@izzythepush,
Yep--the BBC has admitted that "we fake it all the time" in relation to the nature programmes on which so much superficial, pop-evolutionism is based in that section of the population which is eager to discredit the Christian teaching on sexual morality as is the BBC because of the testosterone surge known to occur within such institutions.
@spendius,
Anyone who can't see that the presenters of news programmes are in a constant state of semi-sexual arousal must be either blind or have not been educated in the finer points of physiognomic manifestations.
@spendius,
That's really funny! You're the only one on a2k who mentions women, girls, and sex more than any other poster, and that's the reason why you see "presenters of news programmes in a constant state of semi-sexual arousal."
You need women, spendi, more than that pint.
Quote:Fish Walked in Water Before Land: Study Concludes
(By Cristina Merrill, International Business Times, December 12, 2011)
Four-limbed sea creatures from which humans descended walked in water before they walked on land or even developed fingers and toes, new research suggests.
Scientists at the University of Chicago observed lungfish - freshwater fish closely related to the original four-limbed tetrapods - and noticed that the fish use their stringy back limbs to propel themselves along stream beds.
Since lungfish don't have fingers or toes, the observation also suggested that tetrapods exhibited walking behavior before they developed digits, shedding light on the order of the evolutionary process by which water creatures made the transition to becoming land inhabitants during the Devonian period approximately 400 million years ago.
The journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published the study online Monday.
Previously, little research focused on the movement of lungfish along stream beds - ie the bottoms of rivers and other fresh water bodies -- save for some observational studies of lungfish in the wild from the 1950s.
"There wasn't a lot of detail there," lead author Heather King told International Business Times. "I wanted to expand on that."
So King filmed eight lungfish individually in a tank of still water with a plastic mesh at the bottom for traction. King filmed the fish from bottom and side angles. The side angle was what really helped to see the walking behavior, as it showed the lungfish using their back limbs along the bottom of the tank to push themselves forward. "We didn't know what they would be doing," King said.
King and her fellow researchers saw that not only were the lungfish using their short, stringy back limbs to propel themselves along the bottom of the tank, they were also using those limbs to lift themselves off of the floor.
The researchers theorize that since lungfish have lungs, the air in the lungs provides the fish with more buoyancy, which allows them to use just their back limbs to push themselves forward.
"That would make a lot of sense and that also makes it more relevant for these animals in the Devonian," King said.
The next step for King, who is finishing her doctoral thesis, would be to understand the anatomy of those limbs. "It doesn't look like a walking limb," she said.
The study shows how certain traits can evolve to serve more than one function, a trend called exaptation by evolutionary biologists, according to Rui Diogo, assistant professor at Howard University and a resource faculty member at George Washington University who was not involved in the study.
"Tthe typical gaits (associated with the locomotion) of tetrapods were probably not selected for their current purpose, which is mainly walking in land, but instead for moving the fish inside the water," Diogo wrote IBTimes in an email. "This is another powerful example of exaptation. By showing this, the paper helps to better understand one of the most dramatic evolutionary transitions in biology: the origin of tetrapods, and the transformation from fins to limbs."
A pdf copy of the study's report can be found at:
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/12/08/1118669109.full.pdf+html
@wandeljw,
wandel, There are still fish that "walks" on land; I've seen them in Africa. When water sources are low, they seek out other water sources; little pools of water for survival.
@wandeljw,
Is that a spoof wande? At the expense of the hard-pressed taxpayers I mean.
I imagine that the reason previously little research focused on the movement of lungfish along stream beds is that nobody had thought of the subject before Heather came along looking for something to write a doctoral thesis about and now that she has others will have to look for something else from now on.
A few lungfish, a tank of water and some plastic mesh and away she goes. Scientific research at the cutting edge of PC endeavour.
@wandeljw,
wandeljw wrote:
Quote:Fish Walked in Water Before Land: Study Concludes
(By Cristina Merrill, International Business Times, December 12, 2011)
I'm not surprised by this. Also, I've heard speculation that a lot of fin-to-leg development occurred by moving through submerged debris like submerged tree branches and thick aquatic plants. Animals living in swampy environments probably spent a lot of their time climbing through submerged muck in one form or another. The transition to land probably involved a lot of thick mud before it lead to dry land traits.
@rosborne979,
I'm not surprised that ros isn't surprised by the cutting edge science of the story. Most 10 year olds wouldn't be surprised either that lungfish can propel themselves by a technique that can be compared to walking if there's a doctoral thesis to write.
What PhDs of the old school think about the debasement of doctorates of this magnitude can hardly be imagined. But I suppose if there is a need to have female PhDs to make up a quota it just has to be accepted.
Nearly a third of Texans believe humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time, and more than half disagree with the theory that humans developed from earlier species of animals, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
The differences in beliefs about evolution and the length of time that living things have existed on earth are reflected in the political and religious preference of our respondents, who were asked four questions about biological history and God:
• 38 percent said human beings developed over millions of years with God guiding the process and another 12 percent said that development happened without God having any part of the process. Another 38 percent agreed with the statement "God created human beings pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago."
• Asked about the origin and development of life on earth without injecting humans into the discussion, and 53 percent said it evolved over time, "with a guiding hand from God." They were joined by 15 percent who agreed on the evolution part, but "with no guidance from God." About a fifth — 22 percent — said life has existed in its present form since the beginning of time.
• Most of the Texans in the survey — 51 percent — disagree with the statement, "human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals." Thirty-five percent agreed with that statement, and 15 percent said they don't know.
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• Did humans live at the same time as the dinosaurs? Three in ten Texas voters agree with that statement; 41 percent disagree, and 30 percent don't know.
The questions were devised by David Prindle, a University of Texas government professor who authored a book called Stephen Jay Gould and the Politics of Evolution, about the late evolutionary biologist. "The end in mind … is to establish the relationships, not just to get raw public opinion," he says. "We can do some fancy statistical stuff. … Is it religion driving politics or is politics driving religion? My hypothesis is that religious views drive politics."
The most common religious denominations in the survey were Catholic and Baptist, with 20 percent each, followed by nondenominational Christians, at 10 percent, and Methodists, at 6 percent. Eight percent chose "spiritual but not religious," and 7 percent chose "other." Only 6 percent identified themselves as atheist or agnostic. An overwhelming majority said their religious beliefs were extremely important (52 percent) or somewhat important (30 percent). Only 35 percent go to church once a week or more; 52 percent said they go once or twice a year (29 percent) or never (23 percent).
Church attendance isn't much different among Republicans and Democrats in the poll, though Republicans who do go to church say they go more often. More than half of the Democrats — 51 percent — go to church "never" or "once or twice a year." That's true of 45 percent of the Republicans in the poll. Forty-two percent of Republicans say they attend church at least once a week, compared to 35 percent of Democrats.
Democrats (28 percent) are less likely than Republicans (47 percent) to think that humans have always existed in their present form and more likely (21 percent to 7 percent) to think humans have developed over millions of years without God's guidance. About the same percentages of Democrats and Republicans (40 and 36 percent, respectively) believe that evolution took place over time with God's guidance. Democrat Bill White's voters were the most likely to believe in evolution without a divine hand (33 percent); on the Republican side, by comparison, only 6 percent of Rick Perry's supporters were in that category.
Has life on earth always existed in its present form? Republicans are more likely to agree (29 percent) than Democrats (16 percent). They're less likely to believe that life evolved over time with no guidance from God (8 percent to 24 percent). Democrats are slightly less inclined to believe in evolution with a "guiding hand from God" (50 percent to 55 percent).
Republicans are less likely to believe that humans developed from earlier species of animals; 26 percent agree, while 60 percent disagree. Among Democrats in the survey, 46 percent agree that humans evolved from earlier species; 42 percent disagree. Perry's voters were most hostile to this premise — 67 percent disagree.
About the same numbers of Democrats and Republicans — 43 percent — disagree with the idea that dinosaurs and humans lived on the planet at the same time. Republicans were slightly more likely to agree with the idea (31 percent to 27 percent). Perry had more voters in each group on the GOP side, but Kay Bailey Hutchison had the largest share of voters who believe in that coexistence.
Prindle says the results recall a line from comedian Lewis Black. "He did a standup routine a few years back in which he said that a significant proportion of the American people think that the 'The Flintstones' is a documentary," Prindle says. "Turns out he was right. Thirty percent of Texans agree that humans and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time."
@edgarblythe,
Religion definitely drives politics in this country; and most argue that Arabs let Islam run their countries. What's wrong with this picture?
@edgarblythe,
What does "present form" mean ed?
Scientific theory and fact - not much wiggle room between them.
@wandeljw,
wandeljw wrote:
KENTUCKY UPDATE
Quote:Hart schools chief: Evolution is viewed as fact in state test
(By Jim Warren, Lexington Herald-Leader, Dec 13, 2011)
Line contends that the Blueprint essentially would "require students to believe that humans ... evolved from primates such as apes and ... were not created by God."
I doubt his impression of the blueprint is accurate. But to be clear, schools should not be teaching students to "believe" anything. They should be teaching them to understand various ideas within science.
If a person (student or otherwise) doesn't want to "believe" in science or in the philosophical underpinnings of science, then it's not the responsibility of the school to challenge them on their irrationality. It's the responsibility of society to confront this type of delusional thinking (or lack of thinking).
It's incumbent on all of us within society to challenge irrationality and delusional thinking when we see it, otherwise it will flourish. It's one thing to tolerate someone's right to believe whatever they want, but it's quite another thing to passively tolerate irrationality itself.
@rosborne979,
The worst form of education is the removal of imagination, and the destruction of curiosity.
The definition of science is quite clear.
@rosborne979,
Quote:They should be teaching them to understand various ideas within science.
That character armour is a conditioned response for example.
@cicerone imposter,
Quote:The definition of science is quite clear.
It is too. The disinterested exercise of curiosity.
Try getting funding for that.
Line contends that the Blueprint essentially would "require students to believe that humans ... evolved from primates such as apes and ... were not created by God."
I had this thought in fourth grade primaryschool. My catholic religion teacher spoke of Adam and Eve en presented them as the first human beings.
I had looked into a discarded school prize book for biology of my eldest sister: 1964 Evolution by Time, Inc.
So I raised my finger and said 'We come from the apes.' I was ten years old.
Of course we don't evolve from apes, the way they exist and the way we know them. At ten I didn't know any better. I looked at the pictures and didn't understand everything that was written. It was my first non-fiction book and I still have it.
When I see that an adult person in 2011 with so much more information available still uses approximattely my phrase when I was ten years old, I become frightened.
Every form of education (parental or in schools) contains an element of indoctrination.
The existential question: 'Where do we come from?' creates primal fear. It's a weak point in human psychology. Through centuries religion offered ready made answers. To salvage that fear.
But there's also the quest for power. Political power.
And everything that has anything to do with politics, involves 'indoctrination'. Even if it has to happen on the level of a ten year old child. Adults swallow about anything.
I agree completely with 'curiosity' and to give space to young persons to make a choice. Indoctrinationlevels should be brought to a minimum in schools and universities. Worldwide.
@manono,
Quote:The existential question: 'Where do we come from?' creates primal fear.
If you put that to some people they turn the volume of the music up and whistle Lullaberero . Loudly.
