Quote:
Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan
I think that's inherently difficult for some people to believe, regardless of the influence of religion. Given the amazing spectrum of life on this planet and the relatively slow rate at which things change here, it's a bit of a project to imagine enough unique factors working on individual groups to create that much diversity.
(No, I'm not talking about a 10K year old earth either  } |
Sure it is difficult to accept if it's not well understood, but I lay that difficulty partially at the feet of the eduction system. First for not teaching it well enough, second for not teaching good ways of thinking so that people can recognize the logical fallacy of personal incredulity in themselves.
The other difficulty is simply our inability to comprehend the time frames involved; our brains simply can't deal with 4 billion years.
This is one of the strengths of science; it's a way of knowing that overcomes inherent deficiencies in our brains or way of observing or whatever.
EDIT: To draw parallels, no one really understands quantum mechanics but people don't answer no on polls if they accept it or not, and people don't try to have quantum mechanics undermined in the education system. Same things with special and general relativity, very difficult things to really understand, but people don't reject those based on their lack of understanding either. They will however reject the Big Bang and evolution strongly, so I think the influence of some people's
interpretation of their religion does play a role.