Download Misconceptions About Evolution and its Mechanisms

JRMG
Bio1 2008
Misconceptions about evolution and how it
works:
 Evolution is a theory about the origin of life
 life changed after its origin
Misconceptions about evolution and how it works:
 Evolution is like a climb
up a ladder of progress;
organisms are always
getting better
 natural selection*
 No organism has to be
perfect
 fit enough to survive and
reproduce
 Fitness is linked to
environment, not to
progress.
Misconceptions about evolution and how it
works:
 Evolution means that life changed by chance
 Mutation** is RANDOM
 natural selection is not random
The streamlined shape of these yellowfin
tuna is no accident. A more streamlined
shape allows these fish to move through the
water faster. During their evolution, natural
selection favored the more streamlined tuna.
Misconceptions about evolution and how it works:
 Natural selection gives
organisms what they
need
 cannot sense what a
species needs
 depends on the inherent
traits
Misconceptions about evolution and how it works:
 Natural selection
involves organisms
'trying' to adapt
 doesn't involve "trying”
 involves genetic variation
and selection
 Evolution is 'just' a theory
Gaps in the fossil record
disprove evolution
 Lots of organisms don't
fossilize well
 environmental conditions
for forming good fossils
are not that common
 Evolution is a theory in
crisis and is collapsing
as scientists lose
confidence in it
 argue about how it took
place but not “whether if it
took place”
 The theory of evolution is
flawed, but scientists
won't admit it
 "flaws" are based on
misunderstandings of
evolutionary theory or
misrepresentations of
evidence
 Scientists continue to refine
the theory of evolution *
 Evolutionary theory is
incomplete and is currently
unable to give a total
explanation of life
 Evolutionary science is a
work in progress
 only well-supported
explanation for life's
diversity
Misconceptions about the implications of
evolution
 Evolution is not
science because it is
not observable or
testable
 many mechanisms of
evolution are studied through
direct experimentation
Misconceptions about the implications of
evolution
 Most biologists have
rejected 'Darwinism'
(i.e., no longer really
agree with the ideas put
forth by Darwin and
Wallace)
 Scientists have not rejected
Darwin's natural selection
Misconceptions about the implications of
evolution
 Evolution leads to immoral behavior. If
children are taught that they are animals, they
will behave like animals
 does not make ethical statements about right and
wrong
 helps us understand how life has changed and
continues to change over time
Misconceptions about the implications of
evolution
 Evolution supports the idea that 'might
makes right' and rationalizes the
oppression of some people by others
 "Social Darwinism"
 society should allow the weak and less fit to fail and die

Evolution and religion are
incompatible
 Religion and science (evolution)
are very different things
 Science: only natural causes
are used to explain natural
phenomena
 Religion: deals with beliefs
that are beyond the natural
world
 Teachers should teach 'both sides' and let
students decide for themselves
 students should have opportunities to discuss the
merits of arguments within the scope of science