Did we re-evolve after the comet that killed all the dinosaurs?

[Nathon Detroit]

Hey evolutionists I have a question. Did we re-evolve after the comet that killed all the dinosaurs? I was watching some show tonight on the Discovery Channel and it was about all the ways the earth could/might come to an end. One of the "ways" they described was if a large comet struck the earth which could wipe out all life on earth, and they repeatedly discussed the comet that supposedly wiped out all the dinosaurs millions of years ago. They stated that only microscopic life could have survived such an event.

Therefore do they believe that the life we see today basically re-evolved after this alleged comet? Or was this show simply overstating the case? I had never heard such a thing before and it sounds a bit ridiculous.

 

[Toast]

Good question. +)

 

[PlastikBuddha]

Hey evolutionists I have a question. Did we re-evolve after the comet that killed all the dinosaurs? I was watching some show tonight on the Discovery Channel and it was about all the ways the earth could/might come to an end. One of the "ways" they described was if a large comet struck the earth which could wipe out all life on earth, and they repeatedly discussed the comet that supposedly wiped out all the dinosaurs millions of years ago. They stated that only microscopic life could have survived such an event.

More than just microscopic life lived through the catastrophe. Animals like sharks, turtles, crocodilians, and the small mammals that were our ancestors all survived the event.

Therefore do they believe that the life we see today basically re-evolved after this alleged comet?

No.

Or was this show simply overstating the case? I had never heard such a thing before and it sounds a bit ridiculous.

It is extremely ridiculous. Perhaps they were calcualting a bigger strike and merely comparing it to the K2 event to show the difference between a known catastophre and a hypothetical mega-catastrophe or something? :idunno:

 

[Real Sorceror]

As Plastik already stated, no, we do not believe there was a "reset button" when the comet wiped out the dinosaurs. Plenty of lifeforms survived, including mammals.

This is the first time I've heard someone suggest that the comet killed all life on the planet. Since life began here it has had several catastrophic set-backs, sometimes killing as much as 75% (or more) of the existing lifeforms, but to my knowledge nothing has ever set it back to the cellular level.

 

[Spitfire]

Now, this sounds like a good question for OMEGA....

 

[DoogieTalons]

We evolved because of the extinction of the dinosaurs.

We were smaller, had less demands for available resources and much less major predators.

This would have given small mammals freedom to search further and wider for food, which led us on the way to being gatherers, then hunter gatherers then Wall Mart shoppers.

You see about 2.3 million years ago, the earliest Homo species evolved (No giggling at the back) Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago so these mammals had around 63 million years to evolve from small creatures to the ones we know now.

The dinosaurs showed us that with free access to abundant diet you can evolve to be quite large, we are huge compared to the tiny mammals that lived during the age of the dinosaurs, just as Whales are huge in comparison to the dog like creature the evolved from once they got access ot the abundant wealth of competitionless diet in the sea.

Hope this answers your question.

 

[Frank Ernest]

We evolved because of the extinction of the dinosaurs.

That would imply that someone or something somewhere decided that dinosaurs must make way for mammals and that the comet hit was not a random occurrence, but a deliberate action.

We were smaller, had less demands for available resources and much less major predators.

In which case, there was no reason, then, to extinguish the dinosaurs and we're back to random acts of a natural universe.

This would have given small mammals freedom to search further and wider for food, which led us on the way to being gatherers, then hunter gatherers then Wall Mart shoppers.

Prosaic, but doesn't make sense in view of what you stated previously.

You see about 2.3 million years ago, the earliest Homo species evolved (No giggling at the back) Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago so these mammals had around 63 million years to evolve from small creatures to the ones we know now.

The dinosaurs showed us that with free access to abundant diet you can evolve to be quite large, we are huge compared to the tiny mammals that lived during the age of the dinosaurs, just as Whales are huge in comparison to the dog like creature the evolved from once they got access ot the abundant wealth of competitionless diet in the sea.

How could the dinosaurs show us anything since they became extinct? I would think our mammalian ancestors would be more likely avoiding comet hits.

Hope this answers your question.

Raises more questions than it answers.

 

[fool]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_extinction
It's pretty hard to kill everything.

 

[Granite]

Hey evolutionists I have a question. Did we re-evolve after the comet that killed all the dinosaurs? I was watching some show tonight on the Discovery Channel and it was about all the ways the earth could/might come to an end. One of the "ways" they described was if a large comet struck the earth which could wipe out all life on earth, and they repeatedly discussed the comet that supposedly wiped out all the dinosaurs millions of years ago. They stated that only microscopic life could have survived such an event.

Therefore do they believe that the life we see today basically re-evolved after this alleged comet? Or was this show simply overstating the case? I had never heard such a thing before and it sounds a bit ridiculous.

Plenty of smaller mammals (among other things) survived this event so yes, the scenario they posed is pretty ridiculous.

 

[icilian fenner]

That would imply that someone or something somewhere decided that dinosaurs must make way for mammals and that the comet hit was not a random occurrence, but a deliberate action.

Doogie's post merely implies our evolution was a consiquence of the extinction of dinosaurs. Seriously, that's not hard to read..

 

[Little Buzz]

That would imply that someone or something somewhere decided that dinosaurs must make way for mammals and that the comet hit was not a random occurrence, but a deliberate action.

No it doesn't. It doesn't imply anything, it is a statement that without dominant predators, or huge animals eating most of the vegetation, there was an opportunity for the small mammals that survived to evolve and fulfil the roles the dinosaurs used to. It doesn't in any way suggest the comet strike was not random, simply that once it had happened the circumstances were prefect for mammals to evolve.

In which case, there was no reason, then, to extinguish the dinosaurs and we're back to random acts of a natural universe.

No, there was no reason, there was no cause. It just happened.

 

[aharvey]

Hey evolutionists I have a question. Did we re-evolve after the comet that killed all the dinosaurs? I was watching some show tonight on the Discovery Channel and it was about all the ways the earth could/might come to an end. One of the "ways" they described was if a large comet struck the earth which could wipe out all life on earth, and they repeatedly discussed the comet that supposedly wiped out all the dinosaurs millions of years ago. They stated that only microscopic life could have survived such an event.

Therefore do they believe that the life we see today basically re-evolved after this alleged comet? Or was this show simply overstating the case? I had never heard such a thing before and it sounds a bit ridiculous.

Knight, can you help us out here? As scientifically sloppy as the Discovery Channel can be, this one seems extreme even for them. You watched this show "tonight on the Discovery Channel;" I assume this was April 20? But I can't see a single show on their schedule for that day that would logically even discuss this.

 

[dan1el]

That would imply that someone or something somewhere decided that dinosaurs must make way for mammals and that the comet hit was not a random occurrence, but a deliberate action.

Uh, how so?

 

[cattyfan]

So...the comet hit and killed dinasaurs all over the world...but not the other species???

Okay...

 

[Granite]

That's not it at all, catty.

 

[Johnny]

So...the comet hit and killed dinasaurs all over the world...but not the other species???

Okay...

No.

 

[Stripe]

Hey evolutionists I have a question...

Knight.

er.. I'm not an evolutionist, but .... :noid:

Trying to pin down an atheist on the topic of extinction is near impossible. The problem is that there are so many options open for them to assume. I read a textbook to a couple of kids today that mentioned no less than four different means by which the dinosaurs may have died out:

• Asteroid(s).
• Global cooling.
• Volcanoes
• Evolution into birds and reptiles

The article's conclusion was that nobody really understood exactly why. So I naturally added the real reason to the text and insisted that the kids either believe that or were silly.

I think most atheists tend to support the asteroid idea more than anything else. I don't know if it's worth delving any deeper than your initial challenge, but if it is then the question might be how did a meteorite manage to wipe out every and all dino type, but not manage to wipe out everything else.

Such questions usually lead to atheists adding the factors together and insisting that if all the theories work together they might produce what we see today.

Anyway - my challenge is:
How did natural events work together in order to wipe out all the dinosaurs, but not wipe out everything?

 

[Nathon Detroit]

Knight, can you help us out here? As scientifically sloppy as the Discovery Channel can be, this one seems extreme even for them. You watched this show "tonight on the Discovery Channel;" I assume this was April 20? But I can't see a single show on their schedule for that day that would logically even discuss this.

Ahh!!!

My apologies.... it was on the History Channel. And it was called "Last Days on Earth".

It was a pretty slick show with very good special effects. It wasn't a science show (per se) although it did feature scientists on each segment.

The segment about the comet described how the seas would turn to a "battery acid" type fluid that would kill almost everything on the planet. They even had a slick graphic showing humans turning into bugs symbolizing that only the tiny creatures might be able to survive such an event.

Any way... I am not trying to make some sort of "case" against evolution. It just made me curious if this was a serious consideration.

From what I am hearing in this thread it seems the answer is no.

 

[Stripe]

Oh. CF beat me to it :chuckle:

 

[aikido7]

The "comet that killed all the dinosaurs" is a theory, not a fact. There is specific, scientific evidence that points to a break in geologic uniformity and climate trends at the same time the fossil record of the dinosaurs appears to have disappeared, but attributing those demonstrable facts to the appearance of a comet from outer space is conjecture.

There is history--and their is belief about that history.

So is your belief that you summed up in the word "ridiculous." It is a belief. If you can list and defend the actual evidence for your belief you can make a better case for your own theory. That's how science works.