Evolution Blog

Rethinking evolution

Evolution Blog is Macrovolution.net's offering of articles on evolutionary biology, evolutionary theory, the history of biology, and various other related topics. Hybrids and Immutability It was once generally believed that hybrid animals and plants had been made sterile in order to preserve a divine "natural order." Modern biologists don't seem to be aware of it, but their own attitudes about hybridization — their claims about hybrids being sterile and inviable in order to prevent distinct types of organisms from blending together — are similar to those of the traditional creationist and lack an empirical basis. Such opinions in the mouths of biological authority lend credence to the arguments of the non-empirical creationists. Read on >> Carolus Linnaeus Linnaeus' Theory of Evolution Carolus Linnaeus, the great classifier, is often maligned as a dyed-in-the-wool creationist. But, in fact, his ideas evolved over time. He was a creationist in his youth, but he later became one of the first scientists to propose a theory of evolution. Read on >> Alfred Wallace In 1858, Wallace sent Darwin an essay from Borneo, entitled On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type, that precipitated Darwin into panic. It gave a full account of the theory of natural selection. At the time, Darwin had been working on the theory for some twenty years, but published nothing. This paper should have won Wallace fame at least equal to Darwin's, but most people today have never heard his name. Read on >> Immanuel Kant The Richard Dawkins Delusion In his book, The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins claims there is no god and inveighs against religion and religious people. However, instead of attacking the irrationality of others, it seems Mr. Dawkins should examine his own beliefs. Every philosophical system involves certain unfounded beliefs. Premises are accepted on an irrational basis. From these irrationally posited axioms conclusions are inferred on a logical, rational basis. On a logical, factual basis, then, atheism is really no more defensible than are the various religions that Dawkins attacks. As far as such arguments go, there might or might not be a god or gods. There is no factual proof yea or nay. So neither Dawkins nor his opponents have any rational basis for deciding this issue. Read on >> Evolution Blog - Macroevolution.net Mendel in Darwin's Shadow In a fascinating original article, guest author David Allen looks at Mendel's hybridization research, and how it has been misrepresented at times by both sides of the modern debate between Darwinians and creationists. Read More >> Homo erectus The hominid that survived longer than any other. Read on >> Humpback Whale On the Evolution of Whales - Fact and nonsense Accepted theory claims whales evolved in the early Cenozoic from ancestors that lived on land. This is nonsense. Well-documented, fossil forms highly similar to modern whales already existed in the Mesozoic. This theoretic emperor truly isn't wearing any clothes. Read on >> The Concept of Radiation The notion of radiation is widely accepted as a mode of evolutionary diversification. This idea, however, has some serious logical flaws — in particular, it was based on a mistaken analogy. Read on >> The Scala Naturae Biology today remains heavily under the influence of a mystic, medieval notion that early scientists accepted without empirical verification. Read on >> Evolution Blog - Macroevolution.net The Dinosaur Extinction and the Origin of Mammals For those who tire of the just-so story of the Cretaceous shrew whose decendants rapidly modified themselves into whales, bats, carnivores, ungulates, and every other type of eutherian mammal — here's different explanation of mammalian origins and of the extinction of the dinosaurs. Read on >> Louis Agassiz (1807–1873). Swiss-born American zoologist, geologist, and paleontologist, with a special expertise in ichthyology. Founder and director of Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, one of the most famous scientists of his day. Read on >> Charles Lyell (1797–1875). Scottish geologist and paleontologist. Gave the Pliocene Epoch its name. A friend and supporter of Charles Darwin, Lyell, established uniformitarianism as a scientific principle. Read on >> More articles from Evolution Blog: 12. Karyotypes as a Basis for Stasis and Variation 13. Louis and Mary Leakey 14. Heterosis and Synergistic Effects 15. Vegetative Reproduction 16. Hybrid Taxa 17. Erwin Chargaff 18. Alternative Life Cycles 19. Reproductive Isolation 20. Baron Georges Cuvier 21. On Species 22. On the Cause of Hybrid Infertility 23. Hugo de Vries 24. On Hybrids Evolution Blog - Macroevolution.net