My Ideas

[Malakai10]

Thanks

A personal favourite that I've learnt about recently is this one species of moth in England (I say favourite but I can't even remember the name ) They were a species of moth that, pre-industrial revolution, were almost all white as they would camouflage themselves on pale coloured trees - the black (melanistic - a mutation that causes over-pigmentation) moths were an occasional mutation that cropped up but they were quickly eaten by birds.

During/after the industrial revolution, the increase in pollutants made the trees' bark darker. Now, white moths were easily spotted by birds and the black moths were able to camouflage! Within a few short years, the majority of the moth population turned black and the white moths became rare. If I remember right, these moths actually helped substantiate Darwin's theory of evolution - he didn't use them in his books but scientists used these moths as 'before your eyes' evidence.

Then there's also this mouse species that I think either lives in the US or Mexico. There's a place with pale ground (I can't remember if it was yellow-ish grass, sand or rocks) and then (if I remember correctly) there was some sort of natural disturbance (I think a volcano) and then part of that area turned into very dark grey/black rock. The mice were originally pale of colour and the one's that live in the pale area still are. The mice population that started to live in the dark, rocky area eventually evolved into a separate subspecies with a dark coat on top but still with a pale belly.

Yes! Evolution is quite easy to follow, if one knows where to look. We had a thing with the moths over here (maybe they were butterflies for us though?). Anyway, ours were originally darker but became paler when there were suddenly more white and lighter-barked trees in their native areas.
Also, in the Grand Canyon region, there was this... I think it was a regular gray squirrel, it started out like the average, run of the mill, gray squirrel anyway, if memory serves. As the years passed and the people watching over the Grand Canyon refuge, they began to notice a substantial shift in the colors of the squirrels. They also noticed that the populations were separated by the canyon itself, such that the northern side population and the southern side population didn't or very rarely crossed the canyon itself. So know we have a sub-population of red-phase squirrels on one side of the canyon and just a stone's throw away, a sub-population of black-phase squirrels on the other.

I have to say that the people that don't believe evolution exists today are being thick and are choosing to remain deaf, dumb and blind to the evidence. Regardless of what's happened in the past, evolution exists right now and in form. But, they're free to do so; just keep such nonsense away from me.

That's cool!

I've had the good luck of almost always being around highly educated people (the only exception pretty much being our domestic workers) so I don't have the problem of being around fools. Of course, if someone didn't believe in evolution, I couldn't care less so long as they don't hinder the education of other people and so long as they are genuinely just not rude. Unfortunately, extremist religion and anti-evolution tend to go hand in hand and create some very Not Nice people (to put it mildly). Nothing against religious people, so long as they're good people, but I don't think extremist and good can go together to describe someone.

I've had the luck of going to a Christian school and so I've been exposed to a lot of nice religious people (mostly Christian (IDK what type) with a couple of Catholics, Hindus and Muslims. There are three Atheists that I can confirm. They are in my grade and one is me and there was this one Jewish girl at one point.)

[BlackOak2]

That's cool!

I've had the good luck of almost always being around highly educated people (the only exception pretty much being our domestic workers) so I don't have the problem of being around fools. Of course, if someone didn't believe in evolution, I couldn't care less so long as they don't hinder the education of other people and so long as they are genuinely just not rude. Unfortunately, extremist religion and anti-evolution tend to go hand in hand and create some very Not Nice people (to put it mildly). Nothing against religious people, so long as they're good people, but I don't think extremist and good can go together to describe someone.

I've had the luck of going to a Christian school and so I've been exposed to a lot of nice religious people (mostly Christian (IDK what type) with a couple of Catholics, Hindus and Muslims. There are three Atheists that I can confirm. They are in my grade and one is me and there was this one Jewish girl at one point.)

Religion is in the eye of the beholder. Some people need it to help them through life, some people do not. There is no wrong way to live. As long as we uphold the society in which we live, with the understanding that development comes with change, then things can continue to move along.

And I think you said it perfectly: 'don't think extremist and good can go together to describe someone.' This is true no matter the belief system, regardless of if it's religious or otherwise.

I've met a few different religious and non-religious people and the one thing some of them share in common, is the firm dedication to NOT believing in something they choose not to believe in, regardless of what's in front of them. The simple fact of the matter is that there is a LOT we don't yet understand, for instance, Why is there a perceptible, though slight difference in weight in a body that was living and that is now dead? Why and where does ghosts come from? Why do some people and animals seem to know something before it happens (abandoning a place before the tsunami, people reporting they were going to die before 9/11, etc)? Why do memories of certain events differ from what actually happened? And then are different again?

There is a LOT of unanswerable questions still left in the 'Now' that we live. In the future, that might change and we know more about the 'now' and the 'then' than we did before, like: we understand why eclipses occur and that the earth is NOT flat (regardless of new-age flat-earth-theory conspirators).

They exist, those not-so-smart people. I continue to hope that they understand that certain things are outside of their understanding, like I do with things that are simply outside of my own understanding. We all have at least one thing, somewhere, that is. And it's alright, because it's quite depressing to know and understand everything... or it can be. Or at least, I assume it is.