Neanderthals: A Fresh Look At Them

"Neanderthals lived hundreds of thousands of years ago, one of the many ancestors of modern humans. The species went extinct about 40,000 years ago, although it continues to live on in the DNA of human beings around the world. 

"Neanderthals have long been thought of as base, unintelligent creatures who dragged their knuckles and wielded clubs. Reddit says otherwise, providing a lot of information to combat this negative view. The subreddit Today I Learned offers some eye-opening facts about Neanderthals, many of which may surprise you."

Click on the link below for an informative video on one of our historical relatives:

Surprising Facts About Neanderthals

Why We Have A Blue Sky

"Today, Earth is enveloped by a thin veil of gas, a narrow band of atmosphere that protects a world covered in lush green vegetation, deep blue oceans, and abundant life. But 4.5 billion years ago, Earth was a very different place: a hellscape of molten lava and barren rock, under relentless bombardment from meteors, and with no atmosphere whatsoever. So how did our familiar blue sky come to be? Breathtakingly realistic animations and a chorus of science experts reveal how the primordial inferno first gave rise to an orange-hued cauldron of toxic gasses that would be deadly to us today. Witness how the first drops of rain splashed down on the searing planet, setting the stage for the evolution of life. And discover how life itself helped create the air we all breathe today."

Click on the link below to better understand the natural history of our planet and how it set the stage for life and its wide variety today:

Ancient Earth: Birth of the Sky

An Interesting Look At Evolution

"A new study challenges the idea that marsupials are more 'primitive' than mammals by showing their development has changed more than mammals since they last shared an ancestor.

"'For a long time, people have treated marsupials as 'lesser mammals,' which represent the intermediate stage between placental mammals and egg-layers,' explains evolutionary biologist Anjali Goswami from the Natural History Museum in the UK.

"'It turns out that marsupials are the ones that are far more evolved from the ancestral form.'"

Click on the link below for the details, which support the randomness of evolution:

Marsupials Are 'Far More Evolved' Than Other Mammals, Even Humans

Evolution Is True (Full-Stop)

"Many of us are returning to work or school after spending time with relatives over the summer period. Sometimes we can be left wondering how on earth we are related to some of these people with whom we seemingly have nothing in common (especially with a particularly annoying relative).

"However, in evolutionary terms, we all share ancestors if we go far enough back in time. This means many features in our bodies stretch back thousands or even millions of years in our great family tree of life.

"In biology, the term "homology" relates to the similarity of a structure based on descent from a shared common ancestor. Think of the similarities of a human hand, a bat wing and a whale flipper. These all have specialist functions, but the underlying body plan of the bones remains the same.

"This differs from "analogous" structures, such as wings in insects and birds. Although they serve a similar function, the wings of a dragonfly and the wings of a parrot have arisen independently, and don't share the same evolutionary origin.

"Here are five examples of ancient traits you might be surprised to learn are still seen in humans today."

Click on this link for all any reasonable person needs to fully accept evolution as a reality.

What Republicans Ignore That's Crucial For Survival

"Cooperation—where individuals work together in order to create a benefit for an entire group—seems at odds with what many people assume are the basic forces of evolution. After all, it’s a jungle out there, only the strongest survive, humans are selfish, etc.

"But most scientists don’t share that view of evolution. 'The role of unbridled violence in evolution is greatly overestimated,” says Danny Grunbaum, an oceanographer at the University of Washington and a pioneer in revealing the ways that ocean life cooperates in order to survive. 'When we see animals like elephant seals fighting with each other—as we do in lots of nature documentaries—we’re really seeing only a very small sliver of time. Much more of the time they’re accommodating each other and respecting where the boundaries are—and that’s cooperation. There is a tremendous amount of cooperation in nature.”

Click on the link below for more:

New research shows how cooperation prevails across the animal kingdom. What can humans learn from other species?

The Water-To-Land "Missing Link"

Most people think of the "Missing Link" as the point where ancient humans evolved from earlier apes. However, a more difficult to find, and perhaps more significant, "Missing Link" may be the transition from water to land-dwelling animals about 150 million years before the dinosaurs. Science labels them and their descendants (including humans) as tetrapods (four legs). Click on the link below for a fascinating look into how our knowledge has expanded over decades in narrowing down the features of our first land-dwelling parents. If you have any doubts about the validity of evolution, this will slap you in the face with the reality of the matter.

In Search Of The Missing Link

"Survival Of The Fittest"

"The phrase “survival of the fittest“, which was coined not by Darwin but by the philosopher Herbert Spencer, is widely misunderstood.

"For starters, there is a lot more to evolution by natural selection than just the survival of the fittest. There must also be a population of replicating entities and variations between them that affect fitness – variation that must be heritable. By itself, survival of the fittest is a dead end. Business people are especially guilty of confusing survival of the fittest with evolution.

"What’s more, although the phrase conjures up an image of a violent struggle for survival, in reality the word 'fittest' seldom means the strongest or the most aggressive. On the contrary, it can mean anything from the best camouflaged or the most fecund to the cleverest or the most cooperative. Forget Rambo, think Einstein or Gandhi."

Click here for more:

Evolution myths: 'Survival of the fittest' justifies 'everyone for themselves'

Intelligent Design Debunked By Proponent

If one is not skilled in science-based thinking, it is easy to be deceived. The anti-evolution crowd continues to promote the unfounded "Intelligent Design" hypothesis as science. Click on the link below for a podcast exposing the false foundation of such:

Theorist Accidentally Produces Evidence Against Intelligent Design

What Is The Most Important Factor In Raising Happy And Successful Children?

One does not have to look very far to see the lengths that parents will go to in an effort to help their children (link). Click on the link below for recent research on the subject:

Teaching Kids Kindness Prepares Them for Success

This is consistent with what we know about the connection between evolution and empathy (link).

The Case FOR And AGAINST Fine Tuning

"Arguments for fine-tuning: Physics has many constants like the charge of the electron, the gravitational constant, Planck’s constant. If any of their values were different, our universe, as we know it, would not be the same, and life would probably not exist."

Click on the link below for one of the best cases for fine-tuning of our reality. The bad news for theists: it's still not enough to put God in the gap of our knowledge.

Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Life?

Don't look to PragerU for an objective answer

The Gap In Knowledge On Abiogenesis Is Narrowing

"Abiogenesis is the process by which life arises from non-living matter. Though life’s origin is an open question, abiogenesis research is a thriving interdisciplinary enterprise. In spite of this, many apologists have argued that it’s unlikely we will ever have a scientific explanation of abiogenesis. Abiogenesis is so improbable on naturalism, they say, that we should be open to supernatural explanations. I argue that abiogenesis is not improbable on naturalism, and also attempt to unravel the numerous errors creationists make when discussing the origins of life."

Click on the link below for an excellent counter-apologetic to this religious apologists' "God of the Gaps" argument:

Since Matter First Writhed: The Mystery of Abiogenesis 

Religious Intuition: It's Natural

One of the most common apologetics for God and religion is the fact that such is universal in all human societies. Does that support the claim that, therefore, there MUST be a reality of a God behind it? Ah, no. The claim is just another example of the Argument from Ignorance/God of the Gaps. Below are two articles that clearly support the claim that religion and a belief in God are natural and evolved from pre-human animals, God is not necessary:

How and why did religion evolve?

Do humans have a "religious instinct"?

Is Christian Morality Objective?

Christian apologists usually mention that morality is objective and it comes from God. I usually retort in a manner that many atheists use:

• If there were no sentient beings, there would be no need for morality.
• Even if there was a God (there is no evidence for any god, and Christianity's foundation is falsified), your God is a person (or 3 of them; that's a discussion for another time), thus, its opinion would be subjective.
• Morality is subjective. It is formed from each rational person's opinion through evolution/biology and socialization, with the input of objective information from science. In democratic societies, laws are reflective of the majority's opinion on morality. It is "bottom-up" instead of an unjustified autocratic "top-down."

If Christian morality was truly objective and came from an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving God, why can't Christians and their denominations agree on what are moral acts? A good example of this inconsistency is how Christians argue over abortion:

• It is always wrong because of the sanctity of life, which begins at the moment of conception.
• It is permitted in some circumstances such as protecting the lives of pregnant women.
• It is always permitted because of the sanctity of bodily autonomy.

This link gives more information regarding the value of secular morality.

Origins And Anthropology

There probably isn't a normal human being who hasn't ask, "Where did we come from?" The following videos do an excellent job of explaining the probable history of how all life and humans began, and the history of human biological and cultural evolution. Oh, if you ask "Why?", that is a philosophical or religious question for which NO answer is justified no matter how intently apologists try to do so.

Where did life come from?

What was the ancestor of everything?

Why are we the only humans left?

Are we all related?

The Two People We're All Related To

From the fall of Dinos to the Rise of Humans

The Humans That Lived Before Us

When We First Walked

When humans were prey

When We Tamed Fire

When We Met Other Human Species

When we took over the world

Scientific Activity

I have noticed some confusion regarding the activities within science that can foster doubt in the minds of the public regarding its value. I am going to attempt to clarify these activities to promote a better understanding and appreciation of science and to counter pseudoscience in all of its forms.

Why Religion Is Part Of Human Evolution

Many religious apologists talk about the empty hole in atheists' hearts and say that this supports the reality of God. While there is no evidence for a God and many (most?) atheists do fine without a belief in God, there is some truth in this claim. Why? In the evolutionary history of humanity, virtually all cultures have been religious probably because it answers questions, provides comfort, and aids in social cohesion. Of course, when humans began to be ruled by kings, it gave the king authority from God to control his subjects.

While today the intuitive motivation for belief in a God remains, we also have the benefit of science and its findings that falsify all claims of a God. Thus, there is a battle going on between people of faith and science-based thinkers. I can testify from personal experience that it is difficult to accept reality, however, I just consider the rejection of religion as a major step toward maturity.

Evolutionary Psychology Explains Religion

Michael Shermer, in 16 minutes, explains deeply and widely the natural genesis of religion and exposes Christianity's fallacy of special pleading.

Dr. Michael Shermer | God does NOT exist

Evolution 101

This 6-minute video should be the introduction to evolution for everyone, considering the "fake news" about it from the fundamentalist religious.

Four billion years of evolution in six minutes | Prosanta Chakrabarty

(The Scientist Magazine)

Humans, Animals And Original Sin

Christian apologists claim that God created man in his own image and man initially was "Sin-free."  However, after "The Fall", humans were now capable of "Sin."  Besides the facts of evolution and that humans evolved as a group and not as a pair, science in recent years has showed us that our behavior is not that unlike our closest relatives.  Also consider that human and animal aggression are not that dissimilar, as well as the fact that there were OTHER human species that died out.

Now look at evolution and morality.  Science shows us that humans are more cooperative and altruistic than any of our closest relatives.  If this is the case, what did humanity really "Fall" from?

A Deeper Look Into Original Sin

I have made 3 prior posts on the dogma of Original Sin.  I have essentially falsified all Abrahamic religions by doing so.  However, in my interactions with Christians on their websites, I can't seem to break through their dogma.  In light of such, I have searched the internet for more in depth analysis of this topic.  Below is a summary of my result. If you still think that the literal interpretation of Genesis is relatively recent and only within Fundamentalist Christianity, please tell me why the Catholic Church (the MAIN Christian authority at the time) attacked Galileo for challenging Genesis' account of the relationship between the Earth and the Sun.  The writers, while using some metaphorical wording, were clearing writing history from their POV.

Note that even the pre-Abrahamic religions has stories of Original Sin and also assumed that they were literal.

This exposes the folly of religious apologists in attempting to explain away Original Sin as metaphorical.

Exposing the pretzel-twisting of Catholics (the best of Christians accepting science) on the subject, a perfect example of coming to a conclusion first, then struggling to support it.  This is not science, but apologetics.

The religious apply science and evidence when it helps their claims, but ignore it when it doesn't, such as regarding human origins and sex/gender realities.

A final piece of reality:  religious people do not act better than the non-religious.  Therefore, "Original Sin", and the need for a "Redeemer" to be "Saved", does not make sense.

Evolution And Religion: Ya, What's The Harm?

"Until religion is gone, we’ll still face a formidable problem of getting evolution accepted despite its palpable truth. And when religion is gone, there will be almost no problem with acceptance."

Evolution rejection in the American South: It’s the religion, stupid!