Evolution for Beginners

[Cavebear]

Late reply I know, but we have some very startling similarities.  Not just anatomical similarities, but genetic similarities including endogenous retroviruses and pseudogenes.  Either God makes mistakes and repeats said mistakes for funsies, or species descend from common ancestors.

Late replies are fine with me.  I consider the commonality of DNA going back several 100 millions of years to be per se evidence of common origin.  Heck, I hardly even think about that as debatable.

Some do, but stupidity is persistent.

[Baruch]

I also tip waitrons ... but they get up and punch me!

[Unbeliever]

I consider the commonality of DNA going back several 100 millions of years to be per se evidence of common origin.

I'd rather they hadn't used the name "Eve" for the ancestral mother of us all - it confuses the creationists!

[Baruch]

I'd rather they hadn't used the name "Eve" for the ancestral mother of us all - it confuses the creationists!

Chava in Hebrew = Life.  Adam named her ... Chava and Isha (woman).  Adam got to name all the animals ...

[trdsf]

I'd rather they hadn't used the name "Eve" for the ancestral mother of us all - it confuses the creationists!

As if confusing them takes much effort... ;)

[Hydra009]

I've had to explain to people that mitochondrial eve wasn't literally the first woman nor did she shack up with Y-chromosomal adam.  She's just the most recent common matrilineal ancestor of everyone currently alive and he's the same thing but patrilineal.  And few words put people to sleep faster than most recent common matrilineal ancestor.

Also unlike biblical eve, mitochondrial eve had a mother.  That's a question I had to field once.  Yeah, humanity didn't just pop out of thin air one day.  It's not like the first human was delivered via stork and this pregnancy stuff is a modern invention.  Instead, it's a long line of sex and pregnancy, from anatomically modern humans all the way back to archaic humans and eventually to non-human apes.  Evolution is weird like that.

[SGOS]

I suppose that to gain the interest of casual readers, that mitochondrial ancestor was given a name to create interest that was more literary than explanatory.  The name "Eve" is dramatic and adds an element of particular fascination in that it helps publicize it.  But we could point to millions of evolutionary ancestors and simply call them "Where we came from."  I would question whether the one called mitochondrial Eve was more eventful or dramatic than it's ancestors.  It may be more useful as a taxonomic device than anything else.  I'm speculating this with a bit of trepidation, however.  It may be more significant than I realize.  On the other hand, every evolutionary change in our family tree is significant and dramatic in the sense that if you remove any one of them from the chain of events, we wouldn't be here.

[Cavebear]

I understand the annoyance of "Eve" SGOS and Hydra.  It would have been better not to use the name.  WE understand what they meant, but those of lesser minds take it literally.  And if there was a "Eve" and an "Adam", they think that is scientific proof of the 2 mating in some Eden. 

I would have been more happy with other names or none at all.  "Last common female and male ancestors" would have been just fine.  I suppose marketers got involved.

[trdsf]

Also, 'Eve' lived about 80,000 years before 'Adam'.  Which observation led Stephen Fry to comment that that era was dominated by heavy to industrial-strength lesbianism... :D

[Baruch]

Also, 'Eve' lived about 80,000 years before 'Adam'.  Which observation led Stephen Fry to comment that that era was dominated by heavy to industrial-strength lesbianism... :D

Nah, they all lived longer than Methuselah ;-)

[Cavebear]

Also, 'Eve' lived about 80,000 years before 'Adam'.  Which observation led Stephen Fry to comment that that era was dominated by heavy to industrial-strength lesbianism... :D

I interpret the "Eve" being older than the "Adam" to be some mild evidence that woman always were more selective than males.  As it is, so it was...

[Unbeliever]

Join us as we explore the fascinating transition from early cells to multi-celled animals. This transition, as well as several other major evolutionary transitions, dramatically increased the complexity of lifeforms on our planet.

[Unbeliever]

[Cavebear]

Yeah to sponges.  Wow.

[Baruch]

Bad name.  Chemical change, not chemical evolution.  Unless you think that molecules compete for sexual mates.  Also the notion that the water molecules in my body are people.