{"id":512,"date":"2008-03-24T17:24:17","date_gmt":"2008-03-24T22:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=512"},"modified":"2008-08-06T11:52:40","modified_gmt":"2008-08-06T15:52:40","slug":"amnh-evolution-seminar-week-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=512","title":{"rendered":"AMNH Evolution Seminar week one"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I’ve posted about before, I am taking college courses online<\/a> in my “free” time. As part of my current Biology course, I am participating in an online seminar hosted by the American Museum of Natural History. The Seminar is Evolution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Every week participants are given various reading assignments and other resources to use. We are then expected to participate in a group discussion based on that week’s question. Here is this week’s question:<\/p>\n

Theodosius Dobzhansky, the famous evolutionary geneticist, wrote in 1973 that “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Why is evolution the fundamental concept that underlies all life science? If evolution is “true”\u00e2\u20ac\u201dif life really has evolved\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhat would we expect to observe as a consequence? How could this lead to testable hypotheses?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See my answer on the jump … <\/p>\n

When I talk with others about what evolution is and why is it important, I like to use a puzzle analogy. You have before you a table covered with jigsaw puzzle pieces, but you have no finished picture to look at and guide you. You simply have to work your way through it as best as you can. You need to look at the pieces and develop a few hypothesizes about how things fit together. Perhaps sorting out all the pieces with straight edges would be a good start. Then see if pieces with similar colors and patterns might match one another. Once a blob of the actual overall picture emerges, you can then see that the finished puzzle might be about furry animals near water of some type, maybe puppies or kittens checking out a pool. That can then guide the completion of the puzzle. Eventually, the final product emerges. It turns out it was a picture of a cute baby seal on the beach. But the puzzle has some holes in it where some pieces are missing. Some holes are small and some are huge. There are even a few pieces lying around that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to have a home just yet. You still have yet to figure out where they go and what they represent in the overall picture.<\/p>\n

Understanding why evolution is the fundamental concept that underlies all life science first necessitates an understanding of what the theory is meant to do. Evolution is not some odd idea pulled out of thin air. Evolution is not a dogmatic set of arbitrary rules that one must adhere to. Evolution takes a collection of known facts and observations and pieces it all together in a way that makes the most sense. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the blueprints of your house, or the outline of your college term paper. Without the blueprints or outline, you have a stack of wood or an incoherent rambling.<\/p>\n

For the sake of argument, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say that the theory of evolution isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the best explanation for the facts we know. Fine. Take away evolution\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s explanatory power and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re left with a jumble of bones, a massive pile of genetic research, apparent similarities in divergent species, changing disease-causing viruses, etc. Fine again. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re back to a tabletop covered in puzzle pieces. What now? Taking away the theory doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t erase the facts. One still has to figure out how it all properly fits together without sweeping some of the pieces you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like off the table and taking a hammer to others you desperately want to fit together.<\/p>\n

But evolution is presently the single best explanation for what we see and how it all fits together. As I said earlier, evolution is not dogmatism. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an idea that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been tested again and again. If it failed the tests, it would have been discarded decades ago. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a waste of time and effort to prop up something that has no value to research. Robert T. Pennock put it this way in his essay in Evolutionary Science and Society: Educating a New Generation:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The ultimate test in science is pragmatic. That a claim is put in scientific-sounding language does not make it scientific; for something to be recognized as a scientific fact, it cannot just talk the talk; it must walk the walk. That is to say, it has to make an empirical difference. Put another way, there is good reason to conclude that we have got our hands on a real fact when using it works.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Pennock then goes on to list ways that evolution is useful: tracking diseases through the tree of life, prescribing medicines that bacteria are less likely to evolve resistance to, and learning more about our own bodies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 natural defenses. Evolution connects us humans to the vast array of life on this planet, past and present.<\/p>\n

But how is evolution tested? Dr. Niles Eldredge, in his essay Evolution: A Paleontologist’s Perspective, outlines two such general tests:<\/p>\n

1) If life has evolved, there should be nested patterns of resemblance linking up all life.
\n2) If life has evolved, we should observe a general sequence of primitive to more advanced forms in the history of life.<\/p>\n

As Dr. Eldredge then goes on to show, evolution passes these tests without problem.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Pennock gives us some scope of what evolution is encompassing: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Evolution is the linking explanatory framework between internal (genetic) and external (environmental) factors and between efficient (historical) and functional (teleological) analyses of phenomena.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that the overall theory of evolution is an explanation that best fits the data. If it did a lousy job of piecing everything together, it would have been tossed on the garbage heap and some better scientific theory would be in its place right now. Not only does it do a great job of explaining, but it also has a myriad of useful, real-life applications.<\/p>\n

————<\/p>\n

That was my contribution to the group discussion. I welcome your input in the comments here, and I will share any interesting insight from other AMNH Seminar participants in the comments, too. Feel free to correct anything you think I got wrong, or add any points that would help better answer the original question.<\/p>\n

Also, I find it funny that this week’s question relates directly to what one commenter here at FCS is has been complaining about lately: He doesn’t think evolution is the fundamental concept that underlies all life science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I’ve posted about before, I am taking college courses online in my “free” time. As part of my current Biology course, I am participating in an online seminar hosted by the American Museum of Natural History. The Seminar is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-8g","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":491,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=491","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":0},"title":"Heading into the next semester","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"For those of you who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m taking college courses in my free time with the future objective of becoming a science teacher. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a long, slow road I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m traveling, mainly because I have to keep my day job in order to keep the family fed and such. And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "beekay's college"","block_context":{"text":"beekay's college","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=8"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1176,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1176","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":1},"title":"It’s coming!","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Our seminar, that is. The TCPalm was kind enough to publish a news release I sent them about our upcoming event on Saturday. FORT PIERCE \u00e2\u20ac\u201d A free seminar entitled \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Attacks on Science, Science Education and Evolution\u00e2\u20ac\u009d will be March 20. Florida Citizens for Science is conducting the seminar in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1168,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1168","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":2},"title":"We’re hosting a seminar!","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The Florida Academy of Sciences is hosting its 74th Annual Meeting March 19-20 at Indian River State College, Fort Pierce. As part of that meeting, Florida Citizens for Science is proud to announce we are conducting a seminar: \"Attacks on Science, Science Education and Evolution\" is co-sponsored by the Florida\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":754,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=754","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":3},"title":"Eugenie Scott at UCF","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"October 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I mentioned before that Eugenie Scott from the National Center for Science Education is going to be here in Florida Nov. 3. The University of Central Florida issued a release about it today. Scott, the executive director of the National Center for Science Education, will discuss \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Academic Freedom Bills:\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=754#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1103,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1103","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":4},"title":"Lecture: Evolution and Creation Conflicting or Compatible?","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"August 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Public lecture: The Mattie Kelly Cultural & Environmental Institute at Northwest Florida State College will host Dr. Patricia \"Tricia\" Kelley, a National Association of Geoscience Teachers Distinguished Lecturer, at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 on the main stage of the Mattie Kelly Arts Center on the Niceville campus. She will present\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1103#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1025,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1025","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":5},"title":"Biology students do pay attention","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"May 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey, high school biology teachers, students are paying attention to you. What you teach and how you teach it really can influence how kids view evolution and creationism, according to a recently published study. The study questioned introductory biology students at the college level concerning their views on evolution and\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 4 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1025#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}