I highly doubt any of us will be around for "bazillions of years", the trick is to have faith - just like any other religion.
"There is no "trick". You learn from science and its repeatable, testable theories and you accept them, just as you would any other fact."
I really want to see an example of a fish turning to a lizard, do you have video of that or any other similar event? I suppose I just have to take it on faith though.
"Evolution takes a very long time. Fortunately we have the fossil record and other methods of knowing it to be true. No faith involved."
So I just have to take it on faith then, got it.
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Do you have a brain, boner, or do we have to take it on faith?
Can you prove a fossil shows anything other than something died or do I have to take it on faith like "takes a very long time"?
OK, how do you explain that we can find the fossils of specific species only in geological strata of specific ages?
Evidence can lead you to a particular conclusion, even when you can't see it happening in front of your eyes and you don't have a video of somebody doing the same thing. If you don't understand that, you should never serve on a jury.
You can cut the stupid with this guy with a knife. He's like that idiot woman who interviewed Dawkins that time and shrilled "show me the evidence" over and over, and you're telling them the evidence is right in front of their eyes or online or in a library or whatever and that's never going to be good enough.
A game he likes to play is to point out that dating methods are just "speculation", he doesn't believe they work, and you can't seem to get through his head that they DO work.
And again this wonderful quote comes to mind (unfortunately I can´t remember the source):
"Discussing evolution with a creationist is like playing chess with a pidgeon: The bird doesn´t understand the rules, kicks over the pieces, craps on the board and then flies home to its flock and tells them it won the game."
Yeah, you can examine all the individuals of a species in one of the large fossil beds and take note of the variations. Where there are variations, change in the species is possible. Bonus, this road trip will get you away from the internet for a while.
Explainer: ".....we have the fossil record and other methods of knowing it to be true. No faith involved."
Oboehner: So I just have to take it on faith then, got it.
I'm actually very interested in what's going on here. Because I can't stop thinking about the one bit of info you could confront him with where he'd have to concede defeat. It's like a mental exercise.
Tell him evolution's taught in science class in school? No, the school system's "in on" some grand conspiracy.
Tell him that libraries file evolution material in the science department? No, for the same reason as above.
Point to the fossil record? No, because no one can prove the dating.
Scads of scientists? No, speculation and conspiracy again. A million scientific volumes? To him it's just "religion" and boy does he relish saying so....comparing what HE's got to what science has got.
He seems to want something spelled out in terms a child could understand...and I'm SURE he's trying to exploit the fact that, let's face it, most of us although we don't fight evolution can't really ARTICULATE it well. I know I can't. My knowledge of evolution is pretty rudimentary but I don't fight scientists whom I know are vastly more knowledgeable about it than I am. He has no problem doing that, but just deflects, deflects, deflects.
So maybe he IS a no-win situation. I'd love to see him go toe to toe with someone who can really articulate this stuff well.
"I really want to see an example of a fish turning to a lizard, do you have video of that or any other similar event?"
No evolutionary model states or predicts that a fish turned into a lizard--in fact, if we ever did see such a thing it would prove our understanding of evolution to be very, very wrong.
"So I just have to take it on faith then, got it."
@Glandu
Meh. He does not get it, that's all. Just stupid(in that paragraph, at least)
Willfully stupid. He could understand it if he really wanted to, but part of his brain keeps telling him "no matter what they say, evolution is false! Biblical creationism is true!"
Fry Oboehner: It's crazy! How could they even know about things changing from bazillions of years ago?
Farnsworth Explainer: Evolution takes a very long time. Fortunately we have the fossil record and other methods of knowing it to be true. No faith involved. You see--
Fry Oboehner: Faith. Got it
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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