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Comments

• Deestan@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  While evolution and natural selection conflicts with Intelligent Design, it is perfectly compatible with a supreme creator and spirituality. Neither proves or disproves the other.

  The common belief, though, is that life as we know it can occur through chance.

  But, I just want to make it clear that it is valid for you to believe a creator is necessary for natural selection without conflicting with it.

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• PassingThrough@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I often compare Natural Selection to Survivorship Bias, because as far as I can tell that is what it is.

  There is no “drive” or mythical force to be better. A mutation occurs and the result works or doesn’t.

  Those that work have survived until today, and those that don’t failed to reproduce sufficiently to reach today.

  That said, today we actually have what I call “Un-natural Selection”, and that is when we humans take something that would have failed naturally and ensure its success through our intervention. Think seedless plants or humans/animals with chronic disabilities. Natural selection would likely have eliminated them for failure to function or reproduce, but through our will they endure. For now.

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• snooggums@midwest.social ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Natural Selection describes the process and the outcome, not intent. It is also situational, where different types of plants and animals fill different kinds of roles at different times because of overall pressures and opportunities from the environment.

  Pandas eat bamboo, a very low energy source, in their environment because of environmental pressure. Kodiak bears get absolutely massive on their island because of the prevelance of seafood (whales) that wash up and provide an opportunity for more energy dense food sources. Neither are the result of design, just local environments.

  Crocodiles survive extinction events because of their biology allowing for long periods without food and water. But they aren’t successful in cold climates for the same reason. They are vulnerable to other pressures like overhunting, but their other traits tend to discourage being eaten. Something still eat them though! Their immune system is crazy strong because it improved due to where they were successful, stagnant waters with a lot of bacteria.

  Bats are the opposite, very fragile physically. But the species have adapted to communal living with fast reproduction and a strong immune system due to that proximity with each other to be massively successful on a global scale.

  None of these are designed, and birds on islands being very different from those on mainland because they fit into different roles is a very easy way to see that there is nondesign, just adaptation given enough time.

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