Chandrasekhar
Determined
I'm tired of people saying "I believe in evolution!" or "I don't believe in evolution!" The theory of evolution can be broken up into several points, all of which rely on the points before it. I intend this poll to determine to what degree people believe in evolution.
The first statement is that organisms adapt through successive generations by the mechanism of natural selection. This seems like a given to me, as it can actually be seen with simple laboratory equipment. Still, to each his own. I'd say that denying this statement is akin to denying that the Earth is round.
The second statement is that many modern species share common descendents, many of which are extinct. Given the long timeframe at which evolutionary forces act, this might be up for some small debate. If you believe (as many medieval priests and philosophers did) that God made all the organisms on Earth as they are today, and that only minor variations are possible, then option two is for you. Darwin's trip to the Galapagos Islands led him to put forward this statement, and there is the fossil record to support it. Again, to each his own. I expect that some will disagree with this one.
The third statement is that humanity itself shares common ancestors with many animals (namely, primates). Here's where I expect the most opposition to show up. The major religions seem to have their own explanations for how Man came to be, and I'm not aware of any that mention monkeys. Of course, Y-chromosome tracking does show that all of humanity shares a common ancestor, but this ancestor was far too early to be the Bible's Adam, and he was himself descended from creatures that were themselves not human.
The fourth statement is that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor. Though there probably aren't many that would agree with the above statement while disagreeing with this one, I'm including it for the sake of completeness.
The fifth option is for those that are in complete agreement with all of the aspects of the theory of evolution as it is most commonly recognized. I place myself in this category.
The first statement is that organisms adapt through successive generations by the mechanism of natural selection. This seems like a given to me, as it can actually be seen with simple laboratory equipment. Still, to each his own. I'd say that denying this statement is akin to denying that the Earth is round.
The second statement is that many modern species share common descendents, many of which are extinct. Given the long timeframe at which evolutionary forces act, this might be up for some small debate. If you believe (as many medieval priests and philosophers did) that God made all the organisms on Earth as they are today, and that only minor variations are possible, then option two is for you. Darwin's trip to the Galapagos Islands led him to put forward this statement, and there is the fossil record to support it. Again, to each his own. I expect that some will disagree with this one.
The third statement is that humanity itself shares common ancestors with many animals (namely, primates). Here's where I expect the most opposition to show up. The major religions seem to have their own explanations for how Man came to be, and I'm not aware of any that mention monkeys. Of course, Y-chromosome tracking does show that all of humanity shares a common ancestor, but this ancestor was far too early to be the Bible's Adam, and he was himself descended from creatures that were themselves not human.
The fourth statement is that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor. Though there probably aren't many that would agree with the above statement while disagreeing with this one, I'm including it for the sake of completeness.
The fifth option is for those that are in complete agreement with all of the aspects of the theory of evolution as it is most commonly recognized. I place myself in this category.
