Top products from r/evolution

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u/OddJackdaw · 7 pointsr/evolution

I will answer, but first let me address this:

> Every time I ask an atheist this question I never get a simple answer.

Two problems:

  1. Atheism and evolution are different things. Many atheists believe in evolution, but not all. For example, there are atheists who believe we were seeded on the planet by aliens. Many people who believe in evolution are atheists, but very definitely not all. Some of the most prominent proponents of evolution are Christians. Evolution IS NOT in conflict with Christian views, it is ONLY in conflict with certain, specific interpretations of the bible. This Christian website does a good job of explaining how they are compatible.
  2. Trying to justify a very complex theory with literally millions of pieces of evidence supporting it with just a single piece of evidence is a fool's errand. No single piece of evidence, in isolation, is enough to justify believing in evolution. But when you look at the overwhelming evidence contained in the entire body of evidence, it suddenly becomes extremely hard to deny.

    So I won't try to cite a single piece of evidence. What I will do is cite a particular field that is often overlooked in the discussion: Biogeography.

    Note: Simple isn't one sentence. I will simplify as much as possible, but complex topics can't necessarily be stripped down to far.

    Biogeography is the study of the distribution of life on the planet. It asks questions like:

  • Why do we find certain types of species-- plants, birds, insects-- native to oceanic island (islands that were never connected to another land mass), but not other species (land mammals, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fish)? This is the discovery that first led Darwin to develop his theory. Creationism cannot offer a reasonable explanation for this.
  • Why are there two types of mammals, marsupials and placentals, but marsupials are exclusively native to Australia (where they make up nearly all native mammals) and the Americas? Why are there are no native marsupials species anywhere in Europe or Asia? (And fwiw, this question is pretty concrete disproof of at least the Noah's flood story)
  • Why do plants in similar environments tend to have similar traits, yet they can be completely distinct species? For example cacti in the deserts of the Americas and the succulents of the deserts of asia have very similar traits-- a fleshy stem to store water, spines to deter predators, small or non-existent leaves to reduce water loss-- yet the actual plants are biologically very different.

    These are just a few sample questions raised by biogeography, but they give you a sense of what is going on. These questions are trivially answered by evolution (plus plate tectonics for #2). For creation, they tend to take some rationalizing. Sure you can just say "god works in mysterious ways", but you can't come up with a good explanation for why an intelligent designer would do these things.

    Anyway, this is a super brief explanation of a big (but not difficult) topic. Biogeography as a whole I think is a pretty devastating argument against creationism and for evolution. To really understand it, I highly recommend the book Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne. It covers the topic thoroughly, plus pretty much all the other evidence supporting the topic. It is highly readable, easily accessible, and absolutely fascinating.

    And I want to repeat this because it is so important: Evolution is not in contradiction with Christianity. You do not have to give up your core beliefs to accept evolution as true. It is ONLY in contradiction with certain readings of the bible, most of which are not based on anything that is clearly stated in the bible.


u/mausphart · 11 pointsr/evolution

Here are some books, articles, websites and YouTube Videos that helped me on my journey from a hardcore creationist to a High School Biology teacher.

BOOKS

The Language of God - By Francis Collins ~ A defense of Evolution by the head of the Human Genome Project (Who also happens to be Christian)

Only a Theory - By Ken Miller ~ Another Christian biologist who accepts and vigorously defends the theory of evolution

Your Inner Fish - by Neil Shubin ~ The wonderful story of how Tiktaalik was found

Why Evolution is True - By Jerry Coyne ~ A simple and thorough treatment of evolution written for the mainstream

The Greatest Show on Earth - By Richard Dawkins ~ A wonderful and beautifully written celebration of evolution

The Panda's Thumb - By Stephen Jay Gould ~ A collection of eloquent and intelligent essays written by SJG. Any of his collections would do but this one is my favorite.

ARTICLES

Crossing the Divide - By Jennifer Couzin ~ an article about an ex-creationist and his difficult journey into enlightenment.

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense - John Rennie ~ a nice rundown of the major objections to evolution.

WEBSITE

An index of Creationist Claims - Via the TalkOrigins archive ~ an impressive index of the major problems creationists have with evolution, as well as good, evidence based rebuttals.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS/PLAYLISTS

Why do People Laugh at Creationsts? - Via Thunderf00t ~ a scathing review of outrageous sins of logic committed by creationists. Thunderf00t's style isn't for everyone, since he can come off as smug and superior

How Evolution Works - Via DonExodus2 ~ a nice and thorough overview of how evolution works

The Theory of Evolution Made Easy - Via Potholer54

Evolution - Via Qualia Soup ~ short (10 minutes), simple and well made, this is one of my go-to videos to help logically explain how evolution happens.

u/clamb2 · 1 pointr/evolution

I'm shocked this is even still a debate in schools... There is no competing theory that does anything close to explaining the natural world as well as evolution.

The debate should be framed not on "pro versus anti evolution" but rather is there any competing theory that can be presented which debunks evolution or better describes the natural world. There isn't, but if there were evolution would be replaced with that theory.

That being said the opposition presumably will advocate for Intelligent Design (I.D.) which is not scientific in the slightest and should be easily debunked with a bit of research. If you have time read this book, it does a wonderful job explaining the nuance of the debate. I read it in college and loved it; never had a second thought about evolution again.

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Theory-Evolution-Battle-Americas/dp/0143115669

If you don't have time these are a couple examples of evidence supporting the theory of evolution I didn't see posted below. Or maybe you could find a synopsis of the book I mentioned.

https://thehumanevolutionblog.com/2014/09/13/why-humans-must-eat-vitamin-c/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._coli_long-term_evolution_experiment

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_vestigiality

Science isn't a pro vs anti debate; if that's the debate it's just an excuse to let religion into the classroom. The theory with the most credible evidence which best helps us understand natural phenomena should be the leading Theory. I.D. is not that theory.

u/astroNerf · 3 pointsr/evolution

> How would you respond if I said that evolution is just a theory?

Anyone who says it's "just" a theory is either lying or quite misinformed about how science works. Not to worry - it's unfortunately a common misconception but easily addressed.

In science, a theory is a well-supported, well-substantiated system of explanations that unite many disparate facts and observations about some particular set of phenomena. In science, a theory is the ultimate goal; it's what scientists set out to achieve. In science, a theory is not a guess or hunch or even an educated guess - it's a framework of understanding supported by the research of many people over a long period of time, having withstood rigorous and ruthless challenges.

Our FAQ addresses this also.



> How do we know evolution is real?

Biologists have a very high degree of confidence in the theory being generally accurate because we have many decades of evidence from multiple scientific disciplines (zoology, botany, genetics, palaeontology, geology, nuclear physics, and so on) where these different pieces of evidence all come together to form a coherent narrative. We can take any single piece of evidence related to the history of life on this planet and subject it to tests - tests that should come true if our understanding is true. It's a bit like a jigsaw puzzle - we keep finding pieces that "fit" with the overall "picture" and so far we've not found any credible pieces that simply don't fit. We've also accurately predicted pieces that should exist before we actually find them.

Broadly speaking, we know that our understanding of evolution is accurate for the same reason we know that atomic theory, quantum theory, and the germ theory of disease are accurate - we have loads of evidence and a long history of successful, rigorous testing to back them up. And, like those other theories, evolution provides useful applications; medicine and ecology are two such areas.

> Is there an easy-to-read proof for evolution (for myself and for my scientifically weak fellows)?

Note that in science, there is no such thing as "proof". You'll tend to only see "proof" in things like math or logic. In science, we have evidence, and lots of it. Theories are founded on lots and lots of evidence.

Jerry Coyne's book Why Evolution is True is very easy to read. This book essentially explains what evolution is, how it works, and a ton of evidence to back it up.

Dawkins' book The Greatest Show on Earth is, I think, even better but is a bit less accessible to all readers.

Either book would be an excellent introduction in addressing what evolution is, how it works, and the evidence for it. If you're not sure about those books, there are others in our recommended reading list in the sidebar.

u/chingychongchangwang · 3 pointsr/evolution

Definitely check out these books. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend “Why Evolution Is True” by Jerry Coyne

It’s may not go as deep as some others but it’s an easy read book that keeps you engaged and is totally worth your time. I love this book so much because it’s very approachable for anyone. It’s filled with easy to understand examples, and I find that it’s a great refresher for myself every now and then. It’s also a great book to give or recommend to others who may not know much about the subject.

As others have mentioned, Darwin’s book is more of a piece of history than anything else. It was absolutely groundbreaking at the time but we know so much more now. Plus, the way it was written definitely shows it’s age and makes it a kind of a hard read.

u/redmeansTGA · 1 pointr/evolution

Ernst Mayer, Jerry Coyne and Richard Dawkins have written some decent books broadly covering the evidence for evolution. Donald Prothero's Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters fits into that general category, and does a good job of outlining the evidence for evolution as well, in particular from a paleontological perspective.




Astrobiologist / Paleontologist Peter Ward has written a ton of fantastic books. I'd start with Rare Earth, which outlines the Rare Earth hypothesis, ie complex life is likely rare in the universe. If you read Rare Earth, you'll come away with a better understanding of the abiotic factors which influence the evolution of life on Earth. If you end up enjoying Rare Earth, I'd highly recommend Ward's other books.




Terra, by paleontologist Michael Novacek describes the evolution of the modern biosphere, in particular from the Cretaceous onwards, and then discusses environmental change on a geological scale to modern environmental challenges facing humanity. It's one of those books which will change the way you think about the modern biosphere, and the evolution in the context ecosystems, as opposed to individual species.




Another book by a paleontologist is When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time, looking at the Permian mass extinction, which was the most catastrophic mass extinction of the Phanerozoic wiping out 95%+ of all species. More focused on the geology than the other books I mentioned, so if you're not into geology you probably wont enjoy it so much.



Biochemist Nick Lane has written some great books. Life ascending would be a good one to start off with. Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life is really excellent as well.




The Origins of Life and the Universe is written by molecular biologist Paul Lurquin. It mostly focuses on the origin of life. It's pretty accessible for what it covers.




Another couple of books I would recommend to people looking for something more advanced are: Michael Lynch's Origins of Genome Architecture, which covers similar stuff to much of his research, although takes a much broader perspective. Genes in conflict is a pretty comprehensive treatment of selfish genetic elements. Fascinating read, although probably a bit heavy for most laypeople.


u/TheBlackCat13 · 7 pointsr/evolution

Not a book, but the overviews on TalkOrigins.org are a good place to start. Just start at the top and work down. It addresses some common theological issues.

You can also look at an index to creationist claims on the site, which has short answers to many points creationists raise, including a section on philosophy and theology.

You also might look at the unrelated biologos and clergy letter project for more theological support for evolution.

As for book, someone already mentioned "Why Evolution is True". Your Inner Fish is also a good place to start. The Greatest Show on Earth is also supposed to be good although I haven't read it.

If you do become interested in debating, or if you just have questions, it would be better to head over to /r/DebateEvolution, which specializes in the issue and has a lot of people very knowledgeable about the subject.

u/not_really_redditing · 2 pointsr/evolution

You're very welcome. And, yes, you do have to do the double sum, over all possible n_B, good catch!

Why Poisson? There are some biological reasons that it's reasonable (that are currently eluding me) but also because an individual can't have 1.532 offspring. A discrete outcome needs a discrete probability distribution. The poisson happens to be discrete and unbounded, so it fits the bill. A negative binomial or geometric could also work, if you just want to plug in a distribution. It is not, however, inordinately hard to simulate a Poisson RV given the ability to simulate a uniform(0,1) RV.

I wouldn't say that the example is unfair by merit of using the same survival probabilities. There are two ways for an allele/genotype to have a higher fitness than other alleles/genotypes: higher survival and/or higher fecundity. By merit of the way you set up the problem A is already fitter than B. If you want to assign s_A and s_B you can do so as well, the binomial distributions used to calculate the probabilities of n_A and n_B simply change. In general (or at least in a lot of classical population genetics), people abstract away from survival vs fecundity effects and simply talk in terms of relative or absolute fitnesses (the product of survival and fecundity).

Last note: if you're interested in population genetics, it has a very rich theoretical foundation, and you should do some reading on the subject if you're curious. I think you'll find that most problems under the sun have been discussed somewhere at some point. As starting points, Felsenstein has a free and surprisingly comprehensive book available online. Gillespie has a not free and surprisingly concise book. Both are excellent.

u/verydangerousasp · 1 pointr/evolution

Without a doubt, yes.

Sure, many discoveries in the interim have revealed what Darwin never knew (genetics, DNA), but it is neither outdated or irrelevant. Nor will it ever be.

It is--and will remain--one of the most important books ever written. It debuts what many consider the greatest idea ever conceived by a human mind. Can it be dense, slow-going, downright boring? Yes. But it also contains passages that soar, passages of such lyrical beauty that I found myself nearly moved to tears. It is a book that reveals both Darwin's uncontainable enthusiasm for his discovery and the heavy gravitas of a man who knows the words he was putting to page were about to change the world forever.

Read the 1st edition; later editions include lengthy defenses and watered-down language. I would highly recommend an annotated version as well--having a contemporary expert help reveal the context or meaning behind the more obscure passages makes it a much easier read. I suggest this one: http://amzn.com/0674060172


u/Togoria · 3 pointsr/evolution

There is a "cultural" aspects, but it is not much different from nature where learned behaviour and copying is not so uncommon.

An small and easy example is mate choice copying which can be shown with an simple experiments with guppy fish. Female copy other females choice in mates.

We like other animals learn by observing others, which why it is sometimes common to see a group of people sharing a type or a child having a similar taste as their parent. Also a reason for things like Hollywood and reality TV trends about beauty spreads.

This is just a small example and a good way to getting started could be with an introduction to behavioural ecology

I had an older edition And it might be possible to find an older edition some where with some good googling instead of getting an expensive new one.

u/SomeRandomMax · 5 pointsr/evolution

The book Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne goes over these questions in detail. It talks about the evidence available to Darwin, and the evidence that we have discovered since then.

I listened to the audio book, but it seemed like a nice, accessible book, and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject.

Edit: One of the things that the book covered that I found most compelling was the geographic evidence of evolution, a topic I was not really familiar with previously.

To give one specific example, Marsupials are naturally occuring in only two areas, Australia and the Americas, especially South America. Darwin predicted that when we explore Antarctica, we would find fossil evidence of marsupials there, which was later determined to be true. At some point in history, ice bridges connected these three bodies, and allowed marsupials who naturally evolved in S. America to migrate to Australia (or was it the other way around?). Once the two populations split, they continued to evolve, so the two populations are now distinct species, but dna testing proves that they are very closely related.

I am badly paraphrasing the idea, but that is just one of several very strong arguments that the anti-evolution crowd tends to ignore. You really have to stretch to come up with a explanation for these distributions outside of evolution, so it is easier to just pretend the whole line of evidence doesn't exist.

(Unrelated: Marsupial distribution is also strong evidence against the Noah myth. If Marsupials had been on the Ark, how is it that they were able to travel from the middle east to S. America and Australia without leaving any fossil evidence anywhere along the way?)

u/Bear_thrylls · 16 pointsr/evolution

I just read it last week. You're pretty well right about. If you're looking for an introductory book which covers evolution, I recommend The Greatest Show On Earth also by Dawkins.

Look, Dawkins is definitely one of the most pedantic authors I've ever read, but his work is strong and arguments are presented very clearly but if the subject isn't what you're interested in, then what can you do. That said, yes the book will contain valuable information that you will gain if you finish it. Any book that has stood as long as the Selfish Gene will leave you with something. But it is an old book. Much of what he says was pretty cutting edge at first edition, but it was released in the 70's (I think). Read the 30th Anniversary Edition if you decide to move forward with it, if not, move on to something that interests you more. It's only a book. It won't get mad.

TL;DR If you don't like it, don't read it.

u/amindwandering · 2 pointsr/evolution

Kaufmann is fairly well respected in the community of complexity researchers, but his work is veeery abstract. You might find the stuff you read there interesting, but I doubt you'll find anything to sway someone skeptical of the plausibility of non-God-initiated abiogenesis that their skepticism is mainly based on bias.

With that goal in mind, I'm not sure that pursuing the math angle directly is really the best route either (if there actually are any best routes towards that sort of goal). The appeal to mere mathematical plausibility is abstract enough that it's for a person to dismiss that and still maintain that it isn't plausible physically. It would maybe be better instead or in addition to approach the topic of known environmental contexts that make abiogenesis seem like a physically plausible thing to have happened.

From that perspective, I'd say the first couple chapters of Lane's Life Ascending is still one of the better sources out there. It's a very approachable text.

u/asherdi · 1 pointr/evolution

It depends on the area you're interested in specifically. If you liked Dawkins you might like some of his more recent stuff, like The Ancestor's Tale, most of which is still pretty relevant. For genetics Steve Jones is good, Steven Pinker is good for more human-based/psychological stuff. Gould gets touted here a lot - his stuff is quite outdated now, but he does write well.

If you want something more challenging but still readable by the general public, principles of social evolution is an undergraduate-level textbook on social evolution, which in my opinion gives the best overview of recent developments in the kinds of ideas Dawkins talks about in The Selfish Gene (don't pay £80 for it, though). An introduction to behavioural ecology is also up-to-date, exceptionally well-written, and one of the most popular textbooks in evolution/ecology/animal behaviour.

u/Capercaillie · 7 pointsr/evolution

Most of the books that people are recommending on here are great, especially Jerry Coyne's. If you're going to read Dawkins, his best for explaining the basics of evolution is Greatest Show on Earth. If you want to read a book by a devout Christian who does an outstanding job of explaining evolution, then explains how he reconciles his understanding of evolution with his religious beliefs, try Finding Darwin's God by Ken Miller. Good luck on your search, and I salute your hunger for knowledge!

u/ktool · 3 pointsr/evolution

The 10,000 Year Explosion answers your exact question.

> Scientists have long believed that the “great leap forward” that occurred some 40,000 to 50,000 years ago in Europe marked the end of significant biological evolution in humans. In this stunningly original account of our evolutionary history, top scholars Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending reject this conventional wisdom and reveal that the human species has undergone a storm of genetic change much more recently. Human evolution in fact accelerated after civilization arose, they contend, and these ongoing changes have played a pivotal role in human history. They argue that biology explains the expansion of the Indo-Europeans, the European conquest of the Americas, and European Jews' rise to intellectual prominence. In each of these cases, the key was recent genetic change: adult milk tolerance in the early Indo-Europeans that allowed for a new way of life, increased disease resistance among the Europeans settling America, and new versions of neurological genes among European Jews. Ranging across subjects as diverse as human domestication, Neanderthal hybridization, and IQ tests, Cochran and Harpending's analysis demonstrates convincingly that human genetics have changed and can continue to change much more rapidly than scientists have previously believed. A provocative and fascinating new look at human evolution that turns conventional wisdom on its head, The 10,000 Year Explosion reveals the ongoing interplay between culture and biology in the making of the human race.

u/ColdShoulder · 4 pointsr/evolution

If you're interested in this topic, I highly recommend Dawkins "The Ancestor's Tale." It starts with modern humans, and then it works it's way back through our ancestors (explaining as it goes along when our "cousins" join the family tree; or to put it differently, it explains, in real time (rather than going backwards), our cousins departure from our common ancestor to the place they hold today). It doesn't focus exclusively on hominids or "transitional fossils," but the scope of the book will definitely give you an idea of the mountains of evidence we have for determining our ancestors, our cousins, and our family tree. I'm only about halfway through, but I've enjoyed it quite a bit so far. Take a look at the reviews online, and if it looks good, pick it up.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ancestors-Tale-Pilgrimage-Evolution/dp/061861916X

u/Mortlach78 · 7 pointsr/evolution

I personally stopped liking Dawkins after his God Delusion. It became too much anti-religion instead of pro-science for me.


I can very much recommend The Big Bang, by Simon Singh. It's a history of astronomy and basically walks through the major discovery and people that showed us the universe started with the Big Bang. Sorry for the massive amazon link.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-Bang-Important-Scientific-Discovery/dp/0007152523/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=59936160713&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqeDArvPy4QIVTLTtCh2DQQ-DEAAYASAAEgLqt_D_BwE&hvadid=291335549187&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=20474&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=15052326827831956578&hvtargid=kwd-364592476477&hydadcr=8241_1756991&keywords=simon+singh+big+bang&qid=1556458404&s=gateway&sr=8-1


Stephen Jay Gould is really good for paleontology stuff. Neil Shubin "Your inner fish" is quite good too about the Tiktaalik discovery.
And maybe a strange suggestion, but I really, really like The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson. This is a great, accessible history of ancient Egypt and it is eye opening how religion was constantly reinvented to deal with current situations. There is no reason to think Judaic religion was or is any different.
I'll post some more if I can think of any.

u/Dathadorne · 2 pointsr/evolution

This is a great resource: Why Evolution is True, Jerry A. Coyne

The easiest way to do this is to present the data with some really great examples in this book, and to argue that it at least looks like life on earth has evolved from a common ancestor.

If you can get them there, then most of the work is done.

u/updn · 1 pointr/evolution

If you really become interested in this subject, a really good, easy to read book I enjoyed is Why Evolution is True by Jerry Koyne.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0143116649/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1453066607&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&keywords=why+evolution+is+true+by+jerry+coyne

u/[deleted] · 12 pointsr/evolution

Why Evolution is True by Jerry A. Coyne is a great book on the subject. Keeps it simple while also giving a good survey of evolutionary theory. It gives tons of evidence too.

u/Sewwattsnew · 7 pointsr/evolution

Since it hasn't been mentioned yet, Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin is a good one. It's short, and easy to read, the author has a very friendly, conversational tone. It is primarily focused on human evolution, rather than evolution in general, though.

u/Darwins_Beard · 1 pointr/evolution

If you're really interested in the evolution of the human brain and how evolution has shaped our psychology, I suggest reading Steven Pinker's "How the Mind Works." It's not a light read, but it's incredibly fascinating.

For a more general look at recent human evolution, I enjoyed "The 10,000 Year Explosion." The authors argue that genetic changes have led to higher than average IQs among European Jews.


u/Rhizobium · 5 pointsr/evolution

Ken Miller wrote a book called Finding Darwin's God, where he does what you're looking for. He starts with young-earth creationism, moves onto old-earth creationism, and then to intelligent design. It's the best book on evolution I've read so far.

u/three_martini_lunch · 3 pointsr/evolution

> And if your still certain that Evolution is indeed a fact then give solid answers to the following 4 questions:
> 1) Every single living organism at their base level requires 3 things to live, DNA, RNA and Proteins, all of which are co-dependant on one another for existence (DNA needs RNA & Proteins to feed it, RNA needs DNA & Proteins to form it and Proteins needs DNA to form RNA to create it) and if even for a split-second they would cease to exist. How did they come to be?

Lots of work is being done on this. Go to scholar.google.com and start reading. There are many compelling ways life could have initiated.

Also note, you do not understand evolutionary theory. Evolutionary theory only applies to life forms. At the moment there are many hypotheses about the origin of life. Evolution and the origin of life are different fields. Evolution does not depend on knowing how life started, just that life exists.

If you had read a very basic text on evolutionary theory

https://www.amazon.com/Structure-Evolutionary-Theory-Stephen-Gould/dp/0674006135

It would be obvious that you don't know what you are talking about.

Again, Cambpell's biology is a good place to start for a high school student.

> 2) Sequential Hermaphrodites have the ability to change their gender and thus rearrange their entire biology. How did they evolve that ability? BONUS: Since that ability is generally used to compensate for a missing gender, how did they survive long enough to gain it?

See above. There is a lot known about this from a variety of species. This is also irrelevant to speciation by the way.

Don't forget that most organisms are not sexual. Only a few clever species, mainly Eukaryotes have evolved sex, though some bacteria have mechanisms to exchange genetic information.

> 3) Humans have forced mutations to occur in dogs for over 100 years, however instead of new species being born, the most we got was Inbred Monstrosities suffering from complete Genetic Failure and they were all still dogs. Why didn't the mutations result in a new species?

Populations are mixing, therefore no speciation. Again, you do not understand basic evolutionary theory, nor population biology.

https://www.amazon.com/Structure-Evolutionary-Theory-Stephen-Gould/dp/0674006135

Explains it all.

> 4) Crocodiles have been around for 200 million years, longer than the dinosaurs, survived multiple Mass Extinction Events, and the only change they've gone through is becoming smaller, and the Coelacanth an ancient species of fish that first appeared 400 million years ago and was though to be extinct yet was discovered to be alive and unchanged from 400 million yrs ago. Why is this the case for them, but not for other species such as Dinosaurs, even though Dino's and Croc's have very similar biology's?

See above. Dinosaurs are having breakfast at your bird feeder. You couldn't have picked worse examples.

Here is another one: https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs-ancient-fossils-new-discoveries/extinction/dinosaurs-survive/

CONCLUSION:

You are ignorant.

u/pterodactyl111 · 10 pointsr/evolution

Yes absolutely. Evolution is a highly mathematic science with a long history of mathematical theory describing how populations change over time. RA Fisher and Sewell Wright were some of the first and many many have followed.

For future reference, only populations can evolve, not individual organisms. Unfortunately most introductory material on evolution doesn't get into the math. I'd recommend this book as a good introduction to the math of evolution, but it assumes some pretty basic knowledge of the concepts of evolution already.

u/swordstool · 6 pointsr/evolution

I second the recommendation for Jerry Coyne's Why Evolution Is True. Very very good and highly accessible. Then, if you want further detail, go to The Greatest Show on Earth.

u/HawkeyeGK · 7 pointsr/evolution

The Greatest Show on Earth

or

The Ancestor's Tale which is a personal favorite of mine although not specifically devoted to evidence arguments. It's just an amazing read through our biological world and along the way the case for evolution becomes overwhelming.

u/silverdollarlando · 7 pointsr/evolution

The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins is a good book that gives counter examples to creationists. It addresses radio-dating, plate tectonics, cool examples of animals, and missing links. Dawkins is a grumpy old atheist, so he may not be your cup of tea.

u/okrahtime · 6 pointsr/evolution

There are two books that I think would be good:

What Evolution Is

Why Evolution Is True

I liked both books. I am not sure how readable they are without a decent understanding of basic biology. Can you tell us how much background you have in biology? That may help with suggestions.

u/WildZontar · 3 pointsr/evolution

Honestly, the field changes so fast that it'd be hard to have a "comprehensive" text book stay relevant. Most of the time we're reading and discussing academic papers from the past ~5 years, occasionally referencing significant results from further back.

http://www.amazon.com/Population-Genetics-A-Concise-Guide/dp/0801880092 is a good book to start with though to build up a good foundational understanding of how people are thinking about and studying evolution (or at least the people I'm working with), assuming you already have some basic familiarity with population genetic principles.

edit: When starting grad school several years ago, this is the textbook we used for the molecular biology courses we had to take. The degree program I'm in is Computational and Molecular Biology (where students are either in Comp or Mol bio, but there's some overlap in the first semester. I'm in Comp, so most of my coursework is in math/cs/stats), so I can't say what graduate level Evolutionary Biology courses require.

u/girlfriendisprego · 1 pointr/evolution

Here you go. It is a full but that details the whole thing without pounding on religion. It is also a good primer on the scientific method.

u/fungoid_sorceror · 2 pointsr/evolution

My kids enjoy this book.

As for dealing with the inevitable stupid god-bothering parents, all I can say is good luck. Because my response would be hostile and the question "why do you want your children to be stupid"?

Which is probably one of the reasons I'm not a teacher.

u/livelikedirt · 1 pointr/evolution

I suggest checking out Steve Jones' Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated. It discusses chapter by chapter, what Darwin got right, what he got wrong, as well as a lot of things that we've learned in the 150 years since the original publication of "On the Origin of Species".

This isn't exactly what you asked for, but it's a rather good companion if you're planning to read "On the Origin of Species".

u/raatz02 · 1 pointr/evolution

Books are better than videos for this. I liked Shubin's Your Inner Fish a lot (better than the TV series, which leaves out too much detail).

u/SupaFurry · 1 pointr/evolution

A good book on evolutionary genomics is The Origins of Genome Architecture by Michael Lynch.

u/SealNose · 4 pointsr/evolution

You can always insert a link like this

u/60Hertz · 1 pointr/evolution

Big fan of Dawkins but one should also read Gould and others mentioned here (read as much as you can and make your own mind up ;-)... i find Sean Caroll's evo-devo stuff really fun to read and i think Dawkins touches on the developments in that field but Caroll (and probably others) get down and dirty in it: http://www.amazon.com/Endless-Forms-Most-Beautiful-Science/dp/0393327795

u/jswhitten · 8 pointsr/evolution

I wouldn't bother arguing with them. It's notoriously difficult to reason someone out of a position they didn't use reason to get into in the first place.

If you're interested in evolution, by all means learn more about it, but do it for yourself. You can start here for an overview:

http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/faqs-evolution.html

http://evolutionfaq.com/

And these books will explain in more depth:

https://smile.amazon.com/Why-Evolution-True-Jerry-Coyne/dp/0143116649?sa-no-redirect=1

https://smile.amazon.com/Blind-Watchmaker-Evidence-Evolution-Universe/dp/0393351491?sa-no-redirect=1

https://smile.amazon.com/Selfish-Gene-Popular-Science/dp/0192860925?sa-no-redirect=1

u/laduec · 4 pointsr/evolution

There’s an annotated edition of Origin that sounds like what you’re looking for: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0674060172/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.zMWAbF957XX2

u/ibanezerscrooge · 4 pointsr/evolution

For an in depth treatment of the genetic mechanics of forming eyes and feet and arms and such pick up a copy of Endless Forms Most Beautiful by Sean B. Carroll. Super-interesting and informative with regard to evolutionary development which will shed a lot of light and further your understanding.

u/cubist137 · 9 pointsr/evolution

As it happens, there is a book which basically consists of "Origin of Species, except covering everything we've learned since Darwin's day". It's called Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated.