False Arguments #23 & #24: The Sufficiency Of Microevolution TropesThere are two equal but opposite errors I see again and again in ostensibly educated discussions about evolution, and both of them involve ignorance about what scientists mean when they use the words macroevolution and microevolution, (hereafter Ma and Mi, respectively).
The creationist or believer who maintains that Ma is impossible or unproven shows an ignorance of science paralleled only by the atheist or skeptic who maintains that such is untrue because Ma is just cumulative Mi. These are what I call the sufficiency of microevolution tropes, and both of them distort scientific accuracy concerning the facts of evolution.
As genuine thinkers, we need to know what to look out for here, so first let's discuss the terms.
On Begging The Question And The Futility Of Circular ArgumentationI was never impressed by people who argued the Bible was true because the Bible said so. Very long ago I decided that if I was to study any one religion, I should study them all. This eventually led to the expanded horizon of studying religion's absence, which to me is philosophically futile without an accounting for existence. Hence my lifelong study of evolution.
The Fossil RecordThe fossil record is a term used to refer to the sum total of fossils discovered in the bowels of the Earth.
Earth is composed of rock layers called strata, and the science of studying these layers is called stratigraphy. Usually occurring in layers of sedimentary rock distributed around the world, a fossil is any geological imprint of a once-living life form and the study of fossils is known as paleontology.