"This is the first link to all humans," Hurum, of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway, said in a statement. Ida represents "the closest thing we can get to a direct ancestor." ~
National Geographic
So, they're calling this little critter "Ida", lauding it as the "missing link".
Prior to this find, they knew they were looking for something, but had no clue as to its location, didn't know what it looked like, couldn't tell you how old it is, never saw it before, and had no proof of its existence; so what do they list it as? Missing!
Is that scientific?
Oh, but they found it now! Honest!
They've apparently kept it under wraps for two years while they studied it, just to make sure.
Well, pardon my... "skepticism", but isn't that a lemur of some sort, not an ape-man?
Honestly, it looks almost like a cat to me, but I know it is a monkey.
Evolution has always puzzled me, because I can't figure out how a grown adult of the Western culture can believe whales used to have legs but they fell off when they went swimming.
Or, giraffes have long necks because they stretched them so much while eating leaves.
The first giraffe had a short neck, didn't get to eat anything, so he died. Since he didn't have any offspring, it was the other giraffes who saw his shortcomings and decided to evolve longer necks.
Much effort on the part of the giraffes took place, but they slowly, over a few zillion years, got longer necks.
Ah, but a problem appeared! All the giraffes died because their hearts weren't big enough to get blood to their brains. Oh, except one, or I guess two, that saw all the other giraffes passing out, so they quickly, over a zillion years, evolved larger hearts to accommodate.
So they now have 22 pound hearts that pump massive amounts of blood to supply the brain.
Uh oh, another problem! All the giraffes' brains blew out their ears when they lowered their heads for a drink, due to the enormous blood pressure. Except one or two that didn't drink anything for a few zillion years so they can have enough time to evolve rete mirabile, the blood vessel system that uses "countercurrent blood flow ", basically a sponge, to maintain a stable amount of pressure to the brain.
Alright, the giraffes can now drink without fear of brain explosions!
Oh no, another problem! There's a pride of lions charging at the drinking giraffes! As soon as all the giraffes lift their heads to run, however, they die of heart failure because the sponge is still withholding a large amount of blood. Several giraffes did not lift their heads, seeing how dangerous it is to do so, and instead got eaten by the lions, except one or two that managed to be overlooked.
These remaining giraffes evolved, over only a half of a zillion years, the part of the sponge that
drains the blood, thus maintaining perfect balance and pressure.
There was also a little spurt of evolution about their legs' capillaries bursting due to the extreme pressure on
them, but Evolution, being a wise ol' fella, soon provided the giraffes with g-suit-like skin on their legs to keep them from exploding.
And Evolution isn't a faith?
Back to the topic at hand:
If this is the link, and I know it isn't, how can it be in the lineage of (according to "them") the most successful mammal on earth, but they've only found
one in the entire history of paleontology? Where's the rest of them? Didn't he have a mother?
I think they should look for a tattoo.
"O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane [and] vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:" ~1 Timothy 6:20
"[Ye] blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel." ~Matthew 23:24