The Lie that the Human Embryo Has Gills

[Benalwaleed]

This claim is based on a scientific fraud that the evolutionist biologist Ernst Haeckel perpetrated in the early 20th century. In order to supply evidence of evolution that did not in fact exist, Haeckel drew the developing embryos of such life forms as human beings, chickens and fish alongside one another—but deliberately distorted them. The whole scientific world now agrees that this was a fraud. The structure that Haeckel depicted as a “gill” is actually the beginning of the middle ear canal, the parathyroids, and the thymus gland.

[Sisyphus]

Yes, Haekel's hypotheses of some kind of deterministic progress from species to species, with humans as the end result, have long been discredited. Evolution doesn't have a goal. Darwin had basically the right idea.

 

Do you have some broader point to make, or is this just a historical tidbit you thought people might find interestin (which it is)?

[Benalwaleed]

I have more in my Pocket Sisyphus

[Sisyphus]

I have more in my Pocket Sisyphus

 

I'm flattered, really, but I'm a heterosexual male in a happily monogamous relationship.

[Benalwaleed]

Don't get you

[D H]

First, get the dates right. It was 1866.

 

The world is plagued with charlatans. They can be found in politics (Joe McCarthy), economics (Bernie Madoff), religion (Ken Hovind), and science (Ernst Haeckel). They can be found in any human endeavor. The existence of political charlatans does not invalidate the basic precepts of our political system. It does mean that we need to be vigilant against being drawn to them. That capitalism spawns charlatans galore does not invalidate the basic precepts of our capitalism. It does mean we need to have some kind of policing and regulation to keep them from damaging our economic system.

 

Benalwaleed, it is rather obvious that you come from a strong religious background. I could, if I was mean-spirited, point out a huge parade of religious charlatans. There is no reason to do so. The presence of religious charlatans does not invalidate the concept of religion.

 

Similarly, the presence of scientific charlatans does not invalidate the basic precepts of science. What it does mean is that scientists needs to have a healthy dose of skepticism. Fortunately, the scientific method is inherently skeptical. Science does a better job of policing itself against charlatans than practically any other human endeavor. Better, but obviously not perfect.

 

Note well, Benalwaleed: You yourself are engaging in charlatanry in making this argument.

[Mokele]

Human embryos do, however, have gill pouches. They just never perforate completely as they do in fish.

[Tsuyoiko]

Indeed, contrary to Haeckel's fraud, ontogeny does not recapitulate phylogeny

[Deko]

http://ncseweb.org/rncse/19/5/unmasking-false-prophet-creationism

[J.C.MacSwell]

I'm flattered, really, but I'm a heterosexual male in a happily monogamous relationship.

 

...then leave Mae West alone!

[PhDP]

This claim is based on a scientific fraud that the evolutionist biologist Ernst Haeckel perpetrated in the early 20th century. In order to supply evidence of evolution that did not in fact exist, Haeckel drew the developing embryos of such life forms as human beings, chickens and fish alongside one another—but deliberately distorted them. The whole scientific world now agrees that this was a fraud. The structure that Haeckel depicted as a “gill” is actually the beginning of the middle ear canal, the parathyroids, and the thymus gland.

 

True (mostly).

 

But it would be completely absurd to make a point against modern evolutionary biology using 19th century "biology". Evolutionary biology became a science in the first half of the 20th century thanks to the work of people like Morgan, Yule, Fisher, Wright... Before that we had no coherent mechanistic theory of evolution that could generate reliable predictions.

 

And by the way Haeckel's drawing were made in the second half of the 19th century.

 

Benalwaleed, it is rather obvious that you come from a strong religious background..

 

Which is rather rare in Japan...