>Yes, I do see what you mean. However, when you say that humans came
>from the ocean and r for this reason they have webbed hands, etc., you
>are asserting facts as though you really KNOW it to be the case that
>humans were ever in the water full time. I am just saying it is
>not fact until you prove it as such.
The aquatic ape theory doesn't say we lived in the ocean like dolphins.
It says we spend a long time near the ocean, perhaps living off of
shellfish. It is trying to explain why we are the only primate with
a subcutaneous fat layer (like dolphins and whales), why we are the
only ape with a diving response (human babies instinctively hold
their breath under water, chimpanzee babies don't), why our hair
follicles follow streamline patterns on our bodies (as opposed to
the other primates), why we don't have fur, etc., etc. If you want
to read more about it, there is a book by Elaine Morgan called
The Aquatic Ape. It is out of print, but you can find it at a
university library.
When is a theory proven?
>Your big yellow thing in the sky is something that we can all
>observe and speculate about--some of us have access to bigger
>telescopes than others, etc., but the facts are not really in
>dispute.
The fact is that we have a lot of features in common with
aquatic mammals, but different than other primates.
>However, there are very few facts as to the changing of man from one
>species to another, i.e., a primate to human. Scientists produce
>such things as Lucy as proof. I'm just saying their proof ought to
>be more scientific--less tampered with. It is not a FACT that man
Lucy is a small part in a huge body of knowledge. I don't know
the details, but I doubt the theory of the evolution of humans
hinges on this one fossil.
>came from apes. It is speculation--a guess made by SOME scientists.
>But do not tell me it is the same as fact--that is is an adequate
>description of reality. I feel that it is necessary to make this
>point because when people speak of this, i.e. apes to human, they
>speak as though it were fact and not an educated guess to describe
>the situation--a theory.
Yes, people often confuse theories and facts. Especially because
a lot of observations are theory-laden, and a lot of theories are
so well supported they can be treated like facts. (Few people
question the existence of the sun.)
-- David McFadzean david@lucifer.com Memetic Engineer http://www.lucifer.com/~david/ Church of Virus http://www.lucifer.com/virus/