Evolution Is Not Proven

1. Gaps in the fossil record Were all life to have descended from a common ancestor via mutations and natural selection, the fossil record would consistenly show gradual transitions from simple organisms to far more complex organisms. However, this is not the case. The conditions required to form fossils are incredibly rare; we're luck the fossil record is as good as it is. Also we do have transitional fossils like archaeopteryx. The fossil record tells us that for billions of years, only single-celled life and colonial algae existed. Then, within a relatively tiny period of 15 millions years in the Ediacaran period, sponges, worms, and mollusks appeared. No gradual transitions between these and their (supposed) single-celled ancestors have ever been found. Again the conditions for the formation of fossils are incredibly rare; also we do have fossils of soft bodied creatures from the Edicaran for example: Also the cambrian explosion isn't quite as impressive as it sounded in Darwin's time; recent evidence suggest that the diversification was no more rapid than other evolutionary radiations. In addition to that the cambrian explosion is marked largely by the sudden appearance of skeletons and shells which fossilize much easier than the remains of soft bodied animals so it's likely that the cambrian explosion was actually the "sudden" appearance of shells and exoskeletons causing us to find more fossils at the beginning of th cambrian. The phyla that supposedly appeared probably were formed sometime before the cambrian before shells became abundant. There are significant differences between a single-celled bacterium and a sponge. A sponge doesn't just have multiple cells, it has multiple types of cells. Also, while a bacteria can only reproduce asexually, sponges reproduce sexually. No fossils of expected transitionals between bacteria and sponges have been found. There should be some organism to bridge the gap between single-cellularity and multi-cellularity, like a 2-celled one. There also needs to be an organism to bridge the gap between having only 1 type of cell, to having upwards of 5 and 10. But there isn't. According to the fossil record, intepreting it under the assumption that all life shares a common ancestor, bacteria suddenly developed multi-cellularity, multiple types of cells, and sexual reproduction all at once! Bacteria are not made of things that fossilize easily and virtually nothing before the cambrian has shells. So while bacteria CAN fossilize it's not very common. Also molecular clocks and bio-markers suggest that sponges existed well before the cambrian during the edicaran But it gets better. Both mollusks and worms appeared alongside sponges, with no gradual transition between them and their supposed single-celled ancestors. Mollusks have not 1, and not 5, or 12, but dozens of different tissues and organs, which require dozens of various cell types! Gaps in the fossil record are to be expected; also the ancestors of mollusks and worms were likely around during the edicaran but shells started to be seen in the cambrian. OVERALL All of pro's above arguments are based on the absence of transitional fossils between single cells and multi cellular organisms and the rapid appearance of several major phyla in the cambrian. The main problem is that the conditions for the formation of fossils are rare and the fossilization of soft bodied organisms even rarer. The other problem with the cambrian explosion is that recent evidence shows that the diversification of life during the cambrian wasn't any ore rapid than other evolutionary radiations. In this period, completely new body plans appear, with alterations in the number of eyes, legs and segments, as well novel, mythological-appearing features. These all generally represent completely new morphological forms than those found earlier in the fossil record. That's right, the differences between a pet Goldfish and an attractive woman are not significant enough to warrant separate phylum! But over 10 brand new phylum suddenly appear in the Cambrian, with absolutely no gradual transition! That; my friend is what we call punctuated equilibrium-basically in periods of environmental stability animals stay mostly the same in a phase called stasis, but when a large environmental disruption evolution occurs rapidly(within the amount of time the cambrian explosion occured) in a process called Cladogenesis which creates a large variety of sister species over a short period of time(geologically speaking.) Also that comment about the differences between a goldfish and a woman not being enough to warrant different phyla is an argument from personal incredulity; a logical fallacy. I don't have room to fully explain the evidence for evolution so here are two links: Experimental evidence of evolution: http://en.wikipedia.org... Evidence of common descent: http://en.wikipedia.org... SOURCES http://en.wikipedia.org... http://en.wikipedia.org... NOTE TO PRO: your source is outdated; since the 1980s we have found a lot more evidence for evolution, edicaran fossil, and also have disproved several earlier ideas about evolution.