caphiera.net

This year marks not only one, but two anniversaries in regards to the “Father of Evolution”, Charles Darwin.  It’s been 150 years since the publication of On the Origin of Species, and 200 years since his birth.  So to celebrate, evolutionary linkage must ensue.

First off: Discover’s Darwin Special

A lesson in the asinine:  Creationist Master of Science Degree?

I have no words for this: Catholicism Evolving?

Complete Works: Darwin Online

More silliness: And to think I live basically across the river from this! My favorite part of this: “The exhibit is to clearly show that natural selection is not a mechanism to change one kind of animal into a totally different kind,” Ham said. For example, he said, dogs can develop new traits from one generation to the next, but they remain dogs.  The operative keyword you missed here is GENERATION. Oh you believers, you really know how to brighten my day.

Recsources: Evolution on PBS

Okay, I think I’m done with the links now.  Just a thought on evolution in our times:  I believe that we are evolving out of our need for God and marriage.  I think this is a very good thing.  The sooner we let go of our primitive explanations for things that we can now understand scientifically, the better it will be for not only our species, but for this planet.

While pottering about on the web today I ran across this article on the Wired Network.  It’s about so-called “living fossils” - species whose last evolutionary crossroads was millions of years ago.  The most widely known of these is, I believe, the crocodile.  This article shows off more strangeness, such as a purple frog with a snout.  I didn’t read all of the comments section, I knew exactly where the discussion would go, and it only took about three posts for the lulz to kick in.  Of course, evolution happens.  Religious zealots say it doesn’t, that God made everything exactly as it should be.  Or claim Intelligent Design, which, in my mind, constitues a gray area where God and Evolution work hand in hand.

Almost immediately, you get the commenter who says “look, these creatures have not evolved, so therefore evolution does not exist, and God will smite thee for believing in it.  Darwin is such a fail.”  Of course, when someone points out that his theory is total horseshit, poster immediately takes on the “u r an asshole” attitude.  Comments section devolves into utter bullshit.  Good reading if you want to laugh.

I know this has nothing to do with ‘design’ in an aesthetic or adornment sense, but is “design” of the universe and therefore distantly related, maybe?