Common Misconceptions with Human Origin

[Cynthia]

Religiously speaking, a major theory of how we came to be is through creationism; that being an all powerful being created us from his/her will, and shaped us in his image.

It is commonly confused that the theory of evolution is a theory over creationism, when it is not. Evolution deals with the idea of we as humans evolving from species that were already in existence, it does not address the idea of where those species came from. Creationism deals with where life in general has arisen, while evolution only deals with us as individuals.

The actual theory, comprised by Charles Darwin, to combat the idea of creationism, is the genetic soup model, where the chemicals and compounded needed to make life exist and spend thousands if not millions of years colliding into each other and by random chance and probability, they created life.

The problem with this theory is Charles Darwin attempted to prove it by taking compounds that are commonly found in living creatures allowing them to colide under extreme temperature. To his dismay, the experiment failed, as it would again and again as other scientists tried it. The conclusion is drawn that life can not be created from non-life. Life can only be created from life, as there are no recorded proofs of life being created from non-life. So his genetic soup model does not work.

What about creationism though? Does this make it so? It is actually a scientific possibility, as it could explain how life came from non-life, as it can not under normal circumstances. A more plausable idea though, is life came from outer space. Rocks containing water and other chemicals and organisms (which we have found on asteroids) crashed into our world over time and eventually manifested and evolved on our planet. With a universe that has infinate space and is always expanding, the possibility of life in other areas is a high possibility, as there are endless chances, so it's almost a certainty in that matter. How did that life come to be though? The direct answer is we don't know, however it could be that it has always been there. Keep in mind, the big bang theory is just a theory, in reality, there may have been no "beginning" of our universe, and probably no end. There is the chance that everything always was, but the problem is it's beyond human comprehension, and doubtful that without our existence we'll ever hope to understand it.

So what were we? A cosmic accident? It's highly plausable, though not on the same scale as a major atheist standpoint of the big bang theory, followed by the genetic soup model, then evolution. The extremes coincidences are just far too far fetched. Granted no matter which theory we look at, a series of coincidences had to come into play, but we try and look at the one that makes the most common sense.

The creationist idea, if you look at the Christian standpoint says that God created our world in 7 days. The problem with this though, is we have so much knowledge and evidence that supports the idea of the Earth being uninhabitable for probably millions of years before life even came into play. The only way this idea could make coherent sense is if the concept of "I see, therefore I am", was an actuality. Meaning that everything in our world was put into place to give the illusion it has always been that way to us, and we were implimented with the memories to make it so. In that aspect though, the universe could have been created 5 seconds ago, and none of us would have known it. Sadly it's an actual possibility, but has so little evidence behind it that we really don't even consider it.

So focusing on the accepted ideas, and ones that are the most plausable, what do you think about our origins as a species? Keep in mind, you must show evidence or provide details as to WHY. You can't just state a holy text as fact, just as you can't just state something that has no evidence behind it to support a bogus scientific argument.

So the big question: How did we get here?

[NTK]

ON A BIG SPACESHIP! Jk, I think that the asteroid theory is the most plausible one and that probably there is life in outer space.

[Medora]

The problem with creationism is it doesn't explain, it talks. The point of a scientific theory is to posit, and then get reaffirmed again and again in experiments to be consistent with reality. What creationism does is posit that evolution's posits are wrong, but it doesn't have any posits of its own that can be affirmed.

[Cynthia]

Before any religious rebuttal comes into play, I just want to point out, that the bible is NOT fact, and can not be stated as such, and here is why:

God is known through the bible, because it is the word of God. So that is saying, we know God exists because the bible says so. So being the word of God, that statement is: "We know God exists, because God says so." This is a wheel within a wheel. You only amount towards spinning an argument in a circle to avoid actual facts, because your argument has none to present.

You're taking a statement that you're trying to prove, and proving it with the same statement. So you're taking a non-proven statement and proving it with the same non-proven statement. The argument fails to achieve relation towards known fact, with questionable substance. It is a circle argument that will just loop around and around in a pathetic attempt to blind the opponent with your illogical statement, so that they do not directly assault it, because you know if they do, you have no factual information to support it. It is an age old argument strategy which is commonly used in conjunction with the idea that because it's old, it somehow is correct. That same argument is commonly used by the Republican party.

This is the idea of "this is how it's always worked, and things worked out fine, so why change it?" This relates to the idea of our countries being founded upon religion as was every major empire, so why would we question what religion has told us when it has shaped our civilization. You could relate the statement:

"My father never owned a car, his father never owned a car, and they were fine, so I have no reason to own one."

This is true, but I'm certain that all three of us had trouble getting around, whether it worked out for us or not. This argument fails to address that all of myself, my father and his father did not have any other reasonable options.

Religion may have shaped empires, but notice the major dominant one based on the empire has changed several times. History is written by winners, and the losers must confide to the oppression of the winners. Let us not forget that several major wars were an altercation of disagreement within belief. Hitler believed Jews were the source of Germany's problems, and that Germany had the right to be restored to its former military glory, despite its actions in WWI. Other countries disagreed. So although belief has shaped us, it has also pushed us apart.

So before engaging in religious malarkey, I highly suggest you have some backbone to your argument and not just run in circles. Deity does not solve the question without explanation.

[Bindy]

A more plausable idea though, is life came from outer space. Rocks containing water and other chemicals and organisms (which we have found on asteroids) crashed into our world over time and eventually manifested and evolved on our planet. With a universe that has infinate space and is always expanding, the possibility of life in other areas is a high possibility, as there are endless chances, so it's almost a certainty in that matter. How did that life come to be though? The direct answer is we don't know, however it could be that it has always been there. Keep in mind, the big bang theory is just a theory, in reality, there may have been no "beginning" of our universe, and probably no end. There is the chance that everything always was, but the problem is it's beyond human comprehension, and doubtful that without our existence we'll ever hope to understand it.

So the big question: How did we get here?

Okay well I am going to address at first the theory of life coming from asteroids down to the Earth. The problem I see with this is how was the life created on these asteroids in the first place? It is an impossible task to fully comprehend and understand this as, we as a species, have a limited outlook. But we have this outlook because we are being brought up in a world that is full negative influences and it is not allowing free thinking as much, as the education system tells us this is what is and doesn't allow people to question as much. However, this isn't true for everyone and they are your higher level thinkers but unfortunately they make up a insignificant amount of our population. So from this I got to say that we will not ever know the answers to these questions until, we as a society, learn to let people think for themselves.

Next point is on the big bang theory. Yes this is just a theory but it is getting closer to being a reality with every day that goes by as physicists and astrologists are working on studying the universe as we know it. They have already found traces that their had to be a large radioactive occurrence at sometimes as they have found radio waves out in places, and the further they look away the weaker these waves are getting. This is meaning that something has caused these waves to spread and are constantly spreading further out as we speak. But this doesn't mean this theory is true, but it is just a bit of supporting evidence for it.

Finally, how do I think we got here?

Well that is hard for me to answer, but I believe it was just a series of unlikely events with just the right circumstances that caused us to come into existence, I do not believe in any real theory behind it but I believe it was just pure luck that we have come into existence. I really can not explain this.

[newlegend]

Two books which this topic reminds me of:

HUMAN DEVOLUTION by Michael Cremo

and

ATLANTIS, ALIEN VISITATION, AND GENETIC MANIPULATION by Michael Tsarion

Long story short, Tsarion's book is about the idea that 200000 years ago some genetic manipulation was done by aliens which created the human race. The cool factor of that concept alone is why I choose to believe it over more boring ideas.

[Kilometrico]

Does it really matter how we were created? it wont make our life any easier. I mean knowing how the human body works enables us to heal injuries but knowing how we came to be, does that really help anyone.

[Eskimo]

Does it really matter how we were created? it wont make our life any easier. I mean knowing how the human body works enables us to heal injuries but knowing how we came to be, does that really help anyone.

not physically, no

but spiritually definitely (most religions attempt to resolve the idea of human origin) and also, psychologically humans have a need to recognize their origins at least based on the model set out by maslow's hierarchy of needs

i dont think science will ever find a resolution to the debate as there are immutable limitations to what humans can understand. the basic problem i have with evolution is that it explains only 'how', not 'why' people exist. 'why' is a question more suited to the nature of the debate and is inherently of higher importance to 'how'.

in my opinion the question of why people exist must be indistinct from how people exist, so any model of evolution that doesnt attempt to account for why is at best useless

[s0teric]

This issue is important because the origins can determine if the christian perspective is right and if it is then people who don't believe are in trouble and what they'll be facing is a very serious thing. I will not try to force my beliefs on to you, but I would like to provide evidence for my viewpoints.

as for the alien theory that just begs the question where did that life come from and if there is always life creating more life you just get an infinite regression and that's just bad logic to bank on

As for the Bible being not fact and "you can't prove it" statement the fact is (hehe pun) that you can't prove anything. There is extensive evidence to suggest that many things in this life are true such as gravity. I believe that gravity exists, no I am not stupid enough to deny its existance since every moment my feet are on the ground I have evidence of a force pushing me down. I believe such is the case with God. I believe that there is some evidence simply in the complexity in which the world we live and how absolutely massive the universe is. In the Christian religion this is called general revelation as the creation (in this context I'll say more in defense) speaks of its creator. Next you can look at the source of our information of God, which is the Bible and its validity. Evidence for the Bible is its historical accuracy. The New Testament can be verified because we found over 5000 copies with the books being written only 50 years previously. We can also reconstruct the entire new testament from quotes in letters the early church fathers sent to each other. Also, half the old testament can be verified because of the Dead Sea scrolls (scrolls found in pots the most ancient copies of many books of the old testament we have). Each book matched up with these ancient copies almost exactly with only minor word differences. Also looking at the historical accuracy of the first half of the Old testament can be verified by Israel's history and its culture. Scribes recording these books were perfectionists that considered when two letters of a word touch an error and if there was an error they would erase the entire panel(3 or 4 columns of text) as well as the previous panel because it had touched the panel with the error. Based on this evidence, I presume that the Bible has not been tampered with but what of its accuracy? Well, let's look to the event that defines christianity, the resurrection. If the resurrection was false all of christianity was a lie. If it is true than that provides very strong evidence that it is true. Several theories designed do discredit the validity of the resurrection are that the disciples stole the body and hid/ burned it. This is unlikely seeing how it was gaurded by two trained roman gaurds who could easily fend off a few untrained men. Even assuming that they could get past the gaurds the tomb was sealed off by a boulder that probably weighed several tons they wouldn't have been able to move it. Even assuming they were able to beat the gaurds, move the stone, and get away unseen why would each and every one of them die for a lie? Another theory is that those who checked for the body went to the wrong tomb. Jesus was a celebrity they would have known where he was buried there were gaurds and it was sealed they would have known which tomb it was. If it was the wrong tomb they could have just dug Jesus out then and produced a body. Another theory is that he was buried in a graveyard and eaten by dogs. If this were so someone would have pointed out that he was in one of the common graveyards where they piled normal crucifixion victims and disproved that he rose from the dead (he wasn't in the tomb they checked).

Yet another theory is that the disciples were all hallucinating. Which is impossible there has never been a record of more than one person having the same hallucination at once much less 12 people. Next is the swoon theory, which, if you read Case for Christ there are EXTENSIVE medical reasons breaking down what is described in scripture and these were trained Roman soldiers they knew when people were dead even if he did escape he was wrapped in linens (you could not get out of these given the why burial linens were wrapped) on death's door sealed in a tomb by a (probably) several ton boulder which was gaurded by trained soldiers. He couldn't escape. Some say the whole thing was a legend. This would take multiple generations to form and people could have testified against Paul who taught this 20 years after Jesus's death. Again t hey could have procured a body and disproved the whole thing and if Jesus never existed (which he did as described by several nuetral historians of that day) they could have disproved Paul and no one would have believed him. Lastly, some say graverobbers stole the body. In this case the tomb was protected sealed and why would they do it, there was just Jesus in there.

Soooooooooooo there's some evidence what do you guys think?

[kiranka87]

hai there hw are u

[kiranka87]

Here at the Smithsonian, we’ve been very excited about our new Human Origins exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History. The exhibit mixes research, technology, and new developments in the field of anthropology in a way that isn’t intimidating, even though the idea of humans being around millions of years ago can seem overwhelming. With current research being done places such as Kenya and China, and discoveries that have been made in Iraq and Indonesia, evidence of our origins span the globe.

Yet, there are some common misconceptions that have been made about evolution that are worth clarifying. For example, it is commonly believed that evolution is about progress and that each living thing is changing for the better. The reality is that some organisms don’t change over time – including some mosses, fungi, opossums and crayfish. They are a great fit in their current habitat, so there is no need for them to change. Others, such as beetles, need to change in order to survive due to changing climates or new competitors. Humans weren’t the first or last organism to change or evolve on planet Earth.

Another misconception is that humans are no longer evolving, so we can’t observe evolution in action. Plus, humans seem far too complex to have evolved in the first place. The reality is that evolution takes places over a large span of time, and human evolution occurs over so many generations that we can’t observe it in one lifetime. Evolution occurs to populations and species, not necessarily individuals. For example, a giraffe may not grow a longer neck during its lifetime, but over time a community of giraffes with longer necks will survive while the ones with shorter necks will die out. As a result, longer-necked giraffes will mate with each other over many generations, creating a noticeable difference over a long period of time.

To relate this to a human change, most adult mammals (including humans) are lactose intolerant and cannot digest milk. But 80% of adults of European ancestry do have a gene that allows them to consume milk. Why? About 5,000 to 10,000 years ago, dairy farming became a part of European life, and there was a genetic response to this change in diet. We see this evolutionary response when we drink milk today.

There are so many ideas to explore in the Human Origins exhibit, including the big question – What does it mean to be human? Is it how we care for each other? Is it our belief system? Is it biological unity? These are some pretty big questions.

[s0teric]

Finally, how do I think we got here?

Well that is hard for me to answer, but I believe it was just a series of unlikely events with just the right circumstances that caused us to come into existence, I do not believe in any real theory behind it but I believe it was just pure luck that we have come into existence. I really can not explain this.

"Sir Fred Hoyle a mathematician and astronomer calculated that the probability of one simple enzyme forming by chance is 10 to the power of 20 (one with twenty zeros behind it), to 1. Hence for one cell to form, about 2000 enzymes are needed, which makes the probability of the first self replicating cell forming by random movement of atoms as 10 to the power of 40000 to 1. One bitter critic of Hoyle begrudgingly says that that this figure is 'probably not overly exaggerated'.

It has been said that this is as likely as a cyclone going through a junkyard and producing a fully functional jumbo jet.

People do say that if you allow enough time, anything can happen. However, at best we have about 4.6 billion years to work with. If Sir Fred Hoyle's calculated probability was for a cell to form in say the next second then the probability of a cell forming in 4.6 billion years is still about 10 to the power of 39982 to 1. If it was for a microsecond, the probability would be 10 to the power of 39976 to 1. If it was for a picosecond, the probability would be 10 to the power of 39970 to 1."

Yeah I don't have enough faith to believe in that =(

however you are entitled to believe it if you want I am simply trying to show some evidence (in this case) that will make you contemplate and think over what you are believing in