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May I ask: If you are not an expert and only have opinions and "very limited understanding on the subject", and if we consider this subject to be extremely comp

May I ask: If you are not an expert and only have opinions and "very limited understanding on the subject", and if we consider this subject to be extremely complicated and research-heavy, why do you then put so much effort in writing a lengthy comment and what's the value of it for others? Or are you actually an expert and were just trying to be humble?

itchyjunk 10y ago
I came across evolutionary theory in an Anthropology class. I am not asking anyone to take my word for it, but maybe at least inspire some to double check the information provided. I get a lot out of HN comments and this is just my attempt to give back.
- kwhitefoot 10y ago
  Having taken, and paid attention to, an anthropology class makes you considerable more expert than most people, including I think most of us on HN. I'm not totally familiar with US terminology, I presume this means a course in anthropology, perhaps lasting one term or semester? But, "came across", sounds a bit accidental. Isn't evolutionary theory central to anthropology? I'm just an interested layman in this field (with a book shelf full of Richard Dawkins, Charles Darwin, Stephen J. Gould, Daniel Dennett, Steve Jones, as well as sundry textbooks).
  - itchyjunk 10y ago
    Yes, the course is called Introduction to Physical Anthropology (1020). It's a 1 semester 3 credit class. Yup, most of the course introduced what evolution is, how it's studied, variation, macro-micro evolution etc. It than applies this to living primates and Hominin remains. I phrased the way I did because our professor said that other than some fundamentals, no one agrees completely on anything and there is a lot of school of thought. So the author might subscribe to some other school of thought, I wouldn't know. But it contradicts a lot with what I was taught so I felt I should point it out.
galdosdi 10y ago
Do you have anything substantive to contribute on the topic or just ad hominem? Being a Harvard expert professor does not relieve one of the duty to write clearly so the intended audience can understand precisely what you mean Much of what the inexpert commenter said is obvious to anyone and needs no expert pedigree, like the notion that natural selection can only change proportions, not create new genetic content, which requires mutation. > we consider this subject to be extremely complicated and research-heavy No, no "we", the word you were looking for is "I" ... Nobody said this but you. Nobody else thinks that this is an exalted topic that without years of study we are incapable of talking about even lightly. Because it's not.

itchyjunk 10y ago

I came across evolutionary theory in an Anthropology class. I am not asking anyone to take my word for it, but maybe at least inspire some to double check the information provided. I get a lot out of HN comments and this is just my attempt to give back.

kwhitefoot 10y ago
Having taken, and paid attention to, an anthropology class makes you considerable more expert than most people, including I think most of us on HN. I'm not totally familiar with US terminology, I presume this means a course in anthropology, perhaps lasting one term or semester? But, "came across", sounds a bit accidental. Isn't evolutionary theory central to anthropology? I'm just an interested layman in this field (with a book shelf full of Richard Dawkins, Charles Darwin, Stephen J. Gould, Daniel Dennett, Steve Jones, as well as sundry textbooks).
- itchyjunk 10y ago
  Yes, the course is called Introduction to Physical Anthropology (1020). It's a 1 semester 3 credit class. Yup, most of the course introduced what evolution is, how it's studied, variation, macro-micro evolution etc. It than applies this to living primates and Hominin remains. I phrased the way I did because our professor said that other than some fundamentals, no one agrees completely on anything and there is a lot of school of thought. So the author might subscribe to some other school of thought, I wouldn't know. But it contradicts a lot with what I was taught so I felt I should point it out.

galdosdi 10y ago

Do you have anything substantive to contribute on the topic or just ad hominem? Being a Harvard expert professor does not relieve one of the duty to write clearly so the intended audience can understand precisely what you mean Much of what the inexpert commenter said is obvious to anyone and needs no expert pedigree, like the notion that natural selection can only change proportions, not create new genetic content, which requires mutation. > we consider this subject to be extremely complicated and research-heavy No, no "we", the word you were looking for is "I" ... Nobody said this but you. Nobody else thinks that this is an exalted topic that without years of study we are incapable of talking about even lightly. Because it's not.