Evolution

a scientific theory that all life on earth descended from a common ancestor. evolution has been repeatedly proven and observed time and time again, yet most of the morons writing definitions for evolution on definithing.com choose to ignore that.
average creotard/mentally r-t-rded redneck: evolution b’aint be reel cuz dat der bibl tingy be sayin’ su!
the idea that organisms change over time, and that is change occurs through natural selection which allows favorable traits to be p-ssed along through generations. it has been refered to as a theory, which, in science, means it is an idea that has not been disproven. many scientists are moving towards calling it the law of evolution, similar to the law of gravity, in order to help reduce frivolous claims that it is “only a theory” by people ignorant of what a scientific theory entails.
some (especially miseducated critics) refer to macro and microevolution. there is no such thing. evolution is evolution. fruit flys, rats, frogs, etc., have all been observed undergoing character change in laboritories, resulting in the inability to mate with other members of the base species (the control), thus forming a new species. several examples of so-called macroevolution (the change at a genus level) have been observed by biologists in the rain forest. furthermore, good fossil evidence shows transition between genera, and even higher taxanomic orders (incorrectly called kingdom, phylum, etc. – current work in phylogentic taxonomy does away with linnean ranks). representatives of higher order change in the fossil record includes change with fish, fish to amphibians, with amphibians, within reptiles, “reptiles” to dinosaurs, within dinosaurs, dinosaurs to “birds”, within “birds”, “reptiles” to mammals, within mammals, and other mammals to humans. i am not mentioning invertebrates here, as i do not deal with them in my line of work. see current molecular and physical phylogenetic phylogenies in nature, science, journal of vertebrate paleontology, etc., all of which are peer reviewed, something most parties who oppose evolution will not do (publish in peer-reviewed journals).
evolution has nothing to do with the big bang – that is astronomy, not biology.
the synthysis and subsequent radiation and adaptation of life is a wonderful and beautiful thing, and far more complex than the, “we don’t look like fish, so can’t have evolved,” argument presented by many whom view evolution/natural selection as the work of the devil.
a good example of evolution is the fossil record showing the transition between fish and amphibians, or dinosaurs and birds.
1. the process by which one state changes into another. anything which is not static evolves over time. the word evolution specifically excludes any connotation of improvement or progress, so even ‘negative’ changes are evolution. in biology, this definition is often observed in terms of the change of gene frequencies in natural populations. there is no controversy about this definition.

2. the theory that species give rise to other species. this process of speciation can be accomplished in a number of ways, all of which must result in two (or more) populations becoming genetically isolated. this can be accomplished physically (allopatry and peripatry) or through division of patch types or through behavioral mechanisms (sympatry). this has been observed at low taxonomic levels. for instance, wheat is a modern species resulting from 2 instances of non-disjunction and one hybridization event that all occurred within the last 5000 years. the original plant has been identified from seeds from tombs in egypt.

the creation of new higher level taxa is often referred to as macroevolution by non-scientists, but this usage is incorrect. the only difference between the origins of higher taxa and species is time. today’s species will eventually give rise to genera as they continue to diverge from their sister-taxa and continue to speciate themselves. all higher taxa were once just a species. macroevolution properly refers to selection that operates above the species level, such as the selective pressure across the k-t boundary on gastropods which favored genera (but not species) with wide geographic ranges.

i’ll note that theory is the most certain science ever is. in this case, it means that over the last century and a half, plus the observations from before the theory’s proposal, no evidence has been found that contradicts the theory of evolution. by the same token, gravity is a theory, and thermodynamics is a theory. ‘law’ is just scientific shorthand for a theory that no one thinks will ever be disproved, and may soon be applied to evolution.
1. the reaction was in a critical phase of its evolution.

2. the fossil sequence of horses is an excellent example of evolution
how your pokemon change at certain levels!
“my charamander got to level 16 and evolved into charmeleon!”

“that’s evolution”
in the beginning we were all fish, swimming around in the water. and then one day a couple of fish had a r-t-rd baby, and the r-t-rd baby was different so it got to live. so r-t-rd fish goes on to make more r-t-rd babies, and then one day a r-t-rd baby fish crawled out of the ocean with its mutant fish hands, and it had b-tt s-x with a squirrel or something, and made r-t-rd frog-squirrel. and then that had a r-t-rd baby which was a monkey-fish-frog, and then this monkey-fish-frog had b-tt s-x with another monkey, and then that monkey had a mutant r-t-rd baby that screwed another monkey, and then that screwed another monkey and then that made you. so there you go, you’re the r-t-rded offspring of five monkeys having b-tt s-x with a fish-squirrel, congratulations.
evolution explains how we evolved
a car
mitsubishi lancer
1. in biology: descent with modification. change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of new species.

2. in everyday speech: a gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form.
1. darwin’s theory of evolution does for biology what quantum mechanics does for physics.

2. it is interesting to note the evolution in computers over the years.

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