use the following search parameters to narrow your results:
e.g. reddit:aww site:imgur.com dog
reddit:aww site:imgur.com dog
see the search faq for details.
advanced search: by author, community...
893 users here now
Welcome to r/atheism, the web's largest atheist forum. All topics related to atheism, agnosticism and secular living are welcome here. Please read our FAQ.
Please link directly to any images or use imgur to avoid being flagged as blogspam
Recommended reading and viewing
Thank you notes
Related Subreddits <--the big list
Chat: #reddit-atheism on irc.freenode.net
Watch: #/r/atheism on reddit.tv
Read The FAQ
Submit Rage Comic
Submit Facebook Chat
Submit Meme
Submit Something Else
reddit is a source for what's new and popular online. vote on links that you like or dislike and help decide what's popular, or submit your own! learn more ›
How I have to be as a Wildlife Biologist when uneducated creationists try and debate with me (chzgifs.files.wordpress.com)
submitted 6 months ago by psychicesp
[–]corvidcanine 2 points3 points4 points 6 months ago
I know the feel, bro. (offers ecologist hug)
[–]Avesa 1 point2 points3 points 6 months ago
Here's another ecologist hug. Hugs for everyone!
[–]corvidcanine 0 points1 point2 points 6 months ago
Hooray for hugs! :D
[–]kirixen 1 point2 points3 points 6 months ago
note: the word "uneducated" in your title is redundant.
[–]psychicesp[S] 0 points1 point2 points 6 months ago
lol
[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 6 months ago
Am I the only one who watched that for like 3 minutes waiting for the owl to strike back?
Trust me, he wants to
[–]fuzzymechy 1 point2 points3 points 6 months ago
oh man, i know how you feel. it seems like the more you know and the more damning the evidence for evolution is, the more annoying it gets when people come up and spout some nonsense about the second law of thermodynamics or some shit. i guess back when i didn't know that much about evolution it was like "well i feel like that's not right, but i'm not educated enough to debate it", but now it's more like "you're wrong and here's why, but that won't change anything"
Nothing pisses me off more than when people who do not understand physics at all try and talk about the second law of thermodynamics. The laws of thermodynamics are well incorporated into modern biology, and for them to think that all scientists everywhere are cumulatively overlooking fundamental distinctions is beyond arrogant.
[–]SaintGenesius 0 points1 point2 points 6 months ago
Why exactly do you have to be that way? Seems like if they bring up questions you'd be thoroughly able to answer a lot of them.
because the answers aren't simple enough for them to understand, so they assume you're lying, or wrong.
You don't argue with someone to convince them. You argue to convince the people around them.
The person you're arguing against is always going to be invested in being right (or at least making you wrong). The onlookers, even if they're biased in one direction or another, will never be as invested as the debaters. So you try and take your opponents apart in a clear way and the people looking at the argument will see who is right.
[–]psychicesp[S] 0 points1 point2 points 6 months ago*
I've gone down the road of trying to explain dispersal and divergence as a precursor to evolution, they hit me with that oh so beloved statement "if we came from apes, why are there still apes?"
Me saying, "i literally just explained that to you" does no good.
As a final point, anyone open to believing something because of scientific evidence pretty much already accepts evolution. There's a minority of people open to science that has never exposed themselves to evidence to evolution, but they're much rarer then we tell ourselves that they are
EDIT: Past my final point, i love being right, so i still debate with them, but I have to go into aforementioned state of mind when they respond
Eh, I can see that. Again, practically every time I get into an argument it's a spectacle. I bring in waiters, other customers, cashiers, and anyone else who accepts the invitation. I don't drag people in, just make it clear that anyone who wants can jump in whenever they want.
The point is always not to get the individual debating to swap sides, but to get all the people eavesdropping to see what's actually valid and what's not. If you can't get that sort of setup I can see not bothering.
Also: I don't go around starting these conversations with random folks. I'll be chatting with a friend (usually who disagrees with me, is equally argumentative as, and a little smarter than me), and someone will chime in, and soon the whole place is participating.
[–]kirixen 0 points1 point2 points 6 months ago
the type of debate you're talking about requires both parties to be at least relatively versed in the subject matter. Otherwise your well formed arguments get rebuffed by the response: "oh yeah, well I can count to potato, so what you said makes no sense."
[–]SaintGenesius 1 point2 points3 points 6 months ago
I think you're giving people too little credit. Most people see that for what it is, as long as they aren't the ones doing it and it gets called out quickly.
That's been my experience, and I've been living in the shittiest parts of the bible belt most of my life. Once in a while you get that guy, but it's really not that common.
[–]kirixen 2 points3 points4 points 6 months ago
I find that I can either find common ground to start a good debate, or they respond with "atheism is a religion, evolution is just a guess, the bible is the oldest scientific textbook we have and we should respect it" I've ruined more than one new year's eve party this way.
I think you're giving people way too much credit.
I'm honestly curious as to why our experiences have been so different.
I've had negative experiences, but nothing like bad enough to dissuade me.
they tend to be win or lose with me. Either they're the type of person that doesn't know the difference between "theory and guess", has no idea what "abiogenesis" means OR I can convince them that the scientific method is just that, a method, not an ideology, not a religion, not a belief system, just a method of thinking and discovering. I have no idea why I get all the ridiculous ones, but consider yourself lucky, they're infuriating.
Well that's just it: I do get those, just not often. They usually just get straight shut down by the larger group (the advantage to democratic debate I suppose) because the whackadoodles aren't generally as eloquent, educated, or sane as the myself or my starting opponents.
The main difference frustration-wise between us, is evolution is my life. Every class i've ever taken in college was evolution centered. I'm assuming you're from a less specialized background so pardon me if i've assumed incorrectly. But if from you're perspective the evidence towards evolution seems pretty conclusive, you can imagine how overwhelming the evidence is from my perspective.
EDIT: It seriously is like having to prove to an adult that Santa doesn't exist, you can imagine what the preexisting mindset must be like for there to even exist an adult that believes in Santa. When I even picture in my mind an adult that believes in Santa i picture a mentally challenged adult. Its not about the belief in Santa, its about the true underlying factor that caused him to have such stunted development.
I guess i just know more whackadoodles :'(
[–]music_and_science 0 points1 point2 points 6 months ago
As an ex-creationist, please don't ignore the stupid arguments. It's unlikely that your words will change the person's mind immediately, but you may have an effect on bystanders or even on the arguer himself eventually. It took several years of hearing the truth in order to undo a childhood of indoctrination. Now happily studying biochemistry and loving how everything ties together so eloquently.
Every class i've ever taken in college was evolution centered. If from you're perspective the evidence towards evolution seems pretty conclusive, you can imagine how overwhelming the evidence is from my perspective. Its seriously is like having to prove to an adult that Santa doesn't exist, you can imagine what the preexisting mindset must be like for there to even exist an adult that believes in Santa. When I even picture in my mind an adult that believes in Santa i picture a mentally challenged adult. Its not about the belief in Santa, its about the true underlying factor that caused him to have such stunted development. I've gone down the road of trying to explain dispersal and divergence as a precursor to evolution, they hit me with that oh so beloved statement "if we came from apes, why are there still apes?" Me saying, "i literally just explained that to you" does no good. As a final point, anyone open to believing something because of scientific evidence pretty much already accepts evolution. There's a minority of people open to science that has never exposed themselves to evidence to evolution, but they're much rarer then we tell ourselves that they are. Past my final point, I love being right, so I still debate with them, but I have to go into aforementioned state of mind when they respond.
Every class i've ever taken in college was evolution centered. If from you're perspective the evidence towards evolution seems pretty conclusive, you can imagine how overwhelming the evidence is from my perspective.
Its seriously is like having to prove to an adult that Santa doesn't exist, you can imagine what the preexisting mindset must be like for there to even exist an adult that believes in Santa. When I even picture in my mind an adult that believes in Santa i picture a mentally challenged adult. Its not about the belief in Santa, its about the true underlying factor that caused him to have such stunted development.
I've gone down the road of trying to explain dispersal and divergence as a precursor to evolution, they hit me with that oh so beloved statement "if we came from apes, why are there still apes?" Me saying, "i literally just explained that to you" does no good.
As a final point, anyone open to believing something because of scientific evidence pretty much already accepts evolution. There's a minority of people open to science that has never exposed themselves to evidence to evolution, but they're much rarer then we tell ourselves that they are. Past my final point, I love being right, so I still debate with them, but I have to go into aforementioned state of mind when they respond.
Again, I'm happy to answer any semi-rational question, but if arguments like these don't work "two is not a viable population, there would not be enough genetic diversity and all populations would collapse" and "the dispersal pattern on Earth is not central to Mt Ararat as Noah's Arc would suggest" then the person has more growing up to do before i spend any of my time on it.
all it takes is a username and password
create account
is it really that easy? only one way to find out...
already have an account and just want to login?
login
[–]corvidcanine 2 points3 points4 points ago
[–]Avesa 1 point2 points3 points ago
[–]corvidcanine 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]kirixen 1 point2 points3 points ago
[–]psychicesp[S] 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points ago
[–]psychicesp[S] 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]fuzzymechy 1 point2 points3 points ago
[–]psychicesp[S] 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]SaintGenesius 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]kirixen 1 point2 points3 points ago
[–]SaintGenesius 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]psychicesp[S] 0 points1 point2 points ago*
[–]SaintGenesius 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]kirixen 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]SaintGenesius 1 point2 points3 points ago
[–]kirixen 2 points3 points4 points ago
[–]SaintGenesius 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]kirixen 1 point2 points3 points ago
[–]SaintGenesius 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]psychicesp[S] 0 points1 point2 points ago*
[–]kirixen 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]music_and_science 0 points1 point2 points ago
[–]psychicesp[S] 0 points1 point2 points ago*