Why Everyone should learn the Theory of Evolution
In an article published in the December 15, 2008
issue of Scientific American, the editors collectively
touched upon the genius, accomplishments, foresight, etc., of Charles Darwin.
You have no doubt seen plenty on the subject recently, but it is important for people to think beyond Darwin’s sometimes poetic explanation of the origin of species (“from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved”) and appreciate some of the real-world impacts and benefits of the theory. Condensed from the article:
. . . Darwin’s legacy has a direct bearing on how society makes public policy and even, at times, on how we choose to run our lives. Overfishing of mature adults selects for smaller fish (and higher prices at the supermarket), and excessive use of antibiotics leads, by natural selection, to drug resistance, all considerations for regulators and legislators.
Kudos to SciAm (Scientific American) for going beyond evolution as an explanation and focusing discussion on some of its practical impacts and to PIQUE for highlighting the piece. The article continues to note how knowledge of evolution and genetics affects our elective eating habits, health choices, and the treatment of diseases and how the broader adoption of evolutionary studies will be vital to creating an environment hospitable to scientific discovery.
Indeed, the implications of Darwin’s theory go much further than a quaint awareness of our ultimate family tree or an explanation of why some fish glow or why dogs walk in circles before they lie down. Evolution should not be considered merely an explanation of the past but rather as a tool we use to understand the biology of life in the present and prepare for the future.
Beyond the celebrated and obvious advances in healthcare and other medicine, evolution’s universal basis of life sciences stem all advances in genetics, botany, livestock and crop improvement, wildlife and hunting regulation, extended space exploration, improved (offensive and defensive) weaponry, and a host of other extremely important scientific endeavors that improve the human experience or protect our soldiers. Economically, understanding the concept of evolution is key to working in the vast majority of progressive fields, and dominating in these fields is directly associated with a nation’s status as a world scientific, military, and economic power.
Tell me again, Ben Stein, why should not it be taught in schools?
( Courtesy: Skeptical Briefs - March 2009)
