Debunking Misconceptions Regarding the

Theory of Evolution

Myth 1 - Evolution has never been observed.

Biologists define evolution as a change in the gene pool of a population over
time. One example is insects developing a resistance to pesticides over the
period of a few years. Most people will not disagree with this fact. Direct
observations do show us that species change over time, and DNA
itself is changeable. Genes change by mutation and can produce
variations among species, like a white tiger or bacteria that are resistant1 to
antibiotics. At this level, most people do not disagree with the theory of
evolution because it can be directly observed.
With advances in gene sequences it has become easier to gather data on
how a population changes. Biologists can compare one group of frogs to
another group of frogs and see that their DNA sequences have differences
(and similarites). Even human DNA can be used to trace a family lineage
because ethnic groups have different genetic markers. Who Do You Think
You Are" is a tv show that attempts to find relationships between living
celebrities and historical figures of the past using DNA. This would not be
possible if modern humans did not have measurable differences in their
DNA based on where they originated from.
Myth 2 - Evolution violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics is commonly known as the Law of
Increased Entropy. As usuable energy in a system is converted to unusable
heat energy, entropy increases. Entropy is a measure of disorganization,
randomness and chaos. What does this have to do with evolution? Some
people interpret the second law to mean that order cannot come from
disorder, as it is the natural tendency2 within a system to become more
disorderly and more chaotic. This shows more a misconception about
thermodynamics than about evolution. Life is not a closed system,
organisms must constantly take in energy to maintain their homeostasis, a
form of internal order. Plants get energy from the sun, animals get energy
from eating plants, and so forth. Without this addition of energy, the
organism will die. Evolution does not violate this law because there is a
source of energy for all life on this planet, the sun.
It is also erroneous3 to think that order can never come from disorder, as
many things naturally organize. Water molecules stick together with
hydrogren bonds causing surface tension. Snowflakes and crystals form,
and even with the right combination of raw materials, DNA will form within a
solution, all of these things can be explained with chemistry and do not
violate any physical laws.
Myth 3 - There are no transitional fossils. What about the
Missing Link?
A transitional fossil is one that looks like an intermediate between two
lineages, it may contain features of both groups or a feature shared
amongst two groups of seemingly unrelated organisms.
This myth makes the assumption that evolution occurs in a linear4 fashion,
with each animal moving step by step toward its current form. Unfortunately,
many images of evolution tend to reinforce the idea of linear evolution.
There is nothing in the theory that says organisms evolve this way. In fact,
Darwin described his model as tree, with groups of animals occupying a
branch, where some branches are closer than others. Think of the Felis
order, where there are many groups of cats such as tigers, lions, and
jaguars, they share a common ancester. A lion is not going to turn into a
jaguar, you won't find a link between these two animals.

There are plenty of transitional fossils in the record. The absence of any
one intermediate does not negate the whole theory. Paleontologists
must work with fossils they can find, and it is not surprising that we would
have some gaps in our record. Think of a jigsaw puzzle that has a couple of
missing pieces, you can still get an idea of what the picture is.
There are also some groups that are well represented in the fossil record
and provide us a clear picture of how a group has changed over time. Some
notable5 examples are the transitions from reptile to mammal, from land
animal to early whale, and from dinosaur to bird.
You can view several examples of transitional fossils in paleontology
records.
Myth 4 - Evolution says that life originated, and evolution
proceeds, by random chance.
There is probably no other statement which is a better indication that the
arguer doesn't understand evolution. Chance certainly plays a large part in
evolution, but this argument completely ignores the role of natural selection.
Chance provides genetic variation, which is the raw material that natural
selection has to work with. From there, natural selection sorts out variations
that give greater success.
Atoms and molecules do not arrange themselves randomly either, but
according to their chemical properties: sodium naturally bonds to chloride to
form salt, carbon will naturally form long chains. Also realize that evolution
does not necessarily deal with how life first began, evolution focuses on the
processes that continue to guide and change existing life.
A common analogy6 related to this misconception is the one of the monkey
and the typewriter. Those who do not understand evolution argue that if you
sit a monkey at a typewriter and let it randomly hit keys, it will never produce
a novel. This analogy leaves out the essential component7 of evolution -
SELECTION. The analogy would have to take into account that the monkey
at the typewriter would stop occassionally and weed out bad designs, such
as combinations of letters that do not make words. Once you have a
collection of words, eliminate any words that do not make sense..and so
forth. If you continued this way, you may eventually develop a sentence or a
paragraph, or even a novel if you continued long enough.

Evolution works on the principle that random chance plays a role, but
selection of good traits is more important to the overall process.
Myth 5 - Evolution is only a theory; it hasn't been proved
First, we should clarify8 what "evolution" means. Like so many other words,
it has more than one meaning. Its strict biological definition is change in
genes over time which lead to a change in traits, something that is
observable. People often associate the word "evolution" with common
descent, which suggest that organisms share a common ancestor. To gather
evidence for common descent, inferences9 must be made about current
organisms and their relationship to other organisms, both past and present.
Biologists may disagree on these lineages and relationships, but that does
not mean they disagree with the theory of evolution.
Calling the theory of evolution "only a theory" is, strictly speaking, true, but
the idea it tries to convey 10 is completely wrong. The argument rests on a
confusion between what "theory" means in common language and what it
means in science. In science a theory is a model that is used to explain
sets of data, and can be used to make predictions. Theories in science
can be modified or even proven false if new data is discovered. Theories
are supported by a wide variety of evidence from scientists from different
fields and can be used to provide scientists a way to understand natural
processes.

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