Naturally, Wells had to include ‘Darwin’s finches’ in his list of evolutionary icons. He asks: DARWIN’S FINCHES. Why do textbooks claim that beak changes in Galapagos finches during a severe drought can explain the origin of species by natural selection — even though the changes were reversed after the drought ended, and no net evolution […]
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charles darwin – voyaging
A while back I sort of promised to post the talk I was going to give on Charles Darwin. Anyway, now I’ve done the talk (over in Tauranga; may well be repeating it in Hamilton in the fairly near future), & so here are the words. (Sort of. I tend to develop my presentations in […]
Continue readingpeppered moths – another ‘icon’?
You’ve probably heard about ‘peppered moths’ in class. They’re an example of the ability of natural selection to shape a population in a relatively quick time. But Jonathan Wells asks: Q: PEPPERED MOTHS. Why do textbooks use pictures of peppered moths camouflaged on tree trunks as evidence for natural selection — when biologists have known […]
Continue readingevidence-based thought
Here’s another blog that’s well-worth a visit: Evidence Based Thought. And it’s a kiwi blog too!
Continue readingwells is peeved with haeckel’s embryos
Another misleading offering from Icons of Evolution: VERTEBRATE EMBRYOS. Why do textbooks use drawings of similarities in vertebrate embryos as evidence for their common ancestry — even though biologists have known for over a century that vertebrate embryos are not most similar in their early stages, and the drawings are faked?
Continue readingwells’ third ‘icon’ – homology
The concept of homology is another of Jonathan Well’s ‘icons of evolution’ – ideas that he wrongly labels as ‘key’ to teaching evolution, and then describes as incorrect, misleading, or out-of-date. Let’s see what he has to say about homology – & why he’s wrong.
Continue readingthe cambrian ‘explosion’
Wells’ second ‘question’ centres on what’s often been called the Cambrian ‘explosion’ – the seemingly rapid appearance in the fossil record of a wide range of different organisms. (‘Rapid’ = over a period of 10-20 million years or so.)
Continue readingobfuscation galore!
While doing a bit of tidying in my office (a mammoth task!) I came across a printout of Jonathan Wells’ infamous list, "10 questions to ask your biology teacher". Wells is a senior fellow with the US-based Discovery Institute, which actively promotes intelligent design as an alternative to evolution. His list of questions is (I […]
Continue readingscience – how to tell if you’re doing it wrong
something else to share
James Burke was a wonderful science communicator (still may be; I don’t know if he’s still alive). Twenty-something years ago, I remember watching one of his TV series, The day the world changed. It impressed me then, & I wasn’t disappointed when I watched part of it again today, having found a link to it via […]
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