Is evolution a mystery?full of changes no one sees?

Evolution is like a 32 mm movie. we only live in one or a few frames of the movie, and it takes many frames to recognize the change. The main problem, using the movie analogy, is that we find individual frames here and there, and with effort, we can place these things into some sort of order and see the overall direction of the movie, but there are missing frames, and even occasional entire sequences, so the details are a lot more difficult to work out.

We know that all of the individual frames and short sequences do come from the same movie though, and there is a definite progress that we can see in the movie. Characters appear and then are no longer. It is figuring out the why and the how that is the challenge, not that it happens. We CAN see the changes, but the changes require a longer perspective than the usual life span of an individual human. This is not quite true, because we do see changes in existing more rapidly-reproducing life forms, but most of what we see in the historic (geological) record covers much larger time frames than even centuries, never mind decades, years, or months that are the time frame of individual existence.

Evolutionary history is not directly observable. Neither is the history of mankind. After all, did you observe the building of the Roman Colosseum? Did you ever meet Aristotle? All of the people who saw the Colosseum being built are long gone, and so are people who met Aristotle. We know the Colosseum existed because part of it remains. Similarly, we have the remains of many extinct organisms to show that they once existed. In fact, enough fossils exist that scientists were able to figure out that mammals evolved from a therapsid reptile, that whales evolved from a primitive artiodactyl, and that horses and camels evolved in North America.

Even though organisms are still evolving, we now know that they don't do it continuously and incrementally. In fact, according to the theory of Punctuated Equilibrium, which is well supported by evidence, a species changes very little during its entire lifetime, and that most of the changes happen when a new species evolves from an existing one. Since no one can predict when, where and which species may be the next one to evolve, it is extremely difficult to figure out where to look and which species to observe even if someone were able to live long enough to observe a new species evolve. So, just because something cannot be observed directly by a human being in real time does not mean that it is not real. Certainly there are lots of things about how evolution works that we still do not understand, and there are still unanswered questions as to which organisms are the ancestors of such animals as turtles and birds, but that in no way disprove that birds and turtles evolved from some other animals, nor does it disprove that evolution actually occurs.

No, it is not a mystery. Biological evolution is observable, testable and repeatable.

Biological evolution is quite simple:

1) Living things replicate.

2) Sometimes there are errors in replication, mutations.

3) The mutation either continues to replicate or it doesn’t. (This is called “natural selection”.)

Though the process of evolution can be stated simply, it has far reaching implications.

Because of evolution, every person on Earth except identical twins has DNA different from everyone else. More reliable than fingerprints for identification, the DNA can also identify familial and species associations.

Evolution is not a mystery. With a small effort most people can understand it.

Many of the changes that result from evolution cannot be seen because we cannot see individual genes. We can readily see many of the changes in phenotype that result from evolution.

Just because you do not see something happening does not mean it happens. Next time you eat mayonnaise you will not see how individual water molecules and oil interact but you will still have mayonnaise.

Let me give you 2 examples of easily observable mutation/evolution:

1) E coli that can routinely metabolize citrate:

The Lenski experiment shows evolution in action. E. coli was grown on plates where nutrients were extremely limited, but citrate - which E. coli can't normally use - was in abundance. Over about 20 years, the bacteria evolved the ability to use citrate. Genetic analysis has shown the specific mutations that allowed this to happen, as well as confirmed that it is, indeed, E. coli and not some outside contaminant.

If that is NOT Evolution, what is it? The E. coli did not start with a gene to metabolize citrate, and it took 2 gene mutation to allow then to prosper.

2) Lizards that normally eat insects have been placed in an environment where they need to eat more plants. As a result, over about 30 years, they have developed valves (cecal valves) in their intestines to handle the plant diet:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/08041...

Are you seriously eliminating all the evidence for evolution because you yourself can't see it? But that's the same argument used by theists when they say atheists shouldn't dismiss that god created the universe just because we didn't see that happen and we can't see that god now. Notice there is no evidence for god and what he supposedly did. At least evolution has empirical evidence to back it up, and it comes from every scientific discipline that touches on the subject. Have skepticism about things that do NOT have evidence.

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Well, understanding it does require some educational background, but no, it's not mysterious, really rather simple process, actually. And clearly, we see those changes, the observable changes are among the most compelling proofs.

No, its not a mystery and it can be seen if we look long enough and in enough detail. For slow reproducing species its harder to see as changes over many generations will take many human lifetimes.

no.

mutations happen all the time, and we can observe them.

the most common mutations are in single-celled organisms and viruses.

this is why the flu vaccine has to be changed from year to year, as the virus itself changes.

i am a christian, an old-earth creationist, and i believe in evolution.

faith and science don't have to conflict.

the challenge is to learn all you can, and see how they mesh together.

No, you can observe evolution in very fast replicating organisms like bacteria. You can even apply artificial selection to bring about which mutations survive.