The Definitive Guide to Debunking Creationists Part 2: Abiogenesis

We just finished discussing creationist talking points regarding cosmology and planetary science. Now let's check out some things they say regarding abiogenesis, or the origin of life on Earth from non-living matter. This is absolutely inconceivable to any creationist, who insists that life was made nice and special by their deity, whether in its current form or as something more primitive which then evolved to some degree. They do not understand the science behind the origin of life, the research that has been going on in this field for 75 years, and their talking points illustrate this immaculately. Let's clarify a few things together!

Check out "Is This Wi-Fi Organic?", my book on disarming pseudoscience!

[vitalbuggy]

Hello Dave. On the off chance that you end up reading this, I would like to thank you on behalf of the people in parts of the world where religious dogma is omnipresent. I myself come from a country in the middle east, where I have been exposed to religious dogma for my whole life, and for years I thought there was something wrong with me for not being able to accept their arguments based on fallacious reasoning and purely unscientific explanations. I don't know if anyone has ever told you this, but you are a very important component for intellectually curious minds born into these conglomerates. Your videos on these kinds of people give us a sense of sanity for what we believe in, in a micro-world full of people calling these ideas "scientific dogma". Every single video of yours I watch, my immense respect grows for you, as you do what many people dare not to in this age of intellectual dishonesty and propaganda.

Once again, thank you very much, and please keep doing what you're doing. It's pivotal in preventing the downfall of human civilization and educating the masses on what we actually know, not the conclusions reached by bullshit ad-hoc reasoning.

[ChristianIce]

I don't have anything against Homochirals, as long as they replicate themselves in the privacy of their houses.

[shassett]

Has anyone else noticed a recent trend in which creationists try really hard to equate abiogenesis with Spontaneous Generation?

[GamePlayMetal]

I love how the watchmaker argument is inherently incoherent and self defeating. If we find a watch on a beach, we can indeed tell it's designed, which is why we single it out from... all the nature around it which is obviously NOT designed. lmao

[RoddHarding]

I was in a meeting room waiting for people to show up. So I was making small talk witht the first guy that showed up. He brought up how amazing cells are and dropped the name James Tour. What a weird feeling. I was suddenly looking into the eyes of some strange creature and I had to choose my words carefully.

[Gremriel]

While I listen to this, I hear James Tour screaming in the distance.

[ChristianIce]

"Do it in a lab or it isn't true"
- This is not how it worked
"DO IT!"
- Ok, as long as you shut up... done.
"You see, you used your intelligence to do it, it means the process requires an intelligent designer!"
:|

[AbsoluteAmoeba]

Always a good day when Professor Dave debunks creationists.

[dreamworld]

Dave destroyed James Tour yet again without even mentioning his name. Loved all the (not-so) subtle shots!

[DeadEyeJedi]

The problem is, it isn't about facts, it never was.
We seem to have reached a position where people actually think that being 'right' is the same as being agreed with by other people who share their views.
The whole reason Science was created was because we are human, we needed a system that did its best to remove our own biases from observation, whereas things like Creationism and Flat Earth are, quite literally, observer bias made manifest. Only the outcomes that can be presented in such a way as they appear to meet the desired results are used. Sometimes the manipulation is sub-conscious, but often it is not. it's the difference between feeling you are 'right' and feeling you are 'accurate'.

[gabri]

The values of the Enlightenment are sadly being degraded in this post-modern, post-truth society. Guys like Dave are heroes of reason.

[lukesnyder]

I, for one, am grateful for the creationists. If not for them, we might never have gotten this excellent primer on abiogenesis!

[otopico]

I am loving this series. Having been raised as a young Earth creationist, I wasn't exposed to evolution in an honest way until I was in my 20s. And while seeing similar systems and constructions (like being able to see how bones in a lizard foot are similar to a human foot) the place where I struggled with seeing how well the concept of evolution explains what we see boiled down to "why did this happen instead of that?".

This video, as well as many of your previous ones, layout the step by step of what we think happened in a way where it makes the pieces fall in together. Like with chirality, that it might be something as simple as one requires slightly less energy than the other to explain why one is seen more prominently takes a complicated concept, and makes it easy to understand.

Your cosmology series was like this as well. The steps from the Big Bang to atoms then matter then everything takes a very complicated process and makes it understandable without ever need to revet to the crutch of my youth; "faith"

I have been watching your content for years and have been guided into learning more about our natural world where Im at the point that the fairytales of my youth seem tired and lazy, and the science seems almost like magic, and I cannot get enough of this stuff.

Thank you Dave. Your work allows someone like me to find the same sense of awe and wonder I had as a child, but with some understanding of the things I am seeing that makes this universe we liven even more awe inspiring.

And I have evidence of it. Not faith.

[_KnuXles]

"Nature tries everything and keeps what works" is such a brilliant way to word it. Creationists are basically just victims of survivor bias.

[leopard]

"if you want to understand the truth, you will have to resist the urge to see whatever suits you.”

- T Ellery Hodges

[qdzkzsf]

Creationists are the kind of people who think evolution is not real because a bottle of Mt Dew cannot give birth to a dinosaur.

[danemanton]

Cant get enough of this! waiting for the upcoming parts is like waiting for a new season of a show to come out lol..also will be binge watching the entire series when all parts are released...bring on the 3 hour edition!! love ya Prof. Dave

[IOSALive]

Professor Dave Explains, ur content makes me happy

[hrtofvenus]

dave, if you’re seeing this, thank you so much for what you do. as a student who loves both biology and internet drama, you’re one of my favorite youtubers to watch whenever i want to listen to something

[stevenprutton]

Imagine living in a world where we start going backwards intellectually, and need to fight tooth and nail to prove what we've already learned...wait...