amudu: What Darwin didn't know

Friday, June 10, 2011

What Darwin didn't know

Biology / Evolution

University of Utah anthropologist Alan R. Rogers is the author of a new book, "The Evidence for Evolution." Credit: Lee Siegel, University of Utah.

University of Utah anthropologist Alan R. Rogers has written an evolution book that fills in pieces that were missing from Darwin's argument.

In "The Evidence for Evolution" – published this month by the University of Chicago Press – the anthropology professor tries to lay to rest what he says are persistent and inaccurate anti-evolution arguments with scientific evidence that was unavailable in Charles Darwin's day.

Rogers points out that Darwin didn't know about genetics, continental drift or the age of the Earth. He had never seen a species change. He had no idea whether it was even possible for a species to split in two. He knew of no transitional fossils and of almost no human fossils.

"That evidence might have gone the other way," Rogers says. "It might have refuted Darwin's theory. But instead, we have 150 years of evidence, all of which supports his theory. My book tells the story of these discoveries."

Rogers has been teaching courses on evolution since the 1980s, but for most of that time he didn't talk much about the evidence that evolution actually happens. That issue was settled scientifically more than a century ago, and scientists are interested in the unknown and newly discovered. So, classes and textbooks tend to emphasize the mechanisms of evolution that are still subjects of active research.

Rogers changed his approach in 2006 after he read a poll reporting that only about half of Americans believe humans evolved. "It occurred to me after reading this poll that it didn't make much sense to teach students about the intricacies of evolution if they don't believe that evolution happens in the first place. So, I decided that my introductory classes henceforth were going to have a week or two on the evidence for evolution, and I started looking for a text."

Existing texts either were too long or seemed to expect the reader to take the author's word for things. Rogers was determined not to ask that of his students. To fill the void, he wrote his own easy-to-read book that supports evolution with modern science.

"I'm trying to convince skeptics that evolution really happened. If they're skeptics, then as soon as I get to the point where I say, 'trust me,' they're going to say 'no. The reason I'm skeptical is because I don't trust you.'"

Rogers believes his book will be valuable to evolution skeptics and those who are already convinced. Evolutionists, he says, should be prepared to offer evidence when challenged, and even people familiar with biology will have something to learn. Despite spending 30 years studying evolution, Rogers still included material that was new to him.

He hopes "The Evidence for Evolution" will encourage people to think critically.

"All scientists are skeptics if they're any good, but they're not stubborn about it. In science, you have to be able to change your mind when confronted with evidence. It seems to me that learning that skill is important, not only for scientists, but for everybody. It makes us better citizens."

More information: http://press.uchic … 5941109.html

Provided by University of Utah

"What Darwin didn't know." June 8th, 2011. http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-darwin-didnt.html

The Evidence for Evolution [Paperback]Alan R. Rogers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A well-written and timely book. Rogers has the unique ability to present complicated and seemingly illogical ideas in a very coherent way." (Christina Richards, University of South Florida)"

Product Description

According to polling data, most Americans doubt that evolution is a real phenomenon. And it’s no wonder that so many are skeptical: many of today’s biology courses and textbooks dwell on the mechanisms of evolution—natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow—but say little about the evidence that evolution happens at all. How do we know that species change? Has there really been enough time for evolution to operate?

With The Evidence for Evolution, Alan R. Rogers provides an elegant, straightforward text that details the evidence for evolution. Rogers covers different levels of evolution, from within-species changes, which are much less challenging to see and believe, to much larger ones, say, from fish to amphibian, or from land mammal to whale. For each case, he supplies numerous lines of evidence to illustrate the changes, including fossils, DNA, and radioactive isotopes. His comprehensive treatment stresses recent advances in knowledge but also recounts the give and take between skeptical scientists who first asked “how can we be sure” and then marshaled scientific evidence to attain certainty. The Evidence for Evolution is a valuable addition to the literature on evolution and will be essential to introductory courses in the life sciences.