We've been through a lot of Physics lately, so I thought we might take a break and discuss some other things I came across..
The scientific reason we're living right here at this moment is because of the earth's suitable specs, it is at a distance from the sun that allows it to retain water within it and neither freeze nor boil it. It's the reason we didn't end up a dry planet like those closer to the sun nor freezing gaseous like the ones farther.
When scientists say that water gave life to everything, they literally mean the sentence. It is believed that all of the various lifeforms we see today, from tiny bacteria to gigantic blue whales, developed from one simple organism that formed from the ocean's simple molecules over three billion years ago. This organism -known as the common ancestor- multiplied, forming its species and over a long period of time (millions of years) developed to more sophisticated ones, each with specific traits suited to where they are and what they need to do in order to survive. This organism developed into another known as Cyanobacteria which was the first organism to be capable of photosynthesis. Sexual reproduction began around 1.2 billion years ago, and since then organisms started developing much faster. The bacteria soon evolved to become more sophisticated water plants, and some other bacteria developed into tiny fish. Some of the more developed fish developed into amphibians like reptiles who used their limbs to crawl the lands and eventually call it home, losing their water compatibility and developing more land-suitable traits. Some even got themselves a pair of wings and became the birds we know today!
What I was just talking about is the process of Evolution, first brought up by the seemingly notorious Charles Darwin. He suggested that every species develops a certain trait or characteristic (either physical or mental) to meet the demands of survival. Giraffes have long necks to reach for food on trees, camels have an extra stomach to save water and food in desert terrain, fish have gills to perform respiration underwater, chameleons and tigers use their skin as camouflage, flowers have that sweet scent to attract insects which in turn help in pollination and reproduction of this flower's species. I could go on forever, but the idea is: Every characteristic of these organisms is there for a functional reason.
Darwin's theory became the result of a huge debate when the theory spoke of the Human Species (Homo Sapiens) in his book "The Descent of Man". He suggested that we evolved from apes, specifically chimpanzees, and there everybody went to make jokes like "If... then I'm a monkey's uncle". Many despised his theory, mostly religious people, because supposedly God created us himself. We can never be descendants of some stupid chimpanzees because we are God's perfect creation they said. I think it was a matter of ego for those people rather than conviction. After all, nobody likes to be proven wrong.
The opposite picture shows the embryos of a human (up) and a dog (down). Notice the similarities in the structures of both, the human even has a tail (labelled L)! Fortunately it grows to become a series of vertebrae in our backs, not protruding like in other mammals. This is because we dismissed the need for such a structure to provide balance for us. The human's head though seems to be bigger than the dog's, this is what is known as adaptation. We need bigger brains because we need to use it much more than the puppy!
Let's go back about 3000 years ago. The ancient Egyptians apparently made up their own Gods and started worshiping them, about the same time the Greeks were hailing Zeus and begging Poseidon to stop the earthquakes. Why is it that these primitive civilizations were so concerned with supreme beings that they made up their own and worshiped them? Did they really believe their own lie? Did they feel secure when they convinced themselves that some omnipotent beings are watching over them? One thing is certain, the priests had to emphasize on the importance of pleasing the Gods to please themselves. They were among the wealthiest of people at the time. Even kings would pay them grandly for their blessings when going to war. It seemed like a good business for those people.
However, I think the true reason behind Man's countless attempts to forge deities throughout the ages lies in their unanswered questions. Many of the universe's wonders remain undiscovered till this day in spite of all the technologies we have acquired. We automatically attribute that which we do not comprehend to the Gods.
I conclude with the following opinion: Darwin's theory proved to be acceptable among the scientific community. It has provided predictions that met experimental success. There is no reason to deny it. However this does not mean we shall claim the nonexistence of a God. There is not much evidence that allows us to make such a claim yet. We'll have to wait before building up any stable fact about the matter. Each expert in every field has a specific thinking pattern that grants them facility in dealing with problems within the field, and we can simulate them with a little knowledge and thoughtfulness.
Darwin's theory became the result of a huge debate when the theory spoke of the Human Species (Homo Sapiens) in his book "The Descent of Man". He suggested that we evolved from apes, specifically chimpanzees, and there everybody went to make jokes like "If... then I'm a monkey's uncle". Many despised his theory, mostly religious people, because supposedly God created us himself. We can never be descendants of some stupid chimpanzees because we are God's perfect creation they said. I think it was a matter of ego for those people rather than conviction. After all, nobody likes to be proven wrong.
The opposite picture shows the embryos of a human (up) and a dog (down). Notice the similarities in the structures of both, the human even has a tail (labelled L)! Fortunately it grows to become a series of vertebrae in our backs, not protruding like in other mammals. This is because we dismissed the need for such a structure to provide balance for us. The human's head though seems to be bigger than the dog's, this is what is known as adaptation. We need bigger brains because we need to use it much more than the puppy!
Let's go back about 3000 years ago. The ancient Egyptians apparently made up their own Gods and started worshiping them, about the same time the Greeks were hailing Zeus and begging Poseidon to stop the earthquakes. Why is it that these primitive civilizations were so concerned with supreme beings that they made up their own and worshiped them? Did they really believe their own lie? Did they feel secure when they convinced themselves that some omnipotent beings are watching over them? One thing is certain, the priests had to emphasize on the importance of pleasing the Gods to please themselves. They were among the wealthiest of people at the time. Even kings would pay them grandly for their blessings when going to war. It seemed like a good business for those people.
However, I think the true reason behind Man's countless attempts to forge deities throughout the ages lies in their unanswered questions. Many of the universe's wonders remain undiscovered till this day in spite of all the technologies we have acquired. We automatically attribute that which we do not comprehend to the Gods.
I conclude with the following opinion: Darwin's theory proved to be acceptable among the scientific community. It has provided predictions that met experimental success. There is no reason to deny it. However this does not mean we shall claim the nonexistence of a God. There is not much evidence that allows us to make such a claim yet. We'll have to wait before building up any stable fact about the matter. Each expert in every field has a specific thinking pattern that grants them facility in dealing with problems within the field, and we can simulate them with a little knowledge and thoughtfulness.
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