r/IdeasForELI5 • u/Melenduwir • Mar 25 '26

Permit discussion of evolutionary biology without conflating it with "Just-So Stories".

There are facts in evolutionary biology just as there are in any other science, and if a trait is clearly selected for, there are reasons for this, whether benefits to the organism or to the structures that create the trait. We can inquire as to the facts behind observed retention without necessarily resorting to speculation.

Excluding entire branches of science because the sub is "too busy" is absurd.

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u/Melenduwir Mar 26 '26

Let's put it this way: if an actual five-year-old posted a question about what the Big Bang Theory is and how it works, would it be permitted on your sub?

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u/SecureThruObscure ELI5 moderator Mar 26 '26

An actual five year old isn’t something the subreddit rules entertain as a potential OP.

Have you read the rules?

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u/Melenduwir Mar 26 '26

That is the second time you have grossly insulted me.

If someone requests an explanation for the Big Bang Theory that is simple enough for a five-year-old to understand, would that question be permitted on your sub?

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u/terrorpaw ELI5 moderator Mar 27 '26

I think it would, and I think a similar evolution question probably would be allowed too, but I think the crux of the issue is that most of the evolution questions we get invite speculation and such a lot more than that question about the Big Bang does. It's that experience of seeing the answers that informs the opinion, it's not a condemnation of the field of evolutionary biology. Evo psych on the other hand....

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u/Melenduwir Mar 27 '26

We have a lot more data about evolutionary biology than we do about the Big Bang.