TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Scientists create whale ID parade A team of Australian scientists has developed a computer program that can help identify individual humpback whales through their tail markings. abc.net.au |
Turtle egg rescue at space center billed success By MARCIA DUNN 2010-09-08T20:03:09ZCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The unprecedented turtle rescue effort at NASA's Kennedy Space Center is winding down.... hosted.ap.org |
Australian dust storm could be weeks away An earth scientist says another major dust storm over south-eastern Australia is likely within weeks. abc.net.au |
Claim: White flower has world's longest genome By RAPHAEL G. SATTER 2010-10-07T21:43:31ZLONDON (AP) -- An ordinary-looking white flower from Japan may carry something quite extraordinary within its pale petals - the longest genome ever discovered.... hosted.ap.org |
Progress, evolution, and dog mess in Switzerland | John Hollier The use of an 'ascent of man' illustration in the conservative country is indicative of how the public understands evolutionCleaning up after your dog is obviously a good thing, especially in towns, but the idea is relatively recent in Switzerland. This picture was taken in the canton of Bern, showing how such good behaviour is encouraged. While this is clearly something light-hearted that one should not read too much into, I thought it amusing and thought provoking.In the first place, it shows that even in a rather traditional and conservative country like Switzerland the theory of evolution is completely uncontroversial. Religion is still taken fairly seriously, particularly in the rural areas. It is also part of the identity mythos of some of the cantons. There is little evidence of fundamentalism however, and even in a Protestant canton like Bern evolution is obviously accepted.On the negative side, it shows the seduction of ideas about progress which have nothing to do with the theory of evolution. Another example is the way that illustrations of the "tree of life" nearly always have humans sitting right at the top. It seems that we humans instinctively feel that we are the most important and most advanced of species, and that we "arose" due to some sort of progressive process. In fact evolution says nothing of the sort; "progress" is in the eye of the beholder, and if a simplification would be an advantage, that is what evolution would favour. The mechanism is not directed at a preordained goal, only at the most efficient offspring right now. Having said that, it does tend to be directional. This has nothing to do with it being directed, but means that future adaptations can only work with the choices left by past adaptations: thus when mammals went back to the sea they didn't get gills back, but effectively found a way to hold their breath longer.Although the anthropocentric view of "progress" is less worrying than creationism in that it does not try to change the way science is taught, it is still incorrect and means that people like me are still not explaining it clearly enough to the wider public.EvolutionSwitzerlandJohn Hollierguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |