Eliezer- Your point about Darwin having found God—just not the one anybody was hoping for—is brilliant. The problems evolution poses for religion are obvious, but thats the first time I’ve seen it framed that way. Great post.
Though one nitpick I would offer: (which might be helpful if you’re planning on referencing this post in the future?) Saying your sister shares half your genes is a bit off. If your sister shares only half your genes that would make her something closer to an earth worm or perhaps a house plant (I forget exactly how the commonality of genes among organisms breaks down). I think if you clarify it with ‘your sister shares half the genes that differentiate you genetically from the human race’, this might be more correct. Or perhaps its that half her DNA is sequenced exactly like yours? Point is, if you’re endeavoring to clear up some of the misconceptions about evolution, you might want to be a little more exacting with how you talk about genes.
Eliezer- Your point about Darwin having found God—just not the one anybody was hoping for—is brilliant. The problems evolution poses for religion are obvious, but thats the first time I’ve seen it framed that way. Great post.
Though one nitpick I would offer: (which might be helpful if you’re planning on referencing this post in the future?) Saying your sister shares half your genes is a bit off. If your sister shares only half your genes that would make her something closer to an earth worm or perhaps a house plant (I forget exactly how the commonality of genes among organisms breaks down). I think if you clarify it with ‘your sister shares half the genes that differentiate you genetically from the human race’, this might be more correct. Or perhaps its that half her DNA is sequenced exactly like yours? Point is, if you’re endeavoring to clear up some of the misconceptions about evolution, you might want to be a little more exacting with how you talk about genes.