I have been trying, or maybe better said avoiding, writing
about evolution for about a year. Evolution
is one of the major themes of the book project I have been involved in and, as
I’ve begun to describe through this blog, evolution can be a very touchy
subject. In many ways I’ve been lazy and
unproductive with my writing responsibilities but I’ve also been paralyzed by
fear of writing in the wrong way. I know
how challenging my journey with evolution has been and I want to be sure I
build bridges and not barriers to understanding evolution well.
In some ways I started The Essentials series to force my
hand toward some serious effort around evolution. To aid in this endeavor I’ve decided to
compile some of the classic themes that revolve around evolution then tackle
them one by one. I’m confident that the
list that follows will not be exhaustive but it does represent some of the
essentials, and certainly subjects that other writers have seen fit to bring to
the forefront. If there are topics that
any of you readers think should be added to the list please add them via the
comments section.
Typical Topics
·
Artificial selection in agriculture and
domesticated animals demonstrates an analogous mechanism to natural selection –
the engine that powers evolution.
·
The Earth is old. How old? Old. Old enough for natural selection to occur.
How do we know? There are several reliable methods for determining how old
stuff is.
·
Evolution does require long time periods to
occur but it can also be observed at accelerated time scales and even in
experimental, laboratory settings.
·
DNA reveals incredible connections between
organisms
·
Homologous structures provide morphological
evidence for evolution.
·
Molecular and morphological “family trees”
independently and incredibly reflect each other’s identity.
·
The fossil record. What does and doesn’t it
contain and is it useful?
· New
topic: What is survival and who are the fittest? (Added 2-7-12)
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