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Denying solid evidence puts scientific literacy at risk
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Published: May 20, 2009
At the end of every school year, high-school biology classes turn to the subject of evolutionary theory. Likewise, newspapers and blogs publish articles and letters from a variety of people who either accept evolution or do not.
Those who profess their denial of evolutionary theory often display a misunderstanding of the theory itself. They say that that evolution does not explain the creation of the universe or the origin of life. Anti-evolutionists speak of gaps that exist in evidence and argue against macroevolution. Many of their criticisms of evolution stem from misunderstandings of scientific data or a purposeful misdirection from reality. As a local biology teacher, I would like to address these issues.
The modern theory of evolution explains the diversity of life through common descent and natural selection (among other mechanisms). Evolution does not explain the beginnings of the universe; the Big Bang Theory describes the development of the expanding universe. Evolution does not deal with the origin of life; abiogenesis seeks to discover how life originated. Evolution describes how we achieved this diversity of life after the universe, the earth and life originated. Likewise, evolutionary theory does not seek to explain the origin of gravity or the nature of matter.
Some attempt to divide evolutionary theory into microevolution and macroevolution. Such divisions are unnecessary, as speciation results from small events of natural selection across the almost 4 billion years that life has existed on earth. Our fossil record displays the transitions of species throughout geological time in the precise succession one would expect according to the theory of evolution. We have many fossils that demonstrate the evolution from fish to amphibians, from reptiles to mammals, from land mammals back to water (whales), and from primates to humans.
Our fossil record may be incomplete, but that is not a failing of evolution. Few organisms die in the right circumstances to become a fossil, and most of the fossils that exist remain locked in stone, waiting for someone to discover them. While we do not have a complete fossil record, we can excavate through the mountains of genetic evidence for evolution through not only our own genome, but that of many new species a year.
We find amazing genetic similarities between closely related species and more differences between less-related species. For example, humans have far more similar DNA with chimpanzees than with any other species (including gorillas). We share more DNA with lemurs than we do with kangaroos. We share more DNA with kangaroos than we do with any species of bird. If evolution were an incorrect theory, as some people suggest (though very few scientists, and even fewer biologists), then our results in the lab, in the fossil record, in the genomes, and in nature would differ from the predictions made by the theory of evolution. The strength of Charles Darwin's dangerous idea comes from the collaboration of many scientists who find similar results in labs around the world.
Even with the overwhelming evidence in favor of evolutionary theory, many refuse to accept it. Many fear that an acceptance of evolution removes belief in God. Fundamentalist Christians suggest that evolution leads to atheism. For some, that may be true. But many scientists resolve the issue of evolution as the mechanism of God's work. Even Darwin believed that his theory explained one of God's natural laws.
An understanding of science does not remove faith in God. For many, it strengthens faith by allowing us to understand the majesty of God's work. Many fundamentalists argue that this view disagrees with the Bible (at least the literal interpretation). However, literal creationism disagrees with not only biology, but also with geology, astronomy, chemistry, and just about every other aspect of science.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth (1809) and the 150th anniversary of his magnum opus, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859). Our nation falls miserably behind the majority of developed countries in scientific literacy. I hope we can improve those numbers. We must continue to educate the public through solid explanations of what evolution is while correcting the misunderstandings the majority of people have.
If you have questions about evolution, ask someone. Professors and teachers would be glad to help you understand the unifying theory of biology. As Theodore Dobzhansky, a noted geneticist and evolutionary biologist, said, "Nothing in biology makes sense, except in the light of evolution." Once you understand evolution, a new door to the biological sciences opens before you.
■ Adam Corey teaches biology at East Forsyth High School. The Journal welcomes original submissions for North Carolina Voices on local, regional and statewide topics. Essay length should not exceed 750 words. Our e-mail address is: Letters@wsjournal.com. You may also mail a typed essay to: Letters to the Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Please include your name, address and a daytime telephone number.
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