cre8ivmind

I have a question on the genetics of size. I'll use dogs, since it's a good example since they vary greatly in size. Okay, try not to laugh when reading this question: If a 2-pound male chihuahua fathered puppies with a 200-pound female mastiff, about how big will the offspring be when full grown? Will they be closer to the midpoint (~101 lbs.), or would they be closer to the geometric average (~20 lbs.)? Are there dominant/recessive genes that control size?

Most scientists accept that neanderthals and modern man are separate species, and that neanderthals died out about 40,000 years ago (give or take). Is it likely that legends of elves, trolls, orcs, nephilim, etc. may be derived from encounters between modern humans and neanderthals? Could oral traditions and stories of legendary humanoid creatures have survived so long, and have been originally referring to neanderthals? Just an interesting thought...

I have a question about the big bang... How fast is everything moving? I've heard somewhere that the universe is 40 billion light-years across. If the universe is only 13.7 billion years old, and the big bang took place in what is now the center of the universe, then shouldn't the universe be less than 27.4 billion light years in diameter, assuming nothing can move faster than light? I thought I knew a lot about astronomy, but this one's confusing to me.

Thanks for your help.

I have the video ready on YouTube:

Hope you enjoy!

Nothing special, really. I'm not particularly creative, but I thought cre8ivmind would be a cre8iv username.

So... is anyone going to provide any resources on canine evolution???

My condolences, SkepticLance.

 

It's hard to imagine someone who lives in NZ that thinks it's more awesome that God just poofed your country into existence, rather than possibly arranging for the mechanics of the universe to sculpt it over billions of years. Having a fairly religious extended family myself, I feel your pain.

Just about my entire family are creationists. I used to be one, but I evolved.

This is why I'm not a creationist anymore.

One of the really bad flaws in the creationist argument is based on their idea of a perfect creator.

 

Evolution is imperfect by its very nature - too many random variables. The results of evolution are very often seriously imperfect. If life had been created in finished form by a perfect creator, that life would, ipso facto, be perfect. Why would a perfect creator indulge in crappy workmanship?

 

Some of the imperfections I see as a result of evolution's stuff ups are ;

 

The human appendix

The fact that our breathing tube (trachea) and our swallowing tube (esophagus) open in our throats side by side, resulting in thousands of choking deaths each year.

Menstrual pains.

Inability to make Vitamin C inside the human body in spite of most of the required genetic mechanism being present.

 

Any comments, or other examples ?

I forgot to mention... Linnaean (sp.?) classification seems to imply that chimps and humans are not as related to each other as lions and tigers, or horses and donkeys. Our genus name is different from the chimps, unlike the other two pairs of creatures:

Chimps & us:Pan troglodytes and Homo sapiens

Lion & Tiger: Panthera leo and Panthera tigris

Horse & Donkey: Equus caballus and Equus asinus

I'm sure transitional species between non-flight and flight must have been gliders. Is that true with Archaeopteryx?

I keep flying squirrels. They don't truly fly; they glide. They have a fleshy bone-like protrusion on their forearms that separate from the elbow and remain attached to the wrist. Does anyone supposed more of these will evolve in the next few million years, and flying squirrels will evolve true flight?

Sorry if these questions seem dumb or silly.

I have a Youtube account where I am discussing religion and science. I am currently working on a video project on dog evolution. I'd like to find out about their canine ancestors who lived millions of years ago. Does anyone know of any good resources?

Thanks

I thought it would be appropriate to put a post about this in this section.

 

Basically, for those of you who don't know, Autism is a neurological disorder that interferes with the ability to communicate. Symptoms include delayed speech or language impairment, poor social skills, some features of obsessive compulsive disorder(s), and in some cases (usually low functioning autism), deficiencies in cognitive abilities.

 

I put this up mainly because I have high functioning autism. More specifically, I have Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the mild side of the autistic spectrum disorders. High functioning autism basically means that the person does not have any cognitive or language deficiencies, but still have other characteristics with associated with autism (most notably, poor social skills). They also have normal to above average IQ's (I scored a whopping 165 on the IQ test long ago).

 

There are many discussions that one can have on this thread on it such as:

 

-Who has it

-Who knows about it and what do you know

-Who here researches it

-Personal experiences

-Questions

-Historic Figures

-And other stuff you may think of

I too have Aspergers. My family and friends know about it, but they don't fully understand it. Are Asperger people more concious about the natural world than other people, or is it just me?

I don't remember hearing of anyone trying to mate with a chimp.

I've heard of an experiment where someone artificially inseminated female chimps, but it didn't work.

I grew up in a Christian family, so I had been taught creationism. But over the years, I had "evolved" so to speak. I have a very keen interest in the natural world. I used to believe in the young earth, and then I believed in old earth, but not evolution. Then I started believing in evolution (of all life except for man) after majoring in Zoology in college. Now I believe in the evolution of man. I'm still Christian, and sometimes it's difficult to relate to others of the faith about this issue. I'm reading books about how to reconcile acceptance of evolution with the Christian faith. They're quite interesting resources.

After having an education in Zoology, and with my general interest in the natural sciences, I am an ex-creationist. I have a question about evolution. I have heard it said that chimpanzees and humans are closer related to each other than horses and zebras, and to lions and tigers. If this is true, than why is it that the latter two pairs of creatures can interbreed, but humans and chimps can't?

Thanks.