What is Digg?Sponsored by Nokia
A Hands-on Look at New Open Source Nokia N900 (With Video) view!
nokiausa.com - Get a load of the gorgeous panoramic interface and PC-like performance.
467 Comments
- davidlitts, on 10/11/2007, -17/+267In Kansas those are "gifts" from God.
- philovivero, on 10/11/2007, -30/+154Let's see. We were intelligently designed, right? So why did our intelligent designer bork up the vitamin C synthesis? Most other animals synthesize it just fine. We even do 3 of the 4 steps of synthesis right, up until the last step, which we don't have the enzymes to make, so all that work our body does is wasted, and the nutrients are dumped out of our body, just one step away from being vitamin C. Then, we die of scurvy on the high seas. Arrr! Scurvy!
We're intelligently designed, right? So why is it we have back and neck problems when other vertebrates our size do not?
I just don't know why the Great God Mars intelligently designed our bodies like this, nor why the Flying Spaghetti Monster hasn't since fixed the Great God Mars' stupid mistakes. I guess the Flying Spaghetti Monster doesn't really care about our feelings, or the feelings of amputees. - senorcool, on 10/11/2007, -0/+114I don't think the body hair is useless. It lets me know when I have small bugs on me...like deadly spiders. Seems like reason enough to not evolve all of our arm and leg hair out.
- cankillar, on 10/11/2007, -8/+109HOLY ***** I HAVE A UTERUS.
That makes me feel... odd. - FatherG, on 10/11/2007, -3/+88At risk of comment abuse, I was able to get the text to load:
\\\\\
I’ve always been fascinated with human evolution. To me, the most fascinating part of human evolution is learning about what was “left behind” on our bodies from our ancestors and from our prenatal development.
The list is actually much longer than one would think. Here is a list I’ve compiled from some simple Google research.
* Appendix
o We all know about this one. You might even know someone who has had it removed. The appendix is a narrow, muscular tube attached to the large intestine. A common misconception is that this organ was used for digesting raw meat. It was actually used in our plant chewing days; it was the special area for digesting cellulose. Since our diets have changed, we no longer need this organ.
* Paranasal Sinuses
o For as far back as I can remember, my mother always had sinus problems. Sometimes so bad she’d have to lay down just to make the pain bearable. Ironically, the sinus cavity serves little to no purpose for a human. The only function they serve now for humans is making our heads lighter (weight wise), and adding warmth and moisture to the air we breath.In animals with an heightened sense of smell (like a dog or cat), the sinus cavities are lined with olfactory tissues. Some scientists believe that our ancestors had a much better sense of smell (our DNA contains broken genes for additional odor receptors) but for some reason we lost that ability.
* Vomeronasal Organ
o A tiny pit on each side of the septum is lined with non functioning chemo-receptors. They may be all that remains of a once extensive pheromone-detecting ability.Taken from Wikipedia:
Anatomical studies demonstrate that in the vomeronasal organ regresses during fetal development, as is the case with some other mammals, including apes, cetaceans, and some bats. There is no evidence of a neural connection between the organ and the brain in adult humans. Nevertheless, a small pit can be found in the nasal septum of some people, and some researchers have argued that this pit represents a functional vomeronasal organ. Thus, its possible presence in humans remains controversial.
* Coccyx (AKA: The Tail Bone)
o The coccyx is a set of fused vertebrae at the bottom of the spinal column. This is another useless remain of our ancestral past. It’s all that’s left of our tails, which disappeared from hominids before they began walking upright. All it does now is cause a lot of pain if you fall on your butt.
* Extrinsic Ear Muscles
o These three muscles most likely made it possible for prehominids to move their ears independently of their heads (again, like a cat or dog). Again, we still have these muscles which is why most people can learn how to wiggle their ears.
* Toes
o Technically, humans don’t need any of our toes except our big toe (for balance). Our toes were used for grasping and climbing.
* Neck Rib
o This is a set of cervical ribs commonly thought to be left-overs from the age of reptiles. They still appear in less than 1% of humans. Unfortunately these can cause nerve and artery problems. Talk about bad luck.
* Third Eyelid
o Somewhere down the early evolutionary line we actually had a third eye lid, much like you see on a frog, for example. Humans retain a tiny fold in the inner corner of the eye.
* Darwin’s Point
o Take your finger and run it along the the inner edge of your ear. Near the top you’ll notice a small piece of skin that is almost like a point. If you can’t find it, don’t worry. Not all humans still carry this. They believe that this may be a remain of a larger shape that helped us focus on distant sounds.
* Subclavius Muscle
o There is a muscle stretching under our shoulder from the first rib to the collarbone. This would still be a useful muscle if humans walked on all fours. Not all humans have one. Some don’t have one, and a small few actually have two.
* Palmaris Muscle
o This muscle (if you have it, only 11% of humans do) is a long and narrow muscle that runs from the elbow to the wrist. They believe once it may have been an important muscle for hanging and climbing. If you ever need reconstructive surgery, this muscle might be taken for that. Thumbs up for free body parts, right?
* Male Nipples
o Lactiferous ducts (the lobes of the mammary gland at the tip of the nipple) form well before the the testosterone that causes a fetus to be a male occurs. Men have mammary tissue that can be simulated to produce milk.
* Wisdom Teeth
o If you’re reading this, you’ve probably had your wisdom teeth remove. I had all 4 of mine pulled when I was in high school. Despite what you think, these teeth weren’t totally useless. Since early humans had to chew a lot of plants to intake the amount of calories needed to survive, the more teeth the better.Another theory regarding wisdom teeth, that is more of an additional to the main theory (that we used them to chew on plants) is that they were replacement teeth that were lost from wear and tear.
* Erector Pili (AKA: Goosebumps)
o These are bundles of smooth muscle fibers that allow animals to puff up their fur to intimidate others (like a cat, for example) or for insulation. We still retain this ability even though we lost most of our fur.
* Body Hair
o Most of your body hair serves no function (though some think otherwise). Eyebrows keep sweat from going into your eyes, and male facial hair may play a role in sexual selection, but that really is it. Arm and leg hair are just the remains of a once fully covered body of hair.
* Thirteenth Rib
o While our closest cousins (chimps and gorillas) still retain this extra set of ribs. Most humans have 12 though 8% of the population have the extra ribs.
* Male Uterus
o The remains of the undeveloped female reproductive organ hangs off of the male prostate gland.
* Female Vas Deferens
o These are thought to become sperm ducts in males but they become epoophoron in females. It is a cluster of useless dead-end tubules near the ovaries.
//////////// - popothebright, on 10/11/2007, -16/+83It's not as if this will convince the Creationists. They're blind to logic, evidence, reason, science, etc. Only when Science is completely and utterly obvious and in their face do they give up ground... and then they quickly fall back on the next primitive set of beliefs. These are people who insisted the Earth was the center of the solar system even when the evidence was in. They're not going to budge over arguments that are this esoteric.
Even if UFO's landed in Washington DC and 4-legged zebra-people walked out, and provided video evidence of mankind's missing link -- the Creationists would find some passage in the Bible which suddenly applied. They're primitive, uneducated morons. Don't bother trying to educate them. - Devilboy666, on 10/11/2007, -11/+69They were put there by God to test our faith
- pintomp3, on 10/11/2007, -10/+65you are an idiot. evolution doesn't try to explain the creation or origin of the universe. it doesn't even try to explain the origin of life. it simply explains how life EVOLVED over time to it's current state. just because you don't believe in or can't understand fossil records and carbon dating doesn't mean it isn't true.
- jaynedoe, on 10/11/2007, -5/+56hey, i have all four of my wisdom teeth, thank you very much....
- GAARGLOX, on 10/11/2007, -5/+43You'd think the Flying Spaghetti Monster would finish that synthesis process, right? Pirate population would soar!
- monospaced, on 10/11/2007, -3/+39lower species
- Fordi, on 10/11/2007, -2/+35"I love how it is perfectly OK to believe and put all your /faith/ in a scientific /THEORY/."
Put faith in? More like accept its credibility. The scientific theory you're after has evidence to back it up. In fact, just emphasizing the word 'theory' gives the impression that you don't know what a theory *is* in the context of science.
"Remember hundreds of years ago science told us that the world was flat!"
No... religious authority told us the world was flat - and ostricized early scientists for showing otherwise.
"At the risk of sounding like MIB, imagine what we will know tomorrow."
I feel the same way there; there's plenty to know that we don't already.
"You all put all your chips into the side that tells you that there is no God, but what if you are wrong?
You will be sent to hell and face eternal damnation.
There is no proof that a God or Gods do not exist.
So there is still a chance that I am right, and even if I am wrong what have I lost?"
Ahh, Pascal's Wager. Good old Pascal. Never thought for a second that the God he put his faith in may not be the right God / may not want faith from hedging your bets / may actually want you to question the world around you.
"So I cannot have sex whenever I want, with whoever I want. Although even if I do, God will forgive me."
I'm sorry, where's the deterrent there?
"You see you hide behind false /rationality/."
Um. Just a grammatical note. To get the point you're after after across, you may want to emphasize 'false'.
Meanwhile, keep in mind that most of the theist arguments I shoot down here (and I love to shoot 'em down. Like a zombie shoot-em-up, you guys are) are usually rationalizations of the world to fit into the narrow guidelines set down by religious authority. I don't say religious texts, because it becomes very obvious in a short time that most of the theistic proselytizers I see here have never actually read their own holy books.
"Flame me all you want, bury me all you want, but you claim to have an open mind but as soon as God is mentioned you instantly close your so called open mind and laugh me off."
I have done neither. Though, I've basically torn down your whole argument.
"Good Night, and /GOD/ Bless"
G'night. Sleep well, and wake with energy. You've got a big day tomorrow. - Mac44, on 10/11/2007, -8/+40Here's some unintelligent design for you- 1% of people cannot get aids because their cells lack the receptor site necessary for the virus to dock onto to. How is God supposed to punish sinners with this 1% flaw?!?
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -2/+32"So there is still a chance that I am right, and even if I am wrong what have I lost? So I cannot have sex whenever I want, with whoever I want. Although even if I do, God will forgive me."
Then what the ***** is the point of believing in God and following any of his rules in the first place? - Rezzy, on 10/11/2007, -13/+42It's stuff like this that makes me really remember how ludicrous the theories of those die-hard Creationists truly are.
- marksven, on 10/11/2007, -4/+31"You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe." - Carl Sagan (Contact)
- Vich, on 10/11/2007, -3/+30I think athiests have more respect for other religions than religious folk do for atheists. I'd be happy if religion merely had no influence on education and politics, but ultimately humanity needs to overcome religious faith to move forward and advance. Religious belief is a primative relic left over from ancient times to explain things that couldn't be explained. Now that we can explain things without making up stories, and disprove many religious beliefs I don't see why we need faith. Religion is one of the main things that still keeps people apart, breaks up relationships, causes arguments, persecution, war, interferes with education and scientific advancement. Seriously, why can't we all just agree that good morals are needed for our society to prosper and believe whatever we want to believe?
- RobertS44, on 10/11/2007, -4/+30Sorry for top-comment abuse, but here is a mirror i made:
http://www.atheistnation.net/private/evolutionbiproducts.php - skew009, on 10/11/2007, -2/+28I put all my faith in the scientific theory of gravity. Science didn't tell us the world was flat btw. No 'science' was used to prove that, it is just what people thought.
- pintomp3, on 10/11/2007, -7/+31not all humans are that intelligent. take creationists for example.
- Battleloser, on 10/11/2007, -1/+24I can't remember the last time I thought an article featured on digg was to short. Very interesting stuff.
- skew009, on 10/11/2007, -1/+23Very interesting. There are some inaccuracies in there though, mainly the 'male nipples' and 'male uterus'. These aren't vestigial organs. They are present in males because they were not developed by female hormones, instead, male hormones caused them to not develop. Just like the penis and the clitoris develop into different organs from the same original 'part' depending on which hormones are present.
Another case against intelligent design. Why do some people have these vestigial traits and some don't? Why would a designer make it so some of us have 4 wisdom teeth and some of us have 2? Or some with a subclavious muscle and some w/o? Some people have small hairs on their knuckles and some don't. Makes no sense. - soljerchim, on 10/11/2007, -1/+23actually the coccyx is still thought to have a purpose. for bipedal locomotion it is thought to work in conjunction with our bowl-shaped hips to hold our organs in place as we are upright. though it is the fused remains of our tail.
- plnegative1, on 10/11/2007, -1/+22I never thought of that... man... I was sitting around wondering why we have body hair.... this is a great explanation! (not sarcasm)
- johnnysaucepn, on 10/11/2007, -2/+23No, you're thinking of a pattern. Design implies intent.
- strangewill, on 10/11/2007, -1/+21Sorry Mr. Moron, but using computers didn't cause vitamin C synthesis problems.
- capiCrimm, on 10/11/2007, -6/+26actually in Kansas the brain is on that list. So is the Heart and Courrrage.
(it would be a lot funnier if I wasn't from KS. ;( ) - Curiousity, on 10/11/2007, -1/+20Intelligence is a very expensive adaptation, in terms of energy. The brain uses an enormous amount of energy just to stay at a working level. In most cases, the minimum intelligence necessary to fill an ecological niche is what exists. Also, there is generally a more cost-effective way to achieve the same goal. It's more cost-effective for a cat to be able to run faster than to be able to make traps for mice, simply because of the cost of keeping a brain functional.
- beatmonger, on 10/11/2007, -3/+22A number of reasons. Traits only evolve when there's environmental pressure that makes them necessary. A couple hundred thousand years ago, Africa was so dry that ***** sapiens almost went extinct. It was only the ones that were very bright and inventive that figured out ways to survive and reproduce. Similar events led to the existing level of intelligence that made that possible.
Some also think that our intelligence is the result of sexual selection. Women liked the men who knew how to do cool new stuff that never had been done before. Music, humor, all that - for which intelligence is necessary. - Barlo_Mung, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20So your theory is that complex things need to be designed by complex beings. Who designed god again?
See, this is the brilliance of Darwin's great idea. There is design in nature but it comes about by smaller unintelligent steps that don't need further design. - jmpeagle, on 10/11/2007, -4/+22mutations are random, it is just mutations that seem to fit them better for the environment that are naturally selected to go through the gene pool. Also, maybe we are just the 1st or maybe we are not even the first.
Also, neanderthals (which were a totally different species from human, as they were alive at the same time as humans but they eventually went extinct) had basic intelligence. - TheTorontonian, on 10/11/2007, -2/+19Yes, but then that means that "THE CREATOR" wants for balding men to have spiders sting them on their heads!
- Obligation, on 10/11/2007, -2/+19This was a very interesting story. It really bothers me that a picture of a mouse humping a computer mouse has 200 more diggs.
- xerexes1, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestigial_structure
- crawf061, on 10/11/2007, -0/+16When will people stop apologizing for "comment abuse" when they are posting mirrors? Mirrors should be posted toward the top of the page, so stop freaking apologizing for it. Everybody knows you aren't really sorry!
- dictum, on 10/11/2007, -0/+16All the women I've ever slept with had sperm ducts.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -3/+19Missed the edit timer, but also, since when did science point to flat earth? Since when did anyone point to flat earth? As far as I can tell, science has almost always pointed to a round earth.
- JamesShiell, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17Wrong. Evolution has no guiding light, no way of 'seeing' that something is no longer useful.
Evolution operates on mutations. And for it to operate there must be some pressure to make the mutation either advantageous or disadvantagous to its possessor. If a mutation (or the remains of one) does not offer either an advantage or disadvantage then there is no pressure to remove it from the gene pool other than random chance. Hence you'd expect some individuals to possess it and others to not.
If, however, everything had a use then that would imply some intelligent oversight of the process, which would break evolution. So quite the opposite to your point. - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -2/+18It act as lubricant. Without hair in the places it grows the thickest (excluding the head where it acts as additional insulation) there would be a wailing and gnashing of teeth as we all chafed!
- richiestang78, on 10/11/2007, -1/+16Wow I got really lucky, I just went to the dentist and won the wisdom teeth jackpot and don't have them and never have to worry about it.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15Are you the first-born?
First-borns have slightly elevated IQ, slightly lower social skills and wait for it, better teeth. - ICSU, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15atheos13's, earth being round was common knowledge in ancient Greece
- ECas123, on 10/11/2007, -1/+16http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.decimation.com%2Fmarkw%2F2007%2F07%2F09%2Fwhat-evolution-left-behind-on-humans%2F
- Yoshi39, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15@iceperson
You have misunderstood evolution. Evolution works by random permutations in our DNA these are then either discarded/kept or multiplied (by failure to reproduce, no affect on reproduction rate or an increased reproductive capability respectively) . This means that flaws that affect our reproductive capability will _eventually_ disappear but if they do not tire relative frequency will remain constant (see the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium) this means that if a good trait (say increased sperm vitality) is coupled with a neutral one (neck problems which wasn't a problem due to a low life expectancy) you will get a population in which many people will have neck problems. - McGrude, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15mmm spare ribs
- ICSU, on 10/11/2007, -2/+16gabe8806, creationists also claim that god is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient so it has always known that we would have this technology and your argument is thus invalid.
Even if he didn't design us with the future technology in mind, omnipotence would allow him to change us instantly.
Religion and creationism are a load of BS in other words. - Vich, on 10/11/2007, -3/+17Firstly, where is your evidence that it was science that argued the earth was flat? It was more likely people of faith, who believed simply because that was the easiest answer for them to understand. Remember that it was the church that held back Galileo's theories about the earth's rotation around the sun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo#Church_controversy & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair)
Also "imagine what we will know tomorrow" seems to refer to the scientific method. Scientific theories change so that we learn new things. Religion is a constant. When our theories are wrong, they are wrong. So what. You religious folk always try to discredit science because of one error or one fact that cannot be proven. Your whole faith cannot be proven, and when we're wrong at least we have the balls to admit it and amend it. Religion is a very old theory has already been disregarded by many of us so that we could move on to understanding bigger and better things, those that hang on to it are stunting their own development.
Secondly, I love the whole "believing in God is the safer option" argument. It is flawed in so many ways. What have you lost? how about what you could have learnt if you had a more open mind. If you truly opened your mind you would accept the arguments of all other faiths and realise there is no reason why yours is any better. You would realise you were born an athiest and the only reason you are religious now is because you were brainwashed as a youth or you had some special moment in your life that you wrongly credit God for. Seriously, if you look carefully all the evidence you have to go on is what people have said.
You've also lost all the time you spent in Church, or worshipping, praying. I hope that the poorer countries improve their conditions. But kneeling and saying it in my head isn't going to do anything. Contributing to charities such as WorldVision will. If every single Christian in the world prayed for an end to poverty do you think it would happen?
The most obvious argument behind believing in God, is which God and why? You say if you believe in God and you're right you go to heaven, if you're wrong - no harm done. What about the other Gods you don't believe in? I don't think they'll be happy if they're the true God, and what of the denominations of your faith? What if you're following the right faith, but because of some minor technicality you don't believe in you miss out on your entry to heaven? If there is a risk in not believing in God, there must also be a risk in not believing in Allah, Zeus, Apollo, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, etc as well. Suddenly it's no longer 50/50, it's more like a 1/1000000 chance that you are absolutely right (actually even more, but 1 in a million is more catchier).
As an athiest I don't believe in heaven or hell, so there is no risk in what I believe at all (if you believe your own argument, you can't flaw that.) - WoollyMittens, on 10/11/2007, -3/+17It's not over until religious fundies stop trying to change the world to suit their book.
- sweitx, on 10/11/2007, -3/+17What you have failed to understand is that the great Flying Spaghetti Monster created the first midget when he/she/it was drunk. And upon finding that mistake but noticing how well we're doing despite of it, he decided "Ah, well, they're doing just fine."
-
Show 51 - 100 of 468 discussions
