5 Common Myths About Evolution | Mashable

There have been plenty of misconceptions on the web regarding evolution. To clear the confusion, we've debunked five of the most common myths.

Myth #1:

Myth #2:

Myth #3:

Myth #4:

Myth #5:

Music:
"The Owl Named Orion” by danosongs

Mashable is the leading independent news site for all things tech, social media, and internet culture.

Photo Credits:
“birds 1” by ashraful kadir is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Fish” by LFBRewer is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Black Board, White Chalk” by sputnik is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“#537 Handprint” by Mikael Miettinen is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Molecule display” by net_efekt is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Army scientists energize battery research” by U.S. Army RDECOM is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Dinosaurs in Great Hall_0173” by James Emery is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Picadilly Circus” by mrdoubtfire is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Crowd 04” by Bobo Boom is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Until the Cows Come Home” by Marc Dalmulder is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Milk 2” by Andrew Magill is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Lizard 101” Adrian Scottow is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Proud Mother” by Rodney Campbell is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Herd of Zebras in Serengeti” is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Elephant Easting Bamboo” by Robert W. Howington is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Evolution of the Human” by T. Michael Keesey is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Army scientists energize battery research” by U.S. Army RDECOM is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Corps biologists monitor bird nests near Brunswick Harbor” by U.S. Army Corps of Engineering is licensed under CC BY 2.0

"Große Essigfliege - Drosophila funebris ?” by “gbohne” is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Bacteria solution” by Umberto Salvagnin is licensed under CC BY 2.0

"Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Bacteria” by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Antibiotics” by Sheep purple is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Squirrel Monkey” by Jacob Bøtter is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Chimpanzee” by William Warby is licensed under CC BY 2.0

"Homo heidelbergenesis skull - front - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17” by Tim Evanson is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Gorillas” by Safari Partners is licensed under CC BY 2.0

"Family ... (SINGAPORE ZOO/CHIMPANZEE) IV” by Chi King is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Juvenile Bonobo” by Mark Dumont is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Baby Face” by Praytino is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Biodiversity” by Dan McKay is licensed under CC BY 2.0

[SanePerson]

It was quite good even if it seems a bit rushed.
I have one pet peeve though: Almost everyone (in the US) thinks a “doctor” is clinical MD. Given that, it annoys me to see it said that “doctors are developing new antibiotics” – which is only rarely true. Organic chemists, bacteriologists, or even just "scientists" - they are the ones who develop new antibiotics.

[nerdytshirts]

I was hoping to see intelligent conversation in the comments. Who am I kidding? This is the internet.

[sirlordford]

It's true that knuckle draggers do still exist and thrive in Youtube comments. Hard to believe that so many people have an issue with the basic premise of this video.

[MrMonk]

Reading the comments makes me feel better about my intelligence levels. 

[timstring]

Excellent! 🙆 so much information in so little time along with cool 😎 background sound and video effects.

[NinjaSheepXGaming]

What is the proof for how we know about point 2?

[Mandraquex]

Prime example of modern day scaled down evolution is the fact of change in various species in the south east, in response to the introduction of fire ants (from south america) less than 100 years ago.

[technolus]

So... people commenting here supposedly watched the video, but many seem to hold the same preconceptions that were mentioned in the video. That either means that they outright disregarded the facts mentioned because of a perceived conflict with their preconceptions or they did some research and failed to obtain information that is correct. Some of the things being asserted in the comments are of a complete and utter lack of understanding of the subject and of a noticeable lack of mental power.

[DarDarBinks]

Anyone who asks, "If humans came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?" might as well ask, "If dogs came from wolves, why are there still wolves?" The principle is the same in either case: population genetics. Hell, we didn't merely come "from monkeys"; as members of the parvorder Catarrhini, we ARE monkeys by definition! One of the cardinal laws of evolution: Thou shalt not grow out of thy ancestry. Whether you like it or not, we're still apes, primates, eutherian mammals, cynodont therapsids, synapsid amniotes, and vertebrate deuterostome animals in the same way and for the same reason that birds are dinosaurs, lions are cats, hamsters are rodents, and snakes are lizards.

Asking when our recessed ancestors "stopped being apes" and "started being humans" is silly. You don't stop being one thing and start being another. To do so would be like looking at a time-lapse video of your own life and trying to identify the date and time you had no more childish traits but were a fully mature adult. You can't do it. For the same reason, if you could view all your consecutive ancestors over a million generations, it would be impossible to positively ID any one individual as the first human. You'd only find communities where individuals show subtle differences from one another. You could not pinpoint the year when these once-unique traits came to dominate the whole tribe, nor could you find any one individual who was unable to interbreed with anyone from the generation before. You would, however, find a collection of chemically interfertile contemporaries whose genetic maps have grown so unique as to be incompatible with cousins who are thousands or a million generations distant. Life isn't as static as people imagine. Living designs are a fluid mechanic. The longer a population is divided in isolation from one another, the harder it'll be to bridge the ever-widening genetic gap and produce viable offspring. Eventually, both groups will accrue so many genetic differences as to be reproductively isolated from one another, and that's when speciation occurs.

[hughweinrich]

1) A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is acquired through the scientific method, and repeatedly confirmed through observation and experimentation
?? --> How has Evolution (specifically the evolution of one class to an other class i.e. Ornithischian (dinosaurs) to Aves (birds) ) been proven through the scientific method, and repeatedly confirmed through observation and experimentation?

[TheGoldFencer]

I think the whole concept of evolution being 'chance' (i.e. the evolution of the eye, for example, is said to be, by a creationist, like a hurricane travelling through a junkyard and creating a brand new car) is also very common that I would include and debunk. It comes up too often when discussing this topic and needs to be cleared up. Evolution is not chance, but much the opposite. Its even in the name, natural SELECTION.

[Rettihsllub]

Who did the music for that video? I thought it was pretty good.

[Dazercade]

If I wanted to read a video I would just go get a book. That's why we have ears. Get it?

[chazpeterson]

I hate how they do these truth, or false things. The description maybe true, but I am guessing for half the video on what your saying, cause your saying its false, but you say true?

[Waelahmedhh]

I called them not to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor (even) their own creation: nor is it for helpers such as Me to take as lead (men) astray!

The Quran, Sura 18, Ayah 51

[donob]

u guys should've had someone read along, but still a good video

[symbolxchannel]

1:20 "Populations, not individual organisms, evolve. And it takes a while."

Said this way, it isn't totally true… I think what you meant is that individual organisms don't *genetically* evolve. They mutate and adapt… (Mostly trough epigenetic)

Also, it may take "a while" to evolve, depending what is meant by "a while"… Some bacterias evolve within days (hours?)… I don't consider this "a while".

[cyberkreig]

This video makes the critical mistake of assuming that those that do not understand evolution are both willing and able to read.

[ellavader]

Whether you believe The Theory of Evolution is accurate (called Truth in the video) or an educated guess regarding origins, it is first and foremost a Theory.  Many believe in it 'religiously', just as much a religious people believe in their creator.  I consider this video weak in defending, appears to be written by a high school science teacher...

[cyborgninja]

I like how the extinct common ancestors are not labled.