My ancestry

My family tree has been traced back quite a ways, much farther than some people admit. I didn't do the genealogy work myself though. I had thousands of scientists working the past hundred fifty years or so do it all for me. Much has been learned especially the past twenty years about the cladistic relationships of my ancestors. Some of the old descriptions about my family history still often quoted (fish to amphibians, amphibians to reptiles, reptiles to mammals, etc.) are actually wrong.

I don't know too much from before my ancestors became vertebrates, but about 375 million years ago, maybe as long as 400 million years ago, some of my fishy ancestors evolved to "fishapods", perfectly intermediate between fish and tetrapods. Others of my fishy ancestors remained fish. Many died out but some evolved to become the fish of today. Relatively soon after tetrapods made their way onto land, some of them evolved to become amphibians, while others became amniotes.

Some of the amniotes became synapsids and some became sauropsids (leading to reptiles and birds). Some of the synapsids evolved to become mammals. Some of those mammals eventually became monkeys. Some of the monkeys became apes; many died out, others evolved to become the monkeys of today. Some apes became hominids, many died out, some evolved to become the modern apes other than the great apes. Most hominids died out, but some of them evolved to become the great apes of today (Orangutans, Gorillas, Chimpanzees, and Humans). Modern humans are a species of ape but still a highly-derived fish if you go back far enough.

Two of my most famous ancestors are Tiktaalik, one of those "fishapods" from the late Devonian period, and Australopithecus afarensis, much much much more recent (only about 3.5 million years ago). Now it may be that neither of these are actually my direct ancestors. They could have been side branches of my ancestral family tree that died out without leaving any descendants. However, they are most definitely family.

Flat earth, anyone?

Would it be prudent to take spiritual advice about the afterlife from a religion that is demonstrably out of touch with reality? For example, what if someone was telling you what you should do to get to heaven, but also insisted the earth is flat in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Wouldn't it damage that religion's credibility on spiritual matters if it can be so easily proven wrong about something that has so much physical evidence? Wouldn't you question that person's sanity or at the very least, their ability to reason clearly?

Take it further, what if that religion had a relatively large percentage of the population bamboozled into thinking the earth is really flat, and those well-meaning but misguided people heavily lobbied school boards and politicians to demand equal time for the flat earth theory, citing "academic fairness" and "teach the controversy" as their slogans?

What if that religion ignored tons of evidence of many different types that clearly falsified its views, and denied or distorted the evidence it didn't ignore to bamboozle its followers into thinking there actually was any substance to their argument. What if there had been a dozen major court cases the past forty years where that religion could have presented evidence to support their view, or evidence to falsify the idea the earth isn't flat, yet failed to do so. What if there was actually NO scientific evidence, none at all, to support that religion's view. Does it still seem right or fair to give it "equal time" in public school science classrooms?

That is EXACTLY the situation in America today with regard to the teaching of evolution. This is not a straw man argument. To deny the overwhelming evidence for evolution is just as ridiculous and just as wrong as to insist the earth is really flat. The situation is exactly as I describe it, no exaggeration, no distortion. It would be funny if the potential negative consequences for America, humanity and the planet were not so grave. How can so many people be so ignorant in the 21st century?

Note that I am not claiming that the evidence for evolution somehow disproves God. What I am saying is that the evidence does exist; it is not as most creationists describe it, and many people are basing their opinion on faulty information. If God exists, God apparently used evolution as a tool of creation, and if it didn't happen that way, then God is apparently a trickster to plant so MUCH evidence suggesting that it did.

Merry Kitzmas!

Humans share common ancestry with other living things. Overwhelming evidence of many different types clearly shows this is so, but many people have been lied to about this subject and try to say evolution doesn't happen. It's just as crazy as if half the adults in the USA were to insist the earth is flat in spite of all evidence to the contrary. It really is that obvious.

This is the fifth anniversary of the decision by Judge John E. Jones III on the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial. This 2005 trial clearly showed that so-called "intelligent design" is not a scientific idea because it is NOT supported by ANY scientific evidence in spite of claims by its advocates to the contrary. Intelligent Design as presented at that time was in fact a thinly disguised repackaging of so-called "scientific creationism" which is a religious belief and therefore has no place in a public school science classroom. In his decision, Judge Jones basically called the defendants liars and referred to the "breathtaking inanity" of those who push the teaching of intelligent design. This was a major victory of truth and reason over the forces of fear and ignorance.
Merry Kitzmas!

December 20 has more personal significance in my life. That date in 1978 is what I have traditionally observed as the first time I played guitar. I have been a guitarist ever since, but I did not start doing it while riding a bicycle until a few years later in the early 1980s.

What evolution does not explain (and what it does explain)

Asking evolution to explain the origin of life or the origin of the universe shows gross misunderstanding of what evolution is and what it does explain.

For explaining the diversity of life on this planet and its geographical distribution now and in the past, evolution does quite well. All the evidence we can observe on this subject supports evolution, none of it falsifies evolution, and no evidence supports a literal reading of Genesis. That’s just the way it is. If you don’t like reality, take it up with your God.

Evolution was a fact before Darwin recognized it and proposed his theory of natural selection to explain that fact. It is just as much a fact of nature as gravity is, and we actually understand much more about the mechanisms of evolution than we do about those for gravity.

That we share common ancestry with other apes is at least as certain as the earth going around the sun instead of vice versa as Christians used to insist. Most of those who argue against evolution are sincerely unaware of how much evidence there is of so many different types that all point to this reality. They have been LIED to by sources they trust.

50 years old today: still fighting for truth, justice and the American way

It's been one month since I last posted to this blog. Today (July 23, 2010) is my fiftieth birthday. I celebrated by posting a response about the facts of evolution to a creationist blog (that I will not name here) whose owner continually flaunts his ignorance while pretending to be wise.

Contrary to what that creationist claims, it isn’t blind faith that sees a tree of life. It is what the data from many different measurements all show. Nested hierarchies of data are what are expected and predicted by evolutionary theory, and that the nested hierarchies of different types of measurements produce the same tree of life is yet another proof.

He also claims that the fossil record only shows separate kinds without macroevolution taking place; again he is wrong. The fossil record shows transitions from fish to land animals, from dinosaurs to birds, from land animals to whales, and from apes to humans with clear transitional forms found in the fossil record where genetic and other evidence predicts they should be found.

IF his arguments were based on facts, then I could respect them more. His sources are wrong and so naturally his conclusions are wrong. According to some polls nearly half of adult Americans don't accept the fact evolution happens. This is just as ridiculous and just as wrong as if half of adult Americans insisted the earth is flat in spite of all evidence to the contrary.

Telling lies in the name of God is a surefire way to turn people away from Christ, especially when it is something that is as easily checked as the evidence for evolution. Certain denominations of Christianity and other religions still insist that evolution must be false. I have an open mind to truth, whether or not it agrees with what I want to believe. I hate lies, which is why so many creationists piss me off. To their credit, many of them mean well. It's just that they are basing their opinions on lies they have been told by sources they trust.

Are Republicans getting stupider nationwide?

Any candidate for public office who is so out of touch with reality as to deny the fact that evolution happens should be disqualified. Anyone that ignorant and that gullible should not be in any position of authority. I am amazed we are having this debate in the 21st century. It shames America that nearly half of its adults are so misinformed on this matter. It is just as ridiculous and just as wrong as if half the adults thought the earth is flat.

In a governor's race going on in Alabama, one Republican candidate accused the other of daring to teach science in science classrooms instead of teaching religion in science classrooms. In his reply to this attack, the accused Republican said he is just as much of a moron as the other guy attacking him for allegedly being sane.

In a governor's race in Maine, seven Republican candidates were asked if they thought intelligent design or creationism should be taught alongside evolution in public school science classrooms. Three said yes, and one (Matt Jacobson) said to teach evolution in philosophy class and teach science in science class.

For candidates in Alabama to make such a big deal about being fundamentalist Christians is no surprise, but Maine too? Are Republicans around the country brain-dead idiots out of touch with what is real? Why is fundamentalist evangelical Christianity doing this to America, to humanity? Do they think they bring honor to God or Christ by spreading lies that are easily shown to be false by anyone who honestly examines the evidence for evolution and the age of the earth?

Sarah Palin is a nut job

The world is in danger if fundamentalists of any religion have access to "the button" to end the world. Words are tools used to communicate meaning, but sometimes groups of words are not meant to be taken literally but instead are used to communicate images or metaphors. Fundamentalists don't seem to understand this. Not only that, but generally fundamentalism is the most ignorant, arrogant and intolerant form of religious interpretation. Fundamentalist Hindus, Jews and Moslems cause problems elsewhere in the world, but the biggest problem facing the United States of America today is the appalling ignorance, arrogance and intolerance of fundamentalist Christians.

Thank God for Evolution!

I just saw Michael Dowd speak about evolutionary theology at a local church. He is the author of Thank God for Evolution! and other works. I was leery of his ideas at first, but what he said for the most part agrees with what I know to be true.

While walking to the church (a few blocks from my house), I passed an elderly couple who were walking to their church, a fundamentalist evangelical Christian one. The subject of evolution came up, and the old man said it is a lie. He said the final result will be who gets to go to heaven. I said that the Bible teaches God made man from dust and science says much the same thing. My final words to him were to ask if he also believed the earth was flat, because that is what a literal reading of the Bible indicates. I said if you're going to insist on fundamentalism, you might as well go all the way.

I went up to see Michael Dowd after his presentation. I commented that I recognized he was familiar with Alan Watts, since he had used the analogy of people coming out of the universe the same way apples come out of apple trees, one that Alan Watts used in many of his talks. Michael Dowd did not remember where he had heard it, but thanked me for giving him the source. The subject of plagiarism came up, and I mentioned the famous case of George Harrison. I was surprised nobody knew about it, so I explained how My Sweet Lord used the same chords and melody as the Chiffons' He's So Fine.

I waited a bit and then offered to play my evolution song for Mr. Dowd and those standing around. Nobody minded, so I played it. The television reporter asked if I had written it, and I said it was one of hundreds of songs I had written playing guitar while riding a bicycle for tens of thousands of miles. Mr. Dowd expressed surprise at that, and the television reporter assured him that it was true, that he (the reporter) had seen me himself and I had been in the local newspaper.

Later a woman came up and asked Mr. Dowd to explain how free will exists. He said we have a choice to decide which of the many conflicting drives within us we will follow. I mentioned the episode of The Changeling from the original Star Trek television series, where a robot spacecraft absorbed the contents of Lieutenant Uhura's mind and described it as "a mass of conflicting impulses."

I could have stayed longer but it was getting late so I left.

Evolution happens

Some people don't like to accept that evolution is as much a fact of nature as gravity is. Usually their opinion is based on misinformation. Even disregarding the overwhelming scientific evidence of the physical world, all one has to do is compare what creationists say evolutionists say to what evolutionists actually say and it is easy to see that creationists are liars. I am especially pleased at the 2005 ruling in the Dover case about teaching "intelligent design" in Pennsylvania, where the judge basically called the creationists liars in his decision. The truth will come out in the end, and eventually the general public will realize they are being LIED to from the pulpits of certain denominations of fundamentalist Christianity.

I wrote a song about evolution some years ago, and an essay about the teaching of evolution in public schools. I have probably received more emails about that essay than all other pages of my web site combined. To answer some of those emails, on the tenth anniversary of having the essay online (1997-2007) I published a page of rebuttals to the most common objections of Christian fundamentalists.

Here are links to the relevant sections of my web site:
The song I wrote is called Evolution.
The essay is Teaching Evolution.
The page of rebuttals is Reply to Christian Fundamentalists.

I have collected many pages of news stories relating to the science of evolution and the controversy about teaching it. I hope to include these links in future posts. Enjoy!

The Bicycling Guitarist

Welcome to 2008!

It's been a few years since I've blogged. So much has happened I am in a much better place to share what interests me. Expect comments on science, religion, politics (and where they all meet as in creationism vs. evolution), updates on my living situation, current musical and other projects, and anything else.

My home page is The Bicycling Guitarist. Namaste.