Pre-Cambrian life

The dawn of the animals

Which came first, the eggs or the algae?

See article

Readers' comments


rafael tavares

As I have a degree in Earth Sciences, I took it for granted that such scientific facts as evolution, geochronology aso were widely accepted at least for people who had the opportunity of formal education (mind you, the Economist is not only read in the US and the developed world). Anyway, some years ago I was taken aback when a recent acquaintance candidly told me that he professed the intelligent design. No, he did not have a green head. In fact we became good friends. What is most striking: he is an outstanding professional in Chemical Engineering and both his father and mother were professors in Engineering and Mathematics. I have drawn the conclusion that it we can always accommodate any kind of belief once it is not challenged by our own sphere of knowledge. Someone else I once met - a sales manager, once confided to me that he could not take the idea of a spheric Earth, since he could see that it was flat (out of his own experience). Changing mindsets is so difficult. Anyway, I anwered to the salesman that a flat Earth was no problem in his trade but if he ever had to travel to Japan and rang up home in the evening, he would have some doubts about his wife´s mental health when she answered it was plain daylight in Brazil - no problem, after all it is where the nuts come from.


I am amazed at the proportion of the responses from the religious bozos (please do not complain; that was polite!). It really makes me wary about leaving the house...they walk among us; if there are so many I might end up sitting next to one on a bus. What a dreadful thought. Can you spot them? Do they have green heads?


There is no actual creation date in the bible - which anyway was written before the current dating methods. The date your correspondents mentioned comes from the 17th century calculations of Usher. And why are these correspondents so blinkered they have not even looked at the many other creation myths on this planet, mostly much older than the bible.

I thought the article was about the first possible eggs in the evolution of animals. But it seems religious nutters must have a go whenever they can.


TS2912's final comment ("ON THE HOLIEST DAY OF THE YEAR (EASTER), OUR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS ARE ATTACKED IN SUCH A DASTARDLY MANNER!") sounds very much like the “defamation of religion” ploy of Muslim governments with distinctly illiberal ideas about free speech, as described in last week's Economist article on "Diplomacy, faith and freedom" []. Are we soon to have "blasphemy trials" in the US?


NOT POSSIBLE! All life began 6,000 years ago (for those doubters, I invite you to visit the Creation Museum where you will see the REAL TRUTH)

Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum seek to give glory and honor to God as Creator, and to affirm the truth of the biblical record of the real origin and history of the world and mankind.




Idoubtit could have spent a bit more time thinking before writing "I'd like to point out that the discussion so far shows that even rational thinkers often give free reign to speculation, believing things that can't be supported by available data." Of course rational thinkers often give free rein (but not I think 'reign') to speculation. Apart from every day observation does Idoubit know nothing about the history of science? But, also, there is available, though not conclusive, evidence for what Tim Thompson wrote. That requires some knowledge too, in this case knowledge of the Bible would help. After all "dome of stars" and "flat earth" are implicit in the Bible if not expressed as such so Hugh Jigo is tossing in clues - on top of the flippant "manufacturer" for Creator - which suggest that he is being facetious.


Sorry HELP!, but it's you who doesn't 'get it'.

Evolution has nothing whatsoever to do with accidents, and to suggest so implies a real fundamental lack of understanding of the concept.

Once again, it's a function of millions of years, billions of infintessimaly small variations, and the incremental survival/reproductive benefits these may, or may not confer.

Just meditate on this for a while and you may start to see the power and the beauty of the idea.

Richard Sneed - New Orleans

None of you seems to get it: either a. the present state of the universe, including life forms, is the result of a perfect series of accidents, continuing for some 13.7 billion years, or b. it isn't. Richard Sneed


Kid Indiana, could you present one Bible quotation that says that the Earth is flat? Again, how did you call people who write things they know nothing about? :)

As for Hugh Jigo's comment, I, as a Christian, find it to be pure nonsense. Pretty much all numbers in the Bible have their symbolic meaning, thus they should not be taken literally, you'll find it in any Bible commentary.


I recall reading in the Economist a while ago that a Christian science museum (in Texas I believe) features dinosaur metal replicas completed with saddles and reins. Why? because they coexisted with humans 7000 years ago according to holy teachings... or their interpretation du jour.

Kid Indiana

Hey Hugh,

Were these around before or after Jesus and his pet dinosaur? Just curious. Why is that God is seen as some sort of David Copperfield? Why does evolution and the big bang etc. have to be seen as contradictory to God's plan? Are creationists implying that God is too stupid to have been responsible for evolution? Is it easier to think that he's up there w/ a bushy white beard holding a magic wand going, "presto chango!" Has it occurred to anyone that the infinite nature of God resembles the infinite universe which we have only begun to understand through hard fact and science? Nope, guess not, let's all use the book written by morons who thought the Earth was flat and liked to stone people. The christian right should save us all the headache and take a long walk off a short pier.

I doubt it



TimThompson, I assure you that Hugh Jigo is sincere in his beliefs. In fact, he is almost in the majority of scientific thought in the US. Close to half of elected officials share his 'scientific' thoughts. Just watch what Congress comes up with when they follow Obama's emphasis on science based decision making.
I know it is pretty scary but Huckabee (a former governor of Arkansas) could have been a Presidential candidate and he believes in this stuff. Recall the close vote on the Texas school text book selection for science books on evolution versus creationism.


I'd like to preempt any other comments here to note that Hugh Jigo is almost certainly posting merely to elicit outrage, not out of a sincerely held belief.

Hugh Jigo

In the future people will look back and laugh at our era with its preposterous notions of hundreds of millions of years of life. The reason the two items in the photograph look so alike is that they were alive 6000 years apart at most. Moses gave a clear timeline of Earth's history. It wasn't based on research or tradition. Remember, as it says in Deuteronomy, "no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face..." Moses received his information direct from the manufacturer. Consign millions of years where it belongs, with flat earth, a dome of stars and Plato's Forms.



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