Four billion years of evolution in six minutes | Prosanta Chakrabarty

Did humans evolve from monkeys or from fish? In this enlightening talk, ichthyologist and TED Fellow Prosanta Chakrabarty dispels some hardwired myths about evolution, encouraging us to remember that we're a small part of a complex, four-billion-year process -- and not the end of the line. "We're not the goal of evolution," Chakrabarty says. "Think of us all as young leaves on this ancient and gigantic tree of life -- connected by invisible branches not just to each other, but to our extinct relatives and our evolutionary ancestors."

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more.

[markcamposo]

"We're also not the goal of evolution."

[muditsingh]

Never underestimate a Bengali's love for fish.

[tomriddle]

That "talk" feels like an introduction to a talk that is missing.

[artiet]

I would like to see 3 hours of this talk

[murashafyee]

This brings a whole other light to "there's plenty of fish in the sea"

[lohphat]

If we all came from grandparents then why do we still have cousins?

Derp.

[neveenazzam]

Sorry my ancestors, I still can't swim 🐟🐟🐟

[cprantik]

Wow... awesome.... as a bengali i can relate to his love of fish..

[singhsingh]

You have too comforting eyes, I literally slept watching this.

[GiraffeVortex]

People take this idea as an affront to their identity, and so they don't give it a fair chance. Without religious bias, people could see the true wonder of life and evolution

[chris_..]

This is a very accessible talk, that should be spread all around our Educational System. This is the only way to preserve, in a way, our existence, or at least to drive us to treat ourselves in the right way.

[JustOneAsbesto]

Sweet baby Elvis. These comments.

Religious people be angry.

[raunvk]

It's good to see a fellow Bengalee holding a TED talk. Kudos.

[MRJOKER]

imagine how life would look a couple billion years from now...

[ericm]

The real deal for The tail bone.

The “tail bone” is the small triangular bone at the lower end of your back bone or vertebral column. Early anatomists thought it was shaped “like a cuckoo’s beak” they gave it the name coccyx (from the Latin for Cuckoo). They didn’t call it a tail because it doesn’t look like one.

Pelvic BonesIt’s nickname of “tail bone” came from Darwin and his followers who believed it was the useless or vestigial remains of a tail, left over from monkey-like evolutionary ancestors. However, this bone is no more useless than any other bone in the body. So what does it do?

One person found the answer the hard way when he tore the ligaments attached to his’ tail bone’ whilst doing sports training. He writes about the experience: “ I knew something was badly wrong when I could only walk by shuffling each leg forward using my upper body strength. If I was standing up, that’s where I preferred to stay. It was too painful to try and sit down. If I was sitting down, I didn’t want to get up – shifting position was exquisite agony.”

Medical research has shown that the muscles which help us sit or stand, all gain their ability to move us only because they are attached to our fully functional and necessary so called ‘tail bone’ which of course means that human beings do not actually have a useless or even vestigial “tail bone”! The coccyx is fully functional part of the system of bones, ligaments and muscles of the pelvis, that protects and supports the pelvic organs, and contributes to our upright stance and walking. It provides stable anchorage points for ligaments and muscles which is an essential function of all bones. Without this – we don’t move. Bones must never be considered in isolation, since they are part of an integrated musculoskeletal system that supports and protects body organs, and enables us to move.

The claim that the tail bone or coccyx is useless, and therefore must be evidence for evolution, as well as evidence against creation, (because no intelligent Creator would make useless organs) is claim made out of ignorance. The human musculo-skeletal system shows all the evidence of brilliant creation. Consider how much clever engineering has already gone into attempts to make a robot that can walk like a human. When robot scientists do manage this it will be because of intelligent, creative design and engineering, not because of chance random processes.I
www.needgod.com

[doodelay]

So many people are in denial. It's plainly true but only if you look at the evidence and understand what scientists are saying without any political misinterpretation. That said, this TED talk actually wasn't remotely long enough or detailed enough to present the evidence.

[notalpharious]

#Principlesofcommnication

The speaker non-verbal communication tells that the speaker is used to speaking in large crowds. This can be seen because he always maintains eye contact with his audience and he uses hands gestures as he speaks. His verbal communication is also very good he speaks in a steady way and he also goes straight to the point after his introduction without wasting the time of the listener.

[nklakv]

Our whole universe was in a hot dense state, nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started...

[MrFancyFingers]

I’m related to all of you, and everything.
My great great whatever grandfather was a trilobite.

[markbowden]

Great Speaker. I can even forgive him for the way he says Fungi.... short and sweet. Thanks.