
July 15 2008 09:57 GMT
#384
On July 15 2008 18:46 LuckyOne wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 18:24 MyLostTemple wrote:
On July 15 2008 17:20 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 15:46 geometryb wrote:
i actually think there probably is something more out there. but, it's beyond our ability to understand. Kind of like how ants dont have the capacity of knowing about more than the little tunnels they build.

ever seen those lizards that spit blood out of their eyes to scare predators?
i cant explain how they got there with evolution , anyone know?


i'm really starting to question your background in education. this is easily explainable.

the earth is 65 billion years old. lets say this lizard species in some where in the later half of this 65 billion years. mutations occur in evolution, so in lets say we have a bunch of brown lizards but every once and a while there is one that is closer to black. now lets say that the environment that these lizards grew up in is very dark and predators have a harder time seeing the darker brown lizards. Over time there are more dark brown lizards left over than the lighter brown ones since the more visible lizards are easier to get spoted and eaten. imagine how many how many mutations may occur over the hundreds of billions of years life has existed.

now lets take your example. a mutation occurs where we have a lizard that has oddly wired blood vessels in the eyes. at times blood shoots out of his eye sockets during stressful moments because of increased blood pressure via adrenaline. As it turns out the predator has, via evolution, learned to avoid red because he too has a predator or something in his environment that causes him to avoid this color. over time the predators end up eating all the other lizards while this small group of mutated lizards manages to survive via it's genetic mutation. now we end up with almost all the lizards shooting blood out of their eyes since it was passed on in their gene pool. some can shoot a lot of blood, others can shoot only a small amount. maybe there are even ones who shoot so much blood out of their eyes that they end up with a massive amount of blood loss and die because of it. Those lizards are then weeded out of the gene pool too due to their genetic mutation working negatively for them. what we are left with over time are the lizards you are talking about today.

i'm still asking you to define the scientific method and the "magic" you're talking about.

well it would be more obvious if they got selected for their running / hide hability this is something so specific they even have to aim for it to work.btw i believe in evolution just that i think there must be something more to it like adaptation modifying genes.

as for the definitions i agree with wikipedia. but you dont try to understand the main idea.


You make it sound like evolution is a conscious process. Species don't aim for some ability, evolution just happens and has to happen once you have its prerequisites. They probably did get selected for their running/hiding abilities too, that doesn't exclude the bloody eyes.

How big an advantage do you think eyebrows are? They might keep drops of sweat out of your eyes but how often is that necessary? Maybe there is a lion standing in a bush near you and the human with the eyebrows has a slightly higher chance of seeing it in time. The selection pressure needed isn't really that big since we are talking about millions of years of natural selection. To me its much more grand and amazing how wales and hippos have a recent common ancestor. Hippos are closer relatives to wales than they are to pigs.
VIB
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
Brazil3567 Posts
July 15 2008 10:02 GMT
#385
On July 15 2008 18:23 0xDEADBEEF wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 17:26 VIB wrote:
I cannot comprehend this thread. Why do you guys insist so much? Why bother trying to give logical explanation to someone who openly admits not accepting reason as an argument?

Saying "I believe in god" or "I don't believe in science" or any of it's variants is precisely the same as saying "I cannot comprehend logic, therefore trying to convince me with logical arguments is futile". How do you argue with someone like this?

Until we find a cure for stupidity, all of you in this thread, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris or whoever are all just wasting your time (well them at least are making money off it).


The real problem and real stupidity is not when one is religious (although one might argue that's the case too then :p ), but only when one believes that his religion is "the real truth" or "better than science". In that case, this person is a retard (maybe even a dangerous one. Fundamentalists and terrorists are always potentially dangerous).
Questioning certain scientific methods is OK, otherwise there would be no advancements, but you have to come up with a logical, scientific argument then. Religious people should never question science just because their religious fantasies tell a different story.
As long as this is the case, I believe that religion and science can coexist peacefully (lol, just had to think of that one Bush quote). But stupidity never dies, and so we have many fundamentalists today who are basically one of the biggest threats to modern society with their medieval thinking. If they manage to be somehow more convincing to the general public than scientists are (and they really got far in the US with their Intelligent Design crap), we're in for some bad time once again.
I'm not talking about questioning any specific methods. But about anyone who claim to believe in "religion", which by definition means "believing with no need of concrete evidence" or any variant. Someone who admits to be religious is also admitting to not understand reason". So you can't convince someone, who admits being religious, with logical arguments. Which is senseless therefore dumb. Their problem is not believing X and not Y, their problem is that they're dumb.

So I can't understand how is there so many people trying to "bring light" to religious people showing them logical arguments. They're admittedly dumb, they cannot understand logic. Not matter how reasonable and well thought your arguments are, they won't understand because they already told you they don't need scientific evidence to believe in X or Y. How are you gonna convince them of anything with logic?

Just tell them Darwin is right because God said so. That's your best shot.
Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about things. Small people talk about other people.
Fwmeh
Profile Joined April 2008
1286 Posts
July 15 2008 10:10 GMT
#386
The theory of evolution has so far been able to explain the rich variance of species we are seeing. But that is not the truly great thing about it. The great thing is, that if such a phenomenon would appear, that evolution could not explain it, the theory of evloution would be carefully revised, and no scientist worth his salt would protest. That ability to adapt is the greatest strength of science, something that religion and philosophy both could do well in following.

And trust me, you will not debunk evolution any time soon.
A parser for things is a function from strings to lists of pairs of things and strings
0xDEADBEEF
Profile Joined September 2007
Germany1235 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-07-15 10:20:52
July 15 2008 10:16 GMT
#387
On July 15 2008 19:02 VIB wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 18:23 0xDEADBEEF wrote:
On July 15 2008 17:26 VIB wrote:
I cannot comprehend this thread. Why do you guys insist so much? Why bother trying to give logical explanation to someone who openly admits not accepting reason as an argument?

Saying "I believe in god" or "I don't believe in science" or any of it's variants is precisely the same as saying "I cannot comprehend logic, therefore trying to convince me with logical arguments is futile". How do you argue with someone like this?

Until we find a cure for stupidity, all of you in this thread, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris or whoever are all just wasting your time (well them at least are making money off it).


The real problem and real stupidity is not when one is religious (although one might argue that's the case too then :p ), but only when one believes that his religion is "the real truth" or "better than science". In that case, this person is a retard (maybe even a dangerous one. Fundamentalists and terrorists are always potentially dangerous).
Questioning certain scientific methods is OK, otherwise there would be no advancements, but you have to come up with a logical, scientific argument then. Religious people should never question science just because their religious fantasies tell a different story.
As long as this is the case, I believe that religion and science can coexist peacefully (lol, just had to think of that one Bush quote). But stupidity never dies, and so we have many fundamentalists today who are basically one of the biggest threats to modern society with their medieval thinking. If they manage to be somehow more convincing to the general public than scientists are (and they really got far in the US with their Intelligent Design crap), we're in for some bad time once again.
I'm not talking about questioning any specific methods. But about anyone who claim to believe in "religion", which by definition means "believing with no need of concrete evidence" or any variant. Someone who admits to be religious is also admitting to not understand reason". So you can't convince someone, who admits being religious, with logical arguments. Which is senseless therefore dumb. Their problem is not believing X and not Y, their problem is that they're dumb.

So I can't understand how is there so many people trying to "bring light" to religious people showing them logical arguments. They're admittedly dumb, they cannot understand logic. Not matter how reasonable and well thought your arguments are, they won't understand because they already told you they don't need scientific evidence to believe in X or Y. How are you gonna convince them of anything with logic?

Just tell them Darwin is right because God said so. That's your best shot.


Well there are quite a few scientists who believe in a god because as long as science can't explain everything yet, there's still room for it, and I don't see a problem there and I don't see why one should call such persons stupid.

On July 15 2008 19:10 Fwmeh wrote:
The theory of evolution has so far been able to explain the rich variance of species we are seeing. But that is not the truly great thing about it. The great thing is, that if such a phenomenon would appear, that evolution could not explain it, the theory of evloution would be carefully revised, and no scientist worth his salt would protest. That ability to adapt is the greatest strength of science, something that religion and philosophy both could do well in following.

And trust me, you will not debunk evolution any time soon.


Yes... hopefully. It's true that religion basically never adapts. The "holy writings" like the Bible are ancient by now, and many things in it are just plain ridiculous considering our vast knowledge in comparison, but religious people just interpret the texts differently, like they want to, because even they know that a lot of it is stupid. This pic is so true:

[image loading]
Fwmeh
Profile Joined April 2008
1286 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-07-15 10:32:06
July 15 2008 10:23 GMT
#388
Second best flowchart ever, after bacon-eating flowchart.

And VIB, please stop. None here has yet refuted that everyone makes action based on beliefs they will never be able to prove, either because finding the proof is too hard, or because it is simply impossible to prove. A part of being a scientist is knowing what science can be applied to, and anything for which you cannot formulate repeatable tests to either prove, or disprove your theory is pointless to science.

And fyi, I have spent 5 years of my life graduating as what would be equivalent of a Mphys, and don't really like being called an idiot because I realise that that will not tell me everything about life.
A parser for things is a function from strings to lists of pairs of things and strings
Polis
Profile Joined January 2005
Poland1292 Posts
July 15 2008 10:36 GMT
#389
On July 15 2008 18:46 LuckyOne wrote:
btw i believe in evolution just that i think there must be something more to it like adaptation modifying genes.


Gene that know where he want to evolve? You are missing the point of evolution, evolution is an effect of psychics laws and that is it you don't have to assume anything new for it.

Explaining unknown whit unknown does not lead to any explanation, it is just an illusion of explaining something.
Funchucks
Profile Joined June 2007
Canada2113 Posts
July 15 2008 10:37 GMT
#390
I actually worship Darwin as a deity who causes mutations by divine intervention, and who created the universe according to his design so it would select for the traits he desires.
I serve my houseguests slices of butter.
Mada_Jiang
Profile Blog Joined August 2007
Australia236 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-07-15 11:03:43
July 15 2008 11:02 GMT
#391
--- Nuked ---
LuckyOne
Profile Joined December 2006
266 Posts
July 15 2008 11:18 GMT
#392
On July 15 2008 18:57 DrainX wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 18:46 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 18:24 MyLostTemple wrote:
On July 15 2008 17:20 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 15:46 geometryb wrote:
i actually think there probably is something more out there. but, it's beyond our ability to understand. Kind of like how ants dont have the capacity of knowing about more than the little tunnels they build.

ever seen those lizards that spit blood out of their eyes to scare predators?
i cant explain how they got there with evolution , anyone know?


i'm really starting to question your background in education. this is easily explainable.

the earth is 65 billion years old. lets say this lizard species in some where in the later half of this 65 billion years. mutations occur in evolution, so in lets say we have a bunch of brown lizards but every once and a while there is one that is closer to black. now lets say that the environment that these lizards grew up in is very dark and predators have a harder time seeing the darker brown lizards. Over time there are more dark brown lizards left over than the lighter brown ones since the more visible lizards are easier to get spoted and eaten. imagine how many how many mutations may occur over the hundreds of billions of years life has existed.

now lets take your example. a mutation occurs where we have a lizard that has oddly wired blood vessels in the eyes. at times blood shoots out of his eye sockets during stressful moments because of increased blood pressure via adrenaline. As it turns out the predator has, via evolution, learned to avoid red because he too has a predator or something in his environment that causes him to avoid this color. over time the predators end up eating all the other lizards while this small group of mutated lizards manages to survive via it's genetic mutation. now we end up with almost all the lizards shooting blood out of their eyes since it was passed on in their gene pool. some can shoot a lot of blood, others can shoot only a small amount. maybe there are even ones who shoot so much blood out of their eyes that they end up with a massive amount of blood loss and die because of it. Those lizards are then weeded out of the gene pool too due to their genetic mutation working negatively for them. what we are left with over time are the lizards you are talking about today.

i'm still asking you to define the scientific method and the "magic" you're talking about.

well it would be more obvious if they got selected for their running / hide hability this is something so specific they even have to aim for it to work.btw i believe in evolution just that i think there must be something more to it like adaptation modifying genes.

as for the definitions i agree with wikipedia. but you dont try to understand the main idea.


You make it sound like evolution is a conscious process. Species don't aim for some ability, evolution just happens and has to happen once you have its prerequisites. They probably did get selected for their running/hiding abilities too, that doesn't exclude the bloody eyes.

How big an advantage do you think eyebrows are? They might keep drops of sweat out of your eyes but how often is that necessary? Maybe there is a lion standing in a bush near you and the human with the eyebrows has a slightly higher chance of seeing it in time. The selection pressure needed isn't really that big since we are talking about millions of years of natural selection. To me its much more grand and amazing how wales and hippos have a recent common ancestor. Hippos are closer relatives to wales than they are to pigs.

btw is behavior coded in the genes like how does a spider know its supposed to build a web?
with this exact design?

DrainX
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
Sweden3187 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-07-15 11:21:05
July 15 2008 11:20 GMT
#393
On July 15 2008 20:18 LuckyOne wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 18:57 DrainX wrote:
On July 15 2008 18:46 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 18:24 MyLostTemple wrote:
On July 15 2008 17:20 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 15:46 geometryb wrote:
i actually think there probably is something more out there. but, it's beyond our ability to understand. Kind of like how ants dont have the capacity of knowing about more than the little tunnels they build.

ever seen those lizards that spit blood out of their eyes to scare predators?
i cant explain how they got there with evolution , anyone know?


i'm really starting to question your background in education. this is easily explainable.

the earth is 65 billion years old. lets say this lizard species in some where in the later half of this 65 billion years. mutations occur in evolution, so in lets say we have a bunch of brown lizards but every once and a while there is one that is closer to black. now lets say that the environment that these lizards grew up in is very dark and predators have a harder time seeing the darker brown lizards. Over time there are more dark brown lizards left over than the lighter brown ones since the more visible lizards are easier to get spoted and eaten. imagine how many how many mutations may occur over the hundreds of billions of years life has existed.

now lets take your example. a mutation occurs where we have a lizard that has oddly wired blood vessels in the eyes. at times blood shoots out of his eye sockets during stressful moments because of increased blood pressure via adrenaline. As it turns out the predator has, via evolution, learned to avoid red because he too has a predator or something in his environment that causes him to avoid this color. over time the predators end up eating all the other lizards while this small group of mutated lizards manages to survive via it's genetic mutation. now we end up with almost all the lizards shooting blood out of their eyes since it was passed on in their gene pool. some can shoot a lot of blood, others can shoot only a small amount. maybe there are even ones who shoot so much blood out of their eyes that they end up with a massive amount of blood loss and die because of it. Those lizards are then weeded out of the gene pool too due to their genetic mutation working negatively for them. what we are left with over time are the lizards you are talking about today.

i'm still asking you to define the scientific method and the "magic" you're talking about.

well it would be more obvious if they got selected for their running / hide hability this is something so specific they even have to aim for it to work.btw i believe in evolution just that i think there must be something more to it like adaptation modifying genes.

as for the definitions i agree with wikipedia. but you dont try to understand the main idea.


You make it sound like evolution is a conscious process. Species don't aim for some ability, evolution just happens and has to happen once you have its prerequisites. They probably did get selected for their running/hiding abilities too, that doesn't exclude the bloody eyes.

How big an advantage do you think eyebrows are? They might keep drops of sweat out of your eyes but how often is that necessary? Maybe there is a lion standing in a bush near you and the human with the eyebrows has a slightly higher chance of seeing it in time. The selection pressure needed isn't really that big since we are talking about millions of years of natural selection. To me its much more grand and amazing how wales and hippos have a recent common ancestor. Hippos are closer relatives to wales than they are to pigs.

btw is behavior coded in the genes like how does a spider know its supposed to build a web?
with this exact design?


Yes, yes it is. That is exactly what Richard Dawkins second book The Extended Phenotype is about.
zizou21
Profile Joined September 2006
United States3683 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-07-15 11:32:25
July 15 2008 11:24 GMT
#394
Excellent BBC Documentary on Nietzsche

Human, All Too Human -- Friedrich Nietzsche

DrainX: I would recommend Beyond Good & Evil because it is a comprehensive overview of his philosophy
its me, tasteless,s roomate LOL!
IdrA
Profile Blog Joined July 2004
United States11541 Posts
July 15 2008 11:26 GMT
#395
luckyone is beyond hope, just ignore him.

actually im kinda waiting for him to ask how the eyeball could have evolved.
http://www.splitreason.com/product/1152 release the gracken tshirt now available
Fwmeh
Profile Joined April 2008
1286 Posts
July 15 2008 11:26 GMT
#396
On July 15 2008 20:20 DrainX wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 20:18 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 18:57 DrainX wrote:
On July 15 2008 18:46 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 18:24 MyLostTemple wrote:
On July 15 2008 17:20 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 15:46 geometryb wrote:
i actually think there probably is something more out there. but, it's beyond our ability to understand. Kind of like how ants dont have the capacity of knowing about more than the little tunnels they build.

ever seen those lizards that spit blood out of their eyes to scare predators?
i cant explain how they got there with evolution , anyone know?


i'm really starting to question your background in education. this is easily explainable.

the earth is 65 billion years old. lets say this lizard species in some where in the later half of this 65 billion years. mutations occur in evolution, so in lets say we have a bunch of brown lizards but every once and a while there is one that is closer to black. now lets say that the environment that these lizards grew up in is very dark and predators have a harder time seeing the darker brown lizards. Over time there are more dark brown lizards left over than the lighter brown ones since the more visible lizards are easier to get spoted and eaten. imagine how many how many mutations may occur over the hundreds of billions of years life has existed.

now lets take your example. a mutation occurs where we have a lizard that has oddly wired blood vessels in the eyes. at times blood shoots out of his eye sockets during stressful moments because of increased blood pressure via adrenaline. As it turns out the predator has, via evolution, learned to avoid red because he too has a predator or something in his environment that causes him to avoid this color. over time the predators end up eating all the other lizards while this small group of mutated lizards manages to survive via it's genetic mutation. now we end up with almost all the lizards shooting blood out of their eyes since it was passed on in their gene pool. some can shoot a lot of blood, others can shoot only a small amount. maybe there are even ones who shoot so much blood out of their eyes that they end up with a massive amount of blood loss and die because of it. Those lizards are then weeded out of the gene pool too due to their genetic mutation working negatively for them. what we are left with over time are the lizards you are talking about today.

i'm still asking you to define the scientific method and the "magic" you're talking about.

well it would be more obvious if they got selected for their running / hide hability this is something so specific they even have to aim for it to work.btw i believe in evolution just that i think there must be something more to it like adaptation modifying genes.

as for the definitions i agree with wikipedia. but you dont try to understand the main idea.


You make it sound like evolution is a conscious process. Species don't aim for some ability, evolution just happens and has to happen once you have its prerequisites. They probably did get selected for their running/hiding abilities too, that doesn't exclude the bloody eyes.

How big an advantage do you think eyebrows are? They might keep drops of sweat out of your eyes but how often is that necessary? Maybe there is a lion standing in a bush near you and the human with the eyebrows has a slightly higher chance of seeing it in time. The selection pressure needed isn't really that big since we are talking about millions of years of natural selection. To me its much more grand and amazing how wales and hippos have a recent common ancestor. Hippos are closer relatives to wales than they are to pigs.

btw is behavior coded in the genes like how does a spider know its supposed to build a web?
with this exact design?


Yes, yes it is. That is exactly what Richard Dawkins second book The Extended Phenotype is about.


Some behaviours are, some behaviours are not. In the case of a spider's web, it is.
A parser for things is a function from strings to lists of pairs of things and strings
LuckyOne
Profile Joined December 2006
266 Posts
July 15 2008 11:38 GMT
#397
On July 15 2008 20:26 IdrA wrote:
luckyone is beyond hope, just ignore him.

actually im kinda waiting for him to ask how the eyeball could have evolved.

hehe actually i believe in everything you do(science,evolution, not religious) + some(that noone gets)
funny how ppl are formatted to think us vs them 2 camp thing.
Makhno
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
Sweden585 Posts
July 15 2008 11:48 GMT
#398
Great thread, Richard Dawkins is awesome and is really the spearhead of reason, science and logic in the present intellectual community. Especially considering his contribution to the popular understanding of science and the "proper" understanding of religion.

Many here seem to find Richard Dawkins too violent in his attacks on religion and unwilling to compromise, which is exactly what makes him so great. In the God Delusion he clearly states that he is well aware of the aggressive stance he has taken towards religion and that he does so because he is genuinley concerned about the effects of religion on humanity today and especially it's negative effect on kids. He also argues that the agnostic position so many basically atheist intellectuals and indeed atheist people in general, take in the face of religion is completely illogical.

Just because the existance of God can't be entirely disproved does'nt mean it's as likely as the actual existance of a God! It does'nt make it a close 50/50 between a supernatural force that has absolutely no place in modern science anywhere, and an presently unknown scientific explanation of, most prominently i guess, the creation of the universe. To be agnostic about something as unlikely as an omnipotent- /scient -/present force is plain... dumb I have to say. Sorry if someone is offended by this.


On July 15 2008 18:24 MyLostTemple wrote:

the earth is 65 billion years old. lets say this lizard species in some where in the later half of this 65 billion years. mutations occur in evolution, so in lets say we have a bunch of brown lizards but every once and a while there is one that is closer to black. now lets say that the environment that these lizards grew up in is very dark and predators have a harder time seeing the darker brown lizards. Over time there are more dark brown lizards left over than the lighter brown ones since the more visible lizards are easier to get spoted and eaten. imagine how many how many mutations may occur over the hundreds of billions of years life has existed.


Earth is not 65 billion years old, it's more like 4.5 billion years. Though your numbers are pretty exaggerated this is a great explanation of how evolution works with natural selection.




"If I think, everything is lost"
IdrA
Profile Blog Joined July 2004
United States11541 Posts
July 15 2008 11:53 GMT
#399
On July 15 2008 20:38 LuckyOne wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 20:26 IdrA wrote:
luckyone is beyond hope, just ignore him.

actually im kinda waiting for him to ask how the eyeball could have evolved.

hehe actually i believe in everything you do(science,evolution, not religious) + some(that noone gets)
funny how ppl are formatted to think us vs them 2 camp thing.

it has nothing to do with camps
you're just really stupid
and if you understand evolution are you just failing at playing devil's advocate or what?
http://www.splitreason.com/product/1152 release the gracken tshirt now available
LuckyOne
Profile Joined December 2006
266 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-07-15 12:23:43
July 15 2008 12:14 GMT
#400
On July 15 2008 20:53 IdrA wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 15 2008 20:38 LuckyOne wrote:
On July 15 2008 20:26 IdrA wrote:
luckyone is beyond hope, just ignore him.

actually im kinda waiting for him to ask how the eyeball could have evolved.

hehe actually i believe in everything you do(science,evolution, not religious) + some(that noone gets)
funny how ppl are formatted to think us vs them 2 camp thing.

it has nothing to do with camps
you're just really stupid
and if you understand evolution are you just failing at playing devil's advocate or what?

was just asking a few questions that had nothing to do with what i was saying before.
im out.

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