Humans evolved from aquatic apes

[H@L0_F00]

Looks like Darwin wasn't quite correct. http://www.ted.com/talks/elaine_morgan_say...uatic_apes.html

[digip]

/checks calander...no, it is not April....

[wh1t3 and n3rdy]

I somewhat agree and it will be at least another 100 years before morons wake up to themselves re religion.

[VaKo]

It is a nice theory, but it is unlikely that it will ever be more than that. One of the main problems is that the areas that would have the evidence, ie the coastal areas, are now underwater.

[barry99705]

It is a nice theory, but it is unlikely that it will ever be more than that. One of the main problems is that the areas that would have the evidence, ie the coastal areas, are now underwater.

That's okay, in another 100 years the current coastal areas will be underwater.

[h3%5kr3w]

Personally I just do not see the point of trying to figure out where the hell we came from other than to give a finger to everyone's religion. This is pointless and time wasting. Besides, in 100 years I'll be dead and so will you so.. I really could care less where we came from.

I think two things should happen. 1. People should quit pushing religion down people's throats, and 2. non religious people should quit pushing their theories down people's throats..

That simple. I keep my shit to myself and you to yours. There.. Now we are all happy except the idiots that want to rub other's noses in their own shit because they feel like they owe the world a service to cram their own bullshit down the other's throats.

Have a nice day! :D

[H@L0_F00]

Personally I just do not see the point of trying to figure out where the hell we came from other than to give a finger to everyone's religion. This is pointless and time wasting. Besides, in 100 years I'll be dead and so will you so.. I really could care less where we came from.

I think two things should happen. 1. People should quit pushing religion down people's throats, and 2. non religious people should quit pushing their theories down people's throats..

That simple. I keep my shit to myself and you to yours. There.. Now we are all happy except the idiots that want to rub other's noses in their own shit because they feel like they owe the world a service to cram their own bullshit down the other's throats.

Have a nice day! :D

If we know where we came from, we can better predict where we're going. We might also learn about why we do some of the things we do or why we're susceptible to some diseases or viruses more than others. If we can study our ancestors, we can better understand ourselves. Why not study a simpler model of ourselves? It could only help us move forward. This is hardly about religion at all and I don't see anybody forcing anything upon anybody. If the theories of evolution offend you, don't click the damn link and don't reply to the damn thread. It's that simple.

[VaKo]

Personally I just do not see the point of trying to figure out where the hell we came from other than to give a finger to everyone's religion. This is pointless and time wasting. Besides, in 100 years I'll be dead and so will you so.. I really could care less where we came from.

I think two things should happen. 1. People should quit pushing religion down people's throats, and 2. non religious people should quit pushing their theories down people's throats..

That simple. I keep my shit to myself and you to yours. There.. Now we are all happy except the idiots that want to rub other's noses in their own shit because they feel like they owe the world a service to cram their own bullshit down the other's throats.

Have a nice day! :D

...Are you a complete fraking moron?

This has nothing to do with peoples religions, at all. This is purely about the pursuit of knowledge, the idea of understanding why and how humans are the only creature on the planet that is like us. Why do we think? Why are we the only species that builds and makes things? Why are we different?

[CraigHB]

I've seen that theory before, explains where some of our characteristics come from. Interesting, but I dont' see it ever gaining any real credibility in the scientific community. Would be kind of cool though, being evolutionarily closer to water. I like the idea.

[ArkNinja]

The only real difference between humans and primates is our brain. We have a larger and more evolved brain, capable of more advanced thought, thats about it.

[h3%5kr3w]

My bad, I was not stating anyone here was really trying to cram anything, it just seems like 99% of research such as this is generally just to prove christianity wrong. But for informational purposes, that is a great thing. But I also side that we have physical, and biological remains of people from 1000+ years ago, so I don't think finding out we came from fish, apes, or birds is really going to advance anything more than what we already have. We just need to experiment more with proteins and stuff of that nature. Besides, what's so wrong with everything the way it is now? I mean aside from cancer and AIDS, the general populus has between a 70 to 110 year life expectancy. I dont wanna live any longer than that. Just me... Well unless I get my cybernetic implants.. Then I would like to go for a good maybe 200 years :P

[CraigHB]

I don't thinks it's a matter of advancing technology. Most scientists are simply motivated by age old questions. Sometimes the things they discover advance technology, sometimes they don't other than to broaden awareness. I haven't seen many scientists specifically out to debunk religeon. Most operate within the bounds of scientific process which has little to do with faith. If that process has come up with a different explanation of the world, it's not the scientitsts' fault, it's just where evidence and experimentation has directed them.

[H@L0_F00]

What isn't wrong with everything the way it is now? Why stop advancing? Why not reach our full potential as human beings? That's like not trying at a game, sport, etc. because you feel you're already good enough. That gets you nowhere but backwards. Without new advancements and people striving to make the world a better place or even just to learn and create new things we could start easily start devolving into ignorant existence where everything is the way it is, nothing gets better, and nobody can make it better just because. That world doesn't sound quite pleasurable, it even reminds me to the world of Oceania in the book 1985 by George Orwell or the society in Anthem by Ayn Rand. Both are awesome books, you might wanna check them out. It might open your eyes a bit to why we do what we do and why we are who we are. Then again, it might not.

[wh1t3 and n3rdy]

What we need is a decent war to give the good ol' invention and innovation a bit of a boost.

[H@L0_F00]

What we need is a decent war to give the good ol' invention and innovation a bit of a boost.

Haha, a "decent war?" What would qualify as a decent war? And, it's usually weapon and war vehicle inventions that are spurred by war. What we need is less idiots, high school drop outs, and ignorant authority (teachers, parents, etc. that are hindering a child's true potential.)

[VaKo]

Well war is good for promoting cultural change as well as technological change. Personally I would say this is far more important than technology as it actually breeds more technology. Look at the Great Wars of the 20th century, it completely re-defined the social order of Europe, removed the last vestiges of the nobility and largely lead to the removal of social barriers to education and personal achievement that a ridged class structure had put up as a result of feudal systems. You know the Great Wars of the 21st century will basically do the same for American dominions as country's like Russia, China, Brazil and India rise in power and challenge western powers dominance over the planet. So, while war for the person is a terrible thing, for a people as a whole it may not be that bad in the long run. The individual suffering of a person is meaningless in the scope of global geopolitics.

@HAL0_F00

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." - Mark Twain

[H@L0_F00]

Point taken VaKo. I wish everybody would post/write like VaKo. Most everything is quite clear, concise, thought out, understandable, intelligent, and thought provoking. I know, I know, there are innumerable people on the internet who's first language is not English, but I'm not talking about them, because most of them can communicate better in English when it's their third language than someone who's first and only language is English. Anyways, thanks, you opened my eyes to how and why wars can be beneficial to society and the world as a whole. Mass suffering is still not the best way to entice a few great thinkers though.

[VaKo]

I would disagree, human experience is defined by suffering.

[Tymac94]

Watch this talk on TED on evolution. Very interesting. http://www.ted.com/talks/elaine_morgan_say...uatic_apes.html

[VaKo]

Dude... that was the OP's link...

[H@L0_F00]

Watch this talk on TED on evolution. Very interesting. http://www.ted.com/talks/elaine_morgan_say...uatic_apes.html

:o nuhuh!?

[antirem]

Its really hard to tell at this point.. Its just as possible that we developed that on our own and their is no way to prove either way yet.

[h3%5kr3w]

@halo_f00 - well sure we can advance. I just do not think going that far backward is going to show how far foreward we are going to go. Furthermore, it has already been proven that we simply adapt to our environment in the proper ways. Our environments have changed 20 fold since *back in the day, however long ago that was* but we change to the environment in predictable ways, and our environment is ever changing. Simply put, this is something you cannot fit on a timeline or on any curved scale. Our bodies change over time in whatever way it can. If it can't, then we die. If we need 3 arms, we'll start growing 3 arms, if we need 20 toes, then our bodies over 1000's of years will change for the need.

However, the one thing that has not really changed is the brain's capacity and logic. Simply put. I feel that we are at the top of the scale @ this time. People get to ages where learning still occurs but they simply loose collective fragments of memory to accomodate for the new memories. Sure we only use a tiny fragment of our brains, but until we find THAT key element that wakes the rest up, we will not use it. This is also a part of evolution. Hell maybe we have been growing bigger brains this whole time, but our brains have not evolved enough to utilize the actual mass yet... Maybe think of it as Windows 7 32 bit to Windows 7 64 bit, both having 16 gig's of memory.

I still want my cybernetic arms and legs though...

[VaKo]

Evolution doesn't work like that, its not a case that we adapt by selecting in traits and mutations, rather that we select out unfavourable traits. In simple terms if a trait is unfavourable enough to prevent reproduction of an individual or to damage a group it will not be passed on. We do not adapt to meet a requirement at all.

And we have not stopped evolving, as the selective pressures we face are still apparent no matter if they have changed. Our brains have changed and are still changing today.

Also its bullshit that we only use a tiny amount of our brains, we don't understand enough about neuro-psychology to even begin to make that claim.

[H@L0_F00]

Favorable mutations cause new traits to be introduced to the gene pool. If an animal is born abnormally strong with little to no adverse side-effects they might pass that gene on to their offspring. That offspring will have offspring which might also have the "strong gene." As the gene is passed down from generation to generation it spreads because most animals have multiple offspring. If the gene survives through innumerable generations, it will eventually be found in the majority of surviving species because it is favorable over the original gene. This also brings in the theory of Natural Selection. The better made (stronger, faster, smarter , bigger, etc.) survive over the others. Better can be smaller as well though if it's favorable to the species. Natural Selection plays a limited role in humans though. Incentives like love or money greatly affect who a human will produce offspring with. If this was not true, humans would be much smarter as a species in general because the dumb would die off due to the opposite sex not wanting to produce offspring with a less intelligent human. We also would be very different from who we are as a species though because to eliminate all factors, save Natural Selection, we would have to think only logically.