If we evolved from apes then how come there are still ?

I just want these damned athiests and their evilution to tell us what couch potatoes evolved from, since there is no conceivable way except through [insert deity of choice here] for an ape to become a tuber.

First of all we didn't evolve from apes. We and the apes evolved from a common ancestor. Which was probably very much like an ape. Secondly, apes are still evolving! Given time, millions of years, they might evolve into more intelligent beings! Some people used to think black people in Africa were evolving apes, but not as far evolved as us. (No kidding! They really did! This was a justification for slavery.) Some species have been around for tens of millions of years without changing at all. Alligators and crocodiles, for instance, have been just the same since the time of the dinosaurs. So why didn't they evolve? There is a part of evolutionary theory called 'punctuated equilibrium' that explains why part of a population evolves and part doesn't. The way it works (according to the theory) is that a population of animals evolves to match their environment. Once they do, they stop changing because they are 'perfectly' evolved for their environment. Then some group of these animals leave that environment--for instance, the valley where they live is crowded so they migrate over the hills into the next valley. The environment there is different, so those few of those animals who are better suited to the new environment have an advantage, so they they begin evolving again until they once more reach 'equilibrium' with their new environment. So now you have two species, or subspecies, where before you had only one. In fact this was what led Darwin to this theory in the first place. He visited the Galapagos Islands where each island had a slightly different variety of turtles, birds, etc., because the environments of these islands were all a little different. Meanwhile those crocodiles, who have been in equilibrium with their environment for all this time, haven't changed much in 40 million years, because their environment hasn't changed!

"Man descended from monkeys" is not totally right. Man and today's monkeys evolved separately. Man belongs to a group called apes - not monkeys. Apes, as in Gorillas, Chimpanzees and such. They are all our uncles, in the evolutionary family. All apes, including man descended from an ancient ape-like ancestor. This occured over millions of years. See, a monkey cannot simply give birth to a human. What happened was that slowly, one by one the ape lioke characters of the ancestral hominid were replaced by humanoid ones.

For example, imagine an ape is born with a defect in the spine that allows it to stand straight.... Now it is normal for humans to stand straight, but it is not so for apes.... Now this straight standing ape has kids who can stand straight and their kids can stand straight and it goes on...

In the same way, imagine another ape learnt how to use a stone to cut fruits... It was able to learn it because a small change in its brain makes it different from its parents. Now the kids and grandkids of this stone using ape can also use the stones.

Now imagine that a descendant of the stone using ape and the straight standing ape have babies, now the babies can do both... i.e. Stand straight and use stones as tools...

So what were once purely unintelligent animals running on all fours are now erect and tool wielding. But how long will it take for all these steps to happen..??? Each generation takes atleast around 30 years and quite a large no. of generations have to pass only for these two characters to come into one creature...

Now imagine how long it'll take for all humanoid characters to develop and come into one creature....??? Millions of years.... That's why you don't see monkeys giving birth to human babies.

And evolution changes things and makes new copies of the new things... It doesn't delete theo old ones unless and until they cannot survive the new evironment...

I hope that answered your question. If you have any further doubts feel free to ask me. You can find me at andalite_friends@yahoo.com

And from where did Grape Ape come? No one ever saw a grape vine grow an ape.

Cause we didn't, the evolution from apes is a man made theory.

Until Doc Brown finishes fixing the flux-capacitor, there's no way to tell for sure.

*Edit* OK, thumb-downers, show me physical evidence that our forefathers to the Nth degree are apes. You can't no more than I can show you, we were instantly created; all we can do is stand around and theorize our a**es off all day.

They haven't figured that one out yet. Come back in another 50 years as they are still working on finding the origin of the species. There aren't too many intelligent signs of life in that there scientific community.

I'm astounded at the wanton misunderstanding of the theory of evolution shown on this forum, I am not exactly sure of the answer, but I would rather trust scientists, than a rather obvious 'for profit' quasi christian sect, that advocates ignorance.

Hey also... how come apes arent evolving to humans anymore why did it suddenly stop..??

lol

I think that is how the "hairy palms" thing came about.

Now this is the best thing I have ever seen from you.

Thank you ...........