Is Evolution Real?

I just got “finished” debating someone on Facebook regarding whether evolution is real or not. It was lively as well as civil, an unusual combination for social media. It ended (for me, anyway) when I presented an actual repeatable example of evolution occurring in real time under controlled (artificial) conditions. The other person dismissed the findings by saying nature was incapable of doing the same thing in the wild. Now what did ole Ian Malcolm say about life in Jurassic Park? It finds a way.

Here is a link to the real time evolution example I provided together with the text from the actual debate. It involves mating between a radish and cabbage to generate a brand new species.

Facebook Post (below), non text removed for better reading

Mark Whyatt Adaptations are not evidence of evolution

Frank W. Abernathy I’ll bite: If adaptations are not evidence of evolution, what is?

Mark Whyatt Nothing cos evolution is a lie…or more kindly, a scientific “theory”.

Frank W. Abernathy Do you even understand what evolution is?

Frank W. Abernathy Pardon my presumption, but do you believe all life is immutable?

Mark Whyatt Yes, its a scientific theory that species can change into other species.

Frank W. Abernathy That’s part of it. It also states that in order to do this, the genetic material has to change and provide selective advantages to the offspring.

Frank W. Abernathy The altered offspring either adapt to a new unoccupied niche or overwhelm the original species leading to the former’s extinction unless it can find a protected niche of its own.

Mark Whyatt If you believe in evolution then you belief that humans evolved from fish that decided to crawl out of the sea and then evolved into mammals…I’ll leave that there unless you can show me any scientific evidence of a species ever changing into another species.

Frank W. Abernathy The problem with doing that Mark is generation time. We need to look at organisms with very short generation times so we don’t die of old age watching them change into something else.

Frank W. Abernathy That’s done using viruses, bacteria and other simple organisms.

Frank W. Abernathy Can we start there as an example?

Frank W. Abernathy You see, it is all but impossible for one species to evolve from another in a single generation. It’s done incrementally over time with many missteps in between.

Mark Whyatt https://youtu.be/MUa8lXyIwFE

Frank W. Abernathy You want me to bail on our conversation to watch this video or can you sum it up for me?

Mark Whyatt It’s a theory but that doesn’t stop science and education claiming it as a fact…a theory is based on faith rather than fact, same as creation.

Frank W. Abernathy Some of it is theory and some of it is fact.

Mark Whyatt It’s only 13 mins long Frank

Frank W. Abernathy evolution can occur in less than a day, even hours.

Frank W. Abernathy I’ll watch your video, Mark, but can we find a stopping point. I’m not done yet.

Mark Whyatt The fact is no one as ever observed one species turning into another, ie a bird turning into a fish…that’s the basics behind evolution isn’t it?

Frank W. Abernathy Ever heard of antibiotic resistant bacteria?

Frank W. Abernathy Not really.

Frank W. Abernathy That part is theory based upon extrapolation from known facts.

Frank W. Abernathy Nobody has a time machine.

Frank W. Abernathy You do realize that chimps and humans have 95% genetic compatibility, maybe even more.

Frank W. Abernathy You can line extant species up along an evolutionary tree based upon genetic compatibility.

Mark Whyatt Surely if evolution was a fact and species turned into others they would be hundreds if not thousands of species on the planet just about ready to change at any point in time? …or did they all decide to change species at exactly the same time?

Mark Whyatt When man isn’t looking?

Frank W. Abernathy You’re right, species change all the time. Most of the time these changes have no impact on viability or they kill off the unlucky individual that acquired them.

Frank W. Abernathy These changes can be passed on when a male and female that have them mate.

Frank W. Abernathy Happens all the time in all living organisms.

Frank W. Abernathy This is a fact, not a theory.

Frank W. Abernathy The theory part comes when we delve back in time with only fossils to check and no available genetic material.

Mark Whyatt The fact is no one as ever observed or scientifically proven that one species can change into another, its just a faith based theory like creationism. We can reply to each other all night but you know evolution can’t be scientifically proven.

Frank W. Abernathy Do you believe bacteria are living things?

Frank W. Abernathy Let me provide you with an example of evolution in the lab by man using radishes and cabbage. I could have the two species wrong but the example is still the same.

Frank W. Abernathy A botanist fused together the plant cells of two different species to instantly create a brand new species that could not mate with either of the original parents. That, Mark, is artificial evolution.

Frank W. Abernathy It is also repeatable.

Frank W. Abernathy I learned this in a botany class. You see, I went to college to become a scientist.

Frank W. Abernathy Shall I watch your video now?

Frank W. Abernathy Maybe you would be interested in my blog: Here is the link: https://evolution4.wordpress.com.

Evolution Turned Upside Down

Mark Whyatt Yes lol…and when science can proof one species (not a bacteria or cabbage) can turn naturally (not artificially) into another I may listen to evolutionists

Frank W. Abernathy If man can do it, so can nature.

Frank W. Abernathy We are simply using the tools nature has provided us to understand how they work.