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Video on Evolution to show Creationist?

Started by Dobermonster, March 02, 2012, 01:14:10 AM

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Dobermonster

Normally I wouldn't bother, but my mom and I were having a little chat about creationism and evolution, and she said she was open to discussing it. All her points came from misinformation via creationist propaganda (probably the 'Creationist' magazines I found in the bathroom), and I don't think she's really had an objective explanation of the evidence. I don't expect a miracle (heh), but I figure if she's open to learning about it at all, I might as well find something that can explain the theory clearly, succinctly, but packs as much information as possible. Is that too much to ask?  ;)

Guardian85



"If scientist means 'not the dumbest motherfucker in the room,' I guess I'm a scientist, then."
-Unknown Smartass-

Crow

#2
Journey of Life - Thats a link to the youtube playlist on the BBC documentary series about evolution, altogether its about 5 hours of viewing so might be a bit too much.

The Blind Watchmaker

The Link - Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor

First Life
Retired member.

xSilverPhinx

IMO Dawkins is very good at explaining evolutionary theory to laypeople (even those who haven't had any high school classes on the subject) quite well. The problem is since many people are a bit...erm...hostile towards him they don't really give what he says due attention.

If you want to broaden it to the topic of skepticism in general, then Sagan is the best.

I suggest you read the material she's been reading first, and get to know creationist tactics well before you try and refute them. Focus heavily on the ideas she has on what evolutionary theory is first, before you focus just on the objective evidence. If she doesn't know first that all the creationist arguments are ridiculous strawmen, then she might be more susceptible to confusion.

I like using the 'shock and awe' approach to do this. You could come out and say something like "if ducks would mate with crocodiles and produce crocoducks, then that would mean that there is something really wrong with evolutionary theory. It doesn't predict such a thing. Same thing for two ducks giving birth to a crocoduck. If that were ever to happen then something is patently false and the whole theory would need massive readjusting. That is not what transitional species are all about. And btw, only species evolve, not individuals (gene frequency in populations). And also, the common-sense idea that people have about evolution is basically a Lamarckist one, which was proven to be false (except for epigenetic inheritence) long ago. Larmarckism would say that an individual feels the need to evolve for a certain purpose, does, and passes the trait on. The common giraffes stretching their necks to reach higher branches scenario.   

It's also good to be keenly aware of the fact that most creationists are coming from a know-more-than-those-who-actually-do-know stance and are confident in their ignorance (or disinformation). To those who don't know enough to know otherwise, that's a point in the creationist's favour. Someone spewing out their dribble with confidence makes that person more of an expert than an actual expert in the eyes of the ignorant and scientifically illiterate (if you ever watch debates... :P), so if you're unable to refute her points or answer her questions well, you might do more harm than good and push her more into creationism. 

There's a YouTube Channel which compiles some documentaries on evolution.

You might want to check out Talk Origins for refutations to creationist claims, propaganda and misinformation too. I'm assuming you already have a good understanding of evolutionary theory, but I just thought I'd add the link in case anybody else is reading this.

If you or your mom don't have the time to watch hour-long documentaries, then there are a few good summerised youtube videos (made by people who frequently deal with creationists).

Potholer's 'Made easy' series are really good.

Natural Selection Made Easy

The Theory of Evolution Made Easy

Human Evolution Made Easy

He also has other good videos worth checking out too.

Another excellent YouTube series is AronRa's Foundational Falsehood of Creationism

Qualia Soup's 'Evolution' is good too, but it might be a bit rushed for someone who doesn't have a very basic idea of what evolution is. 

I would also recommend Creationism - Penn & Teller Bullshit! because it's fun ;D
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey