Evolution Revolution

"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution..."

Theodosius Dobzhansky

By the time teacher John Thomas Scopes went on trial in Tennessee in 1925 for teaching evolution to his students, evolution had already been a controversial topic for decades.  Ninety years later, Darwin’s Theory of Evolution through Natural Selection is still a hot-topic, and its place in public education (and, more recently, that of Creationism or “Intelligent Design”) one of the longest fought battles of the culture wars.  Tonight, that battle continues at the Creation Museum in Kentucky, when Bill Nye (“the Science Guy”) squares off against creationist Ken Ham in a televised debate.

Without having seen the debate, I’m going to jump to two conclusions.  1) It will be very spirited.  2) No one who is watching it (on either side) will have their mind changed.  At all.

I’d always been interested in evolution, ever since I was old enough to understand it, and working with animals on a daily basis has only reinforced that interest.  I came to realize pretty quickly that not everyone was as accepting of the theory as I was. 

At one zoo, located in what is typically referred to as “the Bible Belt”, I was showing some visitors a beautiful Burmese python and describing its natural history and behavior.  In a sudden flash of inspiration, I lifted up the giant snake’s tail and invited the assembled guests to observe the two claw-like spurs on either side of the snake’s cloacae.  Those, I explained cheerfully, were remnants of the legs of ancestral pythons; I proceeded to describe how snakes had actually evolved from reptiles that did have legs, but had gone “legless” to facilitate hunting prey underground or in dense undergrowth.

Up until this point in the conversation, many of the assembled visitors had been staring at the python as if it was the most horrifying thing imaginable.  Now, they were fixing that look of bug-eyed horror at me.  One or two parents ushered their children away hurriedly.

A few weeks later, I was visiting the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History.  Visitors were crowded into a movie theater in the museum’s Hall of Mammals, meant to explain how mammals came to be.  A few seconds in, following the first use of the “E” word, I saw a couple stand up and pull their kids out of the theater.  “We don’t believe in that”, they staged whispered to their young daughter as they led her away.

I don’t know if there has ever been any formal polling done, but if there had been, I suspect we would find that a greater percentage of zookeepers, compared to the general public, believe in evolution.  There are several possible reasons for this, but the life sciences education that most keepers receive prior to entering the field probably has the most to do with it.  That and the reality of working with the animals directly on a daily basis and seeing behaviors, adaptations, and traits that many keepers find hard to explain otherwise (i.e.: snake “legs”).

Compared to many other “hot button” issues – same-sex marriage, abortion, health care, immigration – the teaching of evolution may seem, at first glance, to be somewhat unimportant.  After all, you may wonder, we’re here on earth, so why does it matter how we got here?  I used to agree with that viewpoint, and tried not to argue it too much.  That being said, I’m pretty conflict averse.

I’ve come to believe, however, that the teaching of evolution is important, for two reasons.  First, a critical mind needs to look at and evaluate evidence; currently, the scientific evidence (fossil records, DNA analysis, vestigial organs, etc) supports Darwin’s theory.  If students do raise objections or find problems with the theory, those should be vigorously explored.  No one should ever reject a theory – in science, in business, in politics – just because “I don’t want it to be true” (*cough*, climate change, *cough*)

Secondly, the teaching of evolution puts humans in perspective with the natural world.  The earth’s ecosystems, it says, were not made for the use and privilege of a single species.  Rather, we arose as part of a complicated world of ecosystems, in which all living things have a role.  In this later viewpoint, the religious community is starting to come around; whereas the Book of Genesis was once read to give humans dominion over the earth and all its creatures, free to use or exploit or destroy them as we see fit, it is now more often interpreted as stewardship of the planet.

The utmost goal of any zoo or aquarium should be conservation.  With that in mind, there is a point that needs to be made to every visitor, creationist or evolutionist: the animals that you see here today exist.  Whether they were each the direct creation of a supreme being or the byproduct of millions of years of evolution, they are here, the result of a process that neither you nor I nor anyone can pretend to understand in full.  Therefore, they should be treasured and protected.

I would hope that everyone could get on board with that theory