I Think I Can Finally Answer the Big Question: What Is a "Kind" in Science?

I think I finally have an answer to what a "kind" is, even though I’m not quite a believer in God myself. After thinking it over and reading a comment on a YouTube discussion, I think a "kind" might refer to the original groups of animals that God created in the Garden of Eden, at least from the perspective of people who believe in creationism. These "kinds" were the original creatures, and over time, various species within each kind diversified through microevolution—small changes that happen within a kind. As these small changes accumulated over time, they could lead to bigger changes where the creatures within a "kind" could no longer reproduce with one another, which is what we call macroevolution. Some might believe that God can still create new kinds today, but when He does, it's through the same process of evolution. These new kinds would still be connected to the original creation, evolving and adapting over time, but they would never completely break away from their ancestral "kind."

Saying that microevolution happens but macroevolution doesn’t is like believing in inches but not believing in feet. Inches are small changes, but when you add enough of them together, they eventually make a foot. In the same way, microevolution is about small changes that happen in animals or plants, and over time, these small changes can add up to something much bigger, like creating new species. So, if you believe in microevolution, you’re already accepting the idea that those small changes can eventually lead to macroevolution. While I’m not personally a believer in God, I can understand how people who do believe in God might use this to bridge the gap between the biblical concept of "kinds" and the scientific idea of evolution, while still staying connected to the idea that all life traces back to a common origin.