Have you heard that humans evolved from monkeys or that evolution cannot explain the evolution of complex organs, such as an eye? Unfortunately, these are misconceptions, and the theory of evolution is among the most misunderstood sciences.
Even more so, I think there is also a stubborn urge to interpret and comment on it without understanding.
Unfortunately, it also leaves confusion for those who want to understand it. Therefore, in this article, Therefore, in this article, I will explain seven of the most common misconceptions about evolution and help you find the truth behind them.
Myth: Humans evolved from chimpanzees
Truth: Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees, and neither did chimps evolve from humans. Humans and chimps once had a common ancestor, and we were one species at the time. Two separate lineages of this species evolved in isolation, and a few million years later, here we are, quite distinct, yet still so similar.
This misconception stems from a larger one: evolution is a linear process, going from less advanced species to more, and someday all sponges will become humans. That is not the case. The tree of life is, in fact, a tree, and new species arise by branching, not by linearly progressing through the march of time. See how new species evolve here.
Myth: Individuals evolve
Truth: Evolution happens in populations over generations, not in individuals. I understand why it is tempting to think of a fish that one day had enough and decided to walk outside. But that is not the case.
A fish actually can not grow a pair of legs however much it wants. However, the fins of their offspring may be in a slightly different shape than theirs, potentially giving them a better chance to hop around when it finds themselves outside of water.
If beneficial, their descendants may develop even more differing fins. Repeat this many generations over, and the shape of the fins may be considerably different.
If the new shape helps to flop around muddy floodplains slightly easier, that’s an adaptation. Don’t take just my word for it. Look up Perse’s mudskippers. They are fish that live today and can literally move around on land.
Myth: We cannot observe the evolution
Truth: Evolution HAS been observed in viruses, bacteria, fruit flies, mosquitoes, lizards, and even birds. Back in the day, it indeed might have been an effective point. Lazy but spot on.
Evolution deniers often argue that evolution takes millions of years, so you won’t be able to demonstrate it. That is like saying that viruses can’t cause diseases since they can’t be observed, which was only a valid point until electron microscopes allowed us to observe them. By the way, you can learn about the evolution of viruses here.
A similar point about evolution was also convenient until other scientists came along and said, hey, evolution sometimes can be more rapid, see. Even speciation can occur in just several centuries.
For example, mosquitoes that live in the London tube system are now a separate species from those living above ground.
Both species, though visually similar, are reproductively isolated. (A quick reminder, reproductive isolation is a defining trait of distinct species). Obviously, the speciation of these mosquitoes occurred within the past few centuries since the tube was opened in 1863.
But it’s not only about the spawning of new species. There are smaller changes observed all the time.
- The wing length of swallows living near highways has changed within decades, which helps avoid traffic collisions.
- White clover evolved lower production of anti-herbivore chemicals near cities since fewer herbivores are around there.
- New variants of viruses occur periodically, showing examples of evolution within a few years.
- Field mustard has evolved thinner stems in response to draught within five years.
- Examples like these are piling up, and we are just warming up.
Don’t ever believe that evolution cannot be observed.
Besides, observing fossil records is also an observation. A few decades ago, it might have been said that no transitional fossils had been found yet. But that was when fossils were scarce, and things are much different now. The Paleobiology database contains over a million records of discovered and described fossils. The number is still growing and obviously does not contain nearly all fossils ever found.
Indeed, gaps in the fossil record cannot disprove evolution. For instance, just as you can understand a jigsaw puzzle, even if some pieces are missing, gaps in the fossil record do not disprove evolution.
Myth: Species must and want to evolve
Truth: Animals do not adapt on purpose. New traits occur by chance, but they spread and persist in the population if they are beneficial.
Versions of this misconception are still common in everyday discussions about evolution. For example, I’ve heard a lot that the goes of all species is to survive and reproduce. This is wrong on two levels. I already mentioned that individuals do not evolve. Thus, consciousness and intent are already out of the question. Evolution also is not something that can be carried out intentionally. It isn’t something that must happen; it is something that inevitably occurs when something gets imperfectly copied over and over again.
Myth: Evolution is random
Truth: mutations are random, but natural selection and evolutions are not.
Natural selection weeds out traits that are nonbeneficial or harmful in a particular environment. The process is not anywhere near random because the environment acts like a set of rules.
If, for example, a giraffe has a long neck, its offspring can have slightly longer or shorter necks by chance. That is random, indeed. However, a longer neck helps to obtain food, calves with linger necks will survive better, and over time, giraffes will have longer necks. That is not random at all.
Myth: Evolution can’t explain complex organs
Truth: The evolution of complex organs, such as the heart and eyes can be explained.
A common idea here is that complexity cannot arise in an instant but must become so gradually. In that sense, evolution deniers often claim that half an eye is non-functional, so how could it evolve? However, that is not true, the evolution of the eye is actually quite well understood, and eyes have evolved independently several times.
The simplest eye is just a bunch of photoreceptive cells that can sense light or dark. Give these cells a slight well, and it will also be able to sense the direction the light is coming from. Each improvement in the evolution of the eye gives a slight advantage over its predecessor, and only over hundreds of millions of years such a complex organ as the human eye has evolved.
It is similar for other organs, as well. The human heart has four chambers, bet we can see less complex hearts in other animals, such as single-chambered pumps in insects, three-chambered hearts in frogs and lizards, and even almost four-chambered hearts in crocodiles, yet slightly different from that of humans.
Every step of complex organ evolution can be reconstructed; there is no magic involved.
Myth: Evolution is only a theory
Truth: Evolution is not a theory. The “theory of evolution” is a theory, but not the evolution itself.
Likewise, you might say that the mind is only a theory because the theory of the mind exists. The theory of evolution is concerned about how evolution works, not whether evolution exists, similarly, like the theory of gravity doesn’t deal with whether gravity exists, but rather how it functions.
The second part is that becoming a theory is the highest promotion that an idea can achieve. If an idea is a theory, it means it is well-established in scientific data, and there is no controversy about its accuracy. Scientists still study evolution because the theory can be improved, and we still have a lot to learn. But the fact that we do not know everything per se does not disprove evolution.
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Now you are equipped with rebuttals to the most common misconceptions about biological evolution. Some of these misunderstandings come from denial and unwillingness to accept that humans have evolved from monkeys. Others, however, have arisen from miscommunication and lack of clarity when ideas of evolution are being communicated.
But regardless of where these misconceptions come from, I am sure that a better understanding of evolution is crucial. It is not only a debate between people of different beliefs. Understanding evolution has profound implications for fields like medicine and public health, agriculture and food safety, and it promotes a more comprehensive understanding of science as a whole.