# My cousin dont beleive in evolution **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895 "2020-12-12T15:31:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/1 "2020-12-12T15:31:38Z")
Are there any 100% sure thing that could convince him, He is very sure that intelligent design is the answer and he doesnt quite beleive my comments Loggins ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/2 "2020-12-12T15:34:34Z")
He hasn’t been convinced by an overwhelming, indisputable, irrefutable mountain of evidence so far. So IMHO nothing will convince him. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/3 "2020-12-12T15:44:23Z")
**Many prior threads on this:** > [@Creationism vs evolution](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationism-vs-evolution/631281): > > I fail to see a contradiction between creationism and evolution. Most all Christians that I know personaly believe in evolution, they believe that God found the perfect mechanism for dealing with an ever changing planet. He put the tools in place so that it could manage itself however brutal that might be at times. I believe that most of the major churches also accept evolution but don’t quote me on that. The Catholic church accepts it. > [@Evolution (uh-oh)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolution-uh-oh/667512): > > After watching many videos of Richard Dawkins using laymen’s terms to describe the evolutionary process, I decided it was time to turn to a more… informative side of the inter-webs. Most of those videos end with the famous statement, “We did not evolve from monkeys, but rather a common ancestor.” With this in mind, can anyone explain what that common ancestor is believed to be? And how did this ancestor end up splitting into two separate species? > [@Is Evolution Really Science-Based?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-evolution-really-science-based/667780): > > I’m asking because I came across this statement: The spontaneous creation of new genetic information required for Darwinian evolution has not been observed, and is therefore not scientifically credible. Can anyone confirm or disprove the statement? Is the logic correct? It’s basically from this article link: > [@Why do most Americans deny evolution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801): > > Why do most Americans deny evolution? “Less than half of all Americans believe in evolution.” source American Museum of Natural History page 53, Newsweek, November 28, 2005. Last week Gov. Jeb Bush of FL (I’m paraphrasing) said he did not want the teaching of evolution to be part of the public school’s curriculum. Do the majority also believe in astrology, as did Nancy Reagan? > [@is evolution a fact?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-evolution-a-fact/593375): > > Is it correct to say this statement: Evolution is a fact, the theory of evolution is theory. evolution has been proven with:(pick which is fact) a) viruses b)those lizards on that Mediterranean island c)strawberries (someone once told me they used be smaller until 1800’s until we intervened to make them bigger) d)humans growing certain breeds of dogs e)any other credible demonstratable verifiable options And our scientific theory to describe the evolution is just a theory. We put togethe… > [@Why do Creationists deny Evolution in face of tons of evidence supporting it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-creationists-deny-evolution-in-face-of-tons-of-evidence-supporting-it/578692): > > Why do Creationists deny Evolution in face of tons of evidence supporting it? Would someone kindly explain it to me? I’m really baffled… Are they blind or something? Read here: > [@Evolution: why are there still monkeys, apes, chimps, etc.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolution-why-are-there-still-monkeys-apes-chimps-etc/520069): > > I can see species evolving, and would never deny that it’s a natural process. I guess the question is “If we evolved from monkeys, why are monkeys still around?” These are not terms I would use, but ones I have seen used before. I think I can estimate a reason, but I’m no governing body. I guess to parse it down, the question would be “If humans were derived from another species, why would that species still exist un-evolved?” What are the prevailing theories here? > [@Evolution: Current theory](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolution-current-theory/459299): > > My personal bug-bear is poor education in the sciences, which has led me into countless arguments on evolution and the misapplication of ‘the theory of evolution’ to social policy IRL. So, I am just throwing these links out for general ignorance-fighting. The articles are months old, so many of you may have already read them. This is the [main article](http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/dn13620-evolution-24-myths-and-misconceptions.html) with links to 24 other articles, some on misconceptions about evolution, and some on creationism. This article touches on the issue of [intrasp…](http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/dn13687-evolution-myths-evolution-promotes-the-survival-of-species.html) _This might help with a Religious Person_ > [@I'm a Christian evolutionist, and I say that evolution is consistent with the Bible](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-christian-evolutionist-and-i-say-that-evolution-is-consistent-with-the-bible/478993): > > I’ll start with the obvious one - the Old Testament says that the earth was created in 6 days; however, the New Testament says that “With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day”. > [@Evolution Versus Creationism, a twist](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolution-versus-creationism-a-twist/502747): > > I kind of think this is more of a general question, but given the nature of the topics involved, I have a sneaking suspicion it would wind up here. Thus, I’ll start it here to save a moderator the trouble. Now, I suppose a small amount of backstory here is relevant. A Christian with whom I work and I discuss creationism and evolution quite a bit. In the faculty break room last week one of the debate professors posed to us to have a debate mirroring one he’s having his students do. My first … > [@Creationism vs. Evolution: the only choices?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationism-vs-evolution-the-only-choices/459055): > > I have been talking to a lot of people lately who take an ‘agnostic’ view of the debate, ie they take stock in neither creationism nor evolution. So I was wondering, if you don’t favor one over the other, what choice is there? (besides suspension of judegment) Im not interested in a debate, I was wondering if there was a “third way”. Guess i should have posted in General. > [@How to make a creationist become evolutionist](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-a-creationist-become-evolutionist/446808): > > Before i start with my problem, let me tell u i live in Indonesia, for u that dont know, its the biggest Muslims country in the world … In here people still believe that evolutions is only a hoax, even in the schools right now, the students no longer study evolution as part of biology (excepts international school). I’ve been debating for quite a long time in indonesians forum, untill i get banned because insulting their beliefs, i think after talking about evolution, then adam and eve, it’s u… > [@Evolution vs Biblical Creationism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolution-vs-biblical-creationism/437620): > > Premise: God exists and is responsible for the creation of the universe. God Created The Ten Comandments…AND the perfect, unbreakable laws of chemistry, based upon perfect, unbreakable laws of physics, based upon perfect, unbreakable laws of mathematics. One one side, we are presented with Truth written in a Book, on the other side, we are presented with Truth written into the very substance of Creation itself. How can one be wrong? > [@Where is Evolution heading?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-evolution-heading/425129): > > I’ve got a two-part question for those willing to share their thoughts and knowledge on the topic of the direction of evolution. The first question relates to the following quote from The Book by Allan Watts. Mr. Watts concludes… His question… (italics throughout removed) That aside, I’ve been wondering where evolution is headed. Certainly it will not stop with us. Now that survival has become less of a day to day struggle for our species as a whole in relation to our environment, which… This subject has been debated time and again here, but so you can get advice I’ll slide it over to **IMHO**. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/4 "2020-12-12T16:07:36Z")
One of the biggest stumbling blocks is our lack of intuitive grasp of the sheer scale of geologic/evolutionary time. Even if you understand the principle of natural selection, and you accept that small changes can occur, given what we see in the world around us on a human timescale, it seems ridiculous that something like a monkey could ever be able to change into a human; let alone that our more distant ancestors were _bacteria_. Has your friend visited the Grand Canyon? I think that’s a good place to get acquainted with the scale of geologic time. Although the rocks themselves are much older, the time it took to erode from a flat plain is around 5-6 million years. That works out to only around 1/100 inch of vertical erosion per year, so it’s clearly adequate time. That happens to be roughly the same amount of time since humans and chimpanzees diverged from a common ancestor. Does it seem so absurd that an ancestral species that looked like an ape could accumulate enough changes very gradually, generation upon generation, to evolve into a human in around the same amount of time that it took a flat plain to erode into the Grand Canyon? Then bear in mind also that the time it took to erode the Grand Canyon is only about _one thousandth_ the age of the planet. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/5 "2020-12-12T16:36:11Z")
> [@Loggins](#): > > Are there any 100% sure thing that could convince him, He is very sure that intelligent design is the answer and he doesnt quite beleive my comments What’s his argument? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/6 "2020-12-12T16:36:13Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > …it seems ridiculous that something like a monkey could ever be able to change into a human… Is this part really hard to believe? Yes, understanding the long and complex path from bacteria to monkeys is tough, but I just never could see any difficulty grasping the concept that monkeys could evolve into men. As far as I could tell the objection to humans evolving from monkeys was an emotional egotistical response, not a failure to see the incredible similarities between monkeys and ourselves. I think that one was the argument for evolution that was too close to home and sparked fear of the entire concept. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/7 "2020-12-12T16:51:49Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > One of the biggest stumbling blocks is our lack of intuitive grasp of the sheer scale of geologic/evolutionary time. A bigger stumbling block is that people are ignorant and stubborn as fuck. In all fairness, while I can grasp a monkey evolving into a human over time, basic proteins evolving into bacteria evolving into simple and then more complex organisms is a bit harder for me to grasp. Like how did a single cell organism suddenly mutate into a multi-cell organism that still worked? Or the first generation of creature to have a working eyeball? Or to figure out that it could breath on land? I’m not arguing against evolution or anything. Some of these evolutionary changes are harder to wrap one’s brain around because they are kind of irreducible. A partial eye or liver doesn’t offer an evolutionary advantage and in many cases may be a disadvantage. But then again, we are talking about tiny changes over billions of years across quadrillions of organisms. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/8 "2020-12-12T17:26:40Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Has your friend visited the Grand Canyon? I think that’s a good place to get acquainted with the scale of geologic time. Although the rocks themselves are much older, the time it took to erode from a flat plain is around 5-6 million years. That works out to only around 1/100 inch of vertical erosion per year, so it’s clearly adequate time. If their friend is the Young Earth kind of creationist, they may very well believe all of that was laid down by the Flood, and eroded by the retreating floodwaters. Even if they’re not, most people just don’t look at rocks and think about them at all, I find. > [@msmith537](#): > > A partial eye or liver doesn’t offer an evolutionary advantage This is bullshit, handily dealt with in many sources, e.g. Dawkin’s _Climbing Mount Improbable._ Partial organs, like the simpler precursors of eyes, are still immensely useful. And that’s even leaving aside the idea of [exaptation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exaptation). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/9 "2020-12-12T17:43:00Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What’s his argument? I don’t think we can really respond until we know this. As is often said, you can’t logic someone out of a position that they didn’t logic themselves into. That is, if he doesn’t (or won’t) believe in evolution because of his religion, there’s little you can do to change his mind. OTOH, if he doesn’t believe in it because of a misunderstanding of the science, that’s different and something you can work with. Also, is there a good reason to change his mind? If he’s not hurting anyone it hardly seems worth it to be stressed about it. Like when you learn to avoid your CT uncle at Christmas and if he ropes you in, just smile and nod because you’re not going to change his mind. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/10 "2020-12-12T17:46:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > > [@Riemann](#): > > > > …it seems ridiculous that something like a monkey could ever be able to change into a human… > > Is this part really hard to believe? Yes, understanding the long and complex path from bacteria to monkeys is tough, but I just never could see any difficulty grasping the concept that monkeys could evolve into men. Personally, the hard part for me to intuitively grasp is not how monkeys could evolve into humans (or, in general, one species could evolve into another), but how the difference between monkeys and humans (or whatever the two species are) in that case is discrete rather than continuous. In other words, we have monkeys, and we have humans, but we don’t have all the intermediate steps in between. And one of the things that helps me accept evolution is to look at human languages, which are also more-or-less clearly distinct but which have evolved from other languages over time. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/11 "2020-12-12T17:53:51Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > if he doesn’t (or won’t) believe in evolution because of his religion, there’s little you can do to change his mind. If he is open to reading a book, or if you are open to reading a book so that you can share its arguments with him, I could recommend The Language of God by Francis Collins, part of which is an argument for evolution, and against competing “theories” like Intelligent Design, from the perspective of a man who is both a Christian (it might be fair to call him an Evangelical Christian) and a scientist (he was head of the Human Genome Project). > **[The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief: Collins, Francis...](https://www.amazon.com/Language-God-Scientist-Presents-Evidence/dp/1416542744)** > > The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief \[Collins, Francis S.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/12 "2020-12-12T17:54:07Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Personally, the hard part for me to intuitively grasp is not how monkeys could evolve into humans (or, in general, one species could evolve into another), but how the difference between monkeys and humans (or whatever the two species are) in that case is discrete rather than continuous. In other words, we have monkeys, and we have humans, but we don’t have all the intermediate steps in between. Relevant [Futurama clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-RUHhCzgxI) ---
**Author:** ![Yelnick\_McWawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/839c29/32.png) [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/13 "2020-12-12T18:06:12Z")
> [@Creationism vs evolution](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationism-vs-evolution/631281/1): > > Most all Christians that I know personaly believe in evolution, Five hundred years ago they didn’t. Nor did they believe that the sun was the center of the solar system. They held those old beliefs to be immutable. When faced with new conclusive evidence, they re-wrote their beliefs. If they changed historical facts once, how can believe anything that’s in their book of irrefutable facts. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/14 "2020-12-12T18:35:47Z")
It’s so much easier to think everything has been created. It takes more neurons to understand evolution. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/15 "2020-12-12T18:45:01Z")
The first thing to do is to ask him what he thinks evolution says. I’ve seen creationists who think that evolution says that cats turn into dogs, for instance, which isn’t even close to being correct. And in this thread we see a form of this even from someone who accepts evolution. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Personally, the hard part for me to intuitively grasp is not how monkeys could evolve into humans (or, in general, one species could evolve into another), but how the difference between monkeys and humans (or whatever the two species are) in that case is discrete rather than continuous. In other words, we have monkeys, and we have humans, but we don’t have all the intermediate steps in between. Monkeys didn’t evolve into humans - at least not the monkeys we see today. There are common ancestors of monkeys and humans from a long time ago. Thus, you are not going to see intermediate steps. There are species that have characteristics that put them between us and monkeys, but they are not intermediate in the sense meant here. There are species between us and the common ancestor, all of whom are extinct. It’s a subtle point, but if misunderstood leads to creationists not understanding what the theory of evolution actually says. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/16 "2020-12-12T18:45:03Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > A partial eye or liver doesn’t offer an evolutionary advantage > [@MrDibble](#): > > e.g. Dawkin’s _Climbing Mount Improbable._ Here you go: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Nwew5gHoh3E/hqdefault.jpg "Richard Dawkins demonstrates the evolution of the eye") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwew5gHoh3E) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/17 "2020-12-12T19:15:45Z")
The most incontrovertible evidence lies in molecular evolution. The DNA sequence of human and chimp genomes can be aligned almost perfectly, including parts of the genome _that serve absolutely no function_. How could sequence that serves no function be the same for chimps and humans unless we inherited it from a common ancestor? When we look at the parts of the genome that serve no function, we find that differences that we do see are evenly distributed across the genome with a certain low frequency for humans vs chimps; evenly distributed with a slightly higher frequency for humans vs gorillas; and so on with increasing frequency for other species pairs. This is perfectly consistent with the sequence being inherited from a common ancestor, and then mutating in proportion for the time available since each pair of species separated. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/18 "2020-12-12T19:23:47Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Personally, the hard part for me to intuitively grasp is not how monkeys could evolve into humans (or, in general, one species could evolve into another), but how the difference between monkeys and humans (or whatever the two species are) in that case is discrete rather than continuous. In other words, we have monkeys, and we have humans, but we don’t have all the intermediate steps in between. As has been said, it’s not a matter of monkeys turning into humans. It’s a matter of ancestral primates turning into monkeys, humans, and other apes. And we have quite a lot of intermediary forms; various hominins, some of whom almost certainly interbred with each other. It wasn’t discrete; we’re just looking, now, at a discrete difference caused by a large accumulation of changes. We have those intermediary forms in fossil form, and fossilization of hominins is unusual, so we’ve only got a small sample of forms over a (by human standards) long period of time: that’s why it can look discrete at a fast glance. Speaking of intermediary forms: When I was a child, the Museum of Natural History in New York City had a display – ah, they still do, though it’s been updated. [https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/advanced-mammals/evolution-of-horses](https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/advanced-mammals/evolution-of-horses). If the cousin actually has a possibly open mind, drawing attention to that might be useful; it’s quite a clear showing of how one form over enough time can shift into something quite different. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/19 "2020-12-12T19:46:27Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > As has been said, it’s not a matter of monkeys turning into humans. It’s a matter of ancestral primates turning into monkeys, humans, and other apes. Yes, I know. Just to be clear: - My “objection” isn’t about monkeys and humans specifically, but about different species in general. It’s about the fact that distinct species exist, that are not just part of some continuum. - My “objection” is just about the part I find intuitively hardest to grasp. It’s not about what I actually believe or need to be argued out of. And, as I said, the existence of distinct languages does help me to intuitively accept it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895/20 "2020-12-12T19:47:36Z")
I had a conversation with a very minor vendor of ours at work. He spontaneously brought up the fact that he didn’t believe in evolution and laid out the following thought exercise: Suppose you put all of the parts of a fine Rolex in a bag and shook it up, expecting to get a watch out after. Ah-Ha! Watches are too complicated and you’d never pull a complete watch out of the bag. I wasn’t going to engage him but, if I were to, I’d bring up that it doesn’t need to happen within a reasonable number of shakes. But also, after each shake, a duplicate bag of parts is created which is then shaken along with its ‘parent’ and you’d soon have billions of bags of watch parts shaking. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-dont-beleive-in-evolution/927895.md?page=2)