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> We honestly don't know how fast species went extinct at various points in the past and we don't really know how fast they are going extinct right now. Citati

> We honestly don't know how fast species went extinct at various points in the past and we don't really know how fast they are going extinct right now. Citation needed please. Yes, they're estimates, but there are scientists who have devoted their entire careers to exactly that question. A quick Google turns up entire books devoted to this topic (http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royptb/344/1307/local/front-matter.pdf http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royptb/344/13...) Your phrasing here makes it sound like this number is entirely random and not based on any evidence or science.

ianai 9y ago
It seems like blanket denials of research to impeach an article would be against the rules here.
- TaylorAlexander 9y ago
  I don’t know about the rules, but the comment is certainly uninteresting. It’s getting downvoted currently, which is nice.
- austincheney 9y ago
  It is only research if it is presented with evidence. Challenging unsubstantiated claims is generally how truth is achieved... according to JS Mills.
austincheney 9y ago
I am not going to give you a citation for missing knowledge. Grow up. Consider the Drake Equation[1]. This equation was created to stimulate conversation. It was never intended for scientific merit, but this doesn't stop people from looking at evidence and then making unsubstantiated guesses about things. People can guess and theorize all they want, but in the absence of evidence any guess is crude. So, lets talk about it in terms of numbers. Between 2000-3000 years ago how many species went extinct rounded down to the nearest 1000? In the past ten years how many species have gone extinct rounded down to the nearest 50? You must have some kind of numbers, based upon something, that serve as the presented basis of comparison. Without evidence of numbers you are simply making an extremely crude guess. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation
- TaylorAlexander 9y ago
  Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on there. You disagree with a claim in the article. Someone replies asking you to cite evidence for your opinion. And you respond telling them you’re not going to do the research for them? Why would you even make the claim of disagreement in the first comment if you can’t already provide information to back it up? I like that after you refuse to support your own claims, you then tell the person to grow up. Awesome.
  - austincheney 9y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_of_absence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_of_absence What is the scientific process to prove something doesn't exist? What is evidence of a thing that isn't?
    - behringer 9y ago
      So you can't cite a single source that evidence does not exist for present and historical species counts and yet there are entire books dedicated to said topic (supposedly, perhaps parent could list some). You should probably think about that for a while before you continue to respond.
      - insickness 9y ago
        The burden of proof is on the person making the claim (that extinction has increased) not the person questioning the claim. It's like asking someone to prove God doesn't exist.
      - austincheney 9y ago
        Likewise, you cannot provide any evidence to the contrary. I will repeat myself. How do you cite evidence of something that doesn't exist? Case in point, can you provide any example, from any form of science, of evidence of something that doesn't exist? As an example: Eventually scientists may prove the existence of dark matter, but they will never prove that dark matter doesn't exist because evidence of absence isn't scientific. If you show me how such any evidence, evidence of absence, is vaguely possible I will find it for you. Or, you could prove me wrong. If this topic is utterly indisputable this should be a simple feat. A single simple Google search. Things like appeals to authority and argument from ignorance are not scientifically credible. I could be wrong, but all anybody has done is shown offense.

ianai 9y ago

It seems like blanket denials of research to impeach an article would be against the rules here.

TaylorAlexander 9y ago
I don’t know about the rules, but the comment is certainly uninteresting. It’s getting downvoted currently, which is nice.
austincheney 9y ago
It is only research if it is presented with evidence. Challenging unsubstantiated claims is generally how truth is achieved... according to JS Mills.

austincheney 9y ago

I am not going to give you a citation for missing knowledge. Grow up. Consider the Drake Equation[1]. This equation was created to stimulate conversation. It was never intended for scientific merit, but this doesn't stop people from looking at evidence and then making unsubstantiated guesses about things. People can guess and theorize all they want, but in the absence of evidence any guess is crude. So, lets talk about it in terms of numbers. Between 2000-3000 years ago how many species went extinct rounded down to the nearest 1000? In the past ten years how many species have gone extinct rounded down to the nearest 50? You must have some kind of numbers, based upon something, that serve as the presented basis of comparison. Without evidence of numbers you are simply making an extremely crude guess. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation

TaylorAlexander 9y ago
Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on there. You disagree with a claim in the article. Someone replies asking you to cite evidence for your opinion. And you respond telling them you’re not going to do the research for them? Why would you even make the claim of disagreement in the first comment if you can’t already provide information to back it up? I like that after you refuse to support your own claims, you then tell the person to grow up. Awesome.
- austincheney 9y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_of_absence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_of_absence What is the scientific process to prove something doesn't exist? What is evidence of a thing that isn't?
  - behringer 9y ago
    So you can't cite a single source that evidence does not exist for present and historical species counts and yet there are entire books dedicated to said topic (supposedly, perhaps parent could list some). You should probably think about that for a while before you continue to respond.
    - insickness 9y ago
      The burden of proof is on the person making the claim (that extinction has increased) not the person questioning the claim. It's like asking someone to prove God doesn't exist.
    - austincheney 9y ago
      Likewise, you cannot provide any evidence to the contrary. I will repeat myself. How do you cite evidence of something that doesn't exist? Case in point, can you provide any example, from any form of science, of evidence of something that doesn't exist? As an example: Eventually scientists may prove the existence of dark matter, but they will never prove that dark matter doesn't exist because evidence of absence isn't scientific. If you show me how such any evidence, evidence of absence, is vaguely possible I will find it for you. Or, you could prove me wrong. If this topic is utterly indisputable this should be a simple feat. A single simple Google search. Things like appeals to authority and argument from ignorance are not scientifically credible. I could be wrong, but all anybody has done is shown offense.