Natural Selection and Evolution – A Stunning Concept Part 1

Today is the 150th anniversary of the publishing of The Origin of Species or its full title: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. This earth shaking work, by Charles Darwin, introduced the world to the concept of natural selection as a driving force of evolutionary change. I have been wanting to write about the basics (and I do mean basics) of evolution for a while, so I thought that I would start today.

Why am I doing this? I love biology, and the theory of evolution by natural selection is one of the most elegant (in my opinion) and simple theories in science. I want to share my understanding of this fascinating subject that underpins modern biology. And I love to teach, to tell, to share the wonder I have about the natural world with as many people as possible.

I find that many of the people that denounce the theory of evolution have little understanding of it, nor science in general. I intend to explain things in my own time. I might miss something, or gloss over it. Please, dear reader, ask questions. I crave dialogue and discussion, and although we may not agree, I will listen to you, if you grant me the same courtesy. I will not formerly list sources, as a lot of this material has built up over time from various books, lectures etc. If you would like some reading suggestion, again please ask!

To some, the theory of evolution is wrong simply because organisms *look* designed. They seem to do what they do so well that how could they be anything but designed? It also does not help that we live in a world filled with things that we humans have designed and function well in the role they were designed to fulfill. In a way, you could look at natural organisms and say that they were designed: designed by the slow, incremental process of natural selection. This is not my idea, but it is an interesting way to look at natural selection. Note that there is no mention of an external designer. In the case of natural selection the “designer” is simply the environment (including non living and living factors) that the organism must survive in…

I am getting ahead of myself, so I will pause for a moment to discuss to terms that will appear every now and then. The terms are ‘evolution’ and ‘natural selection’. Evolution simply means change. We use this term all of the time, in a variety of contexts. For example, we might say that a band’s music has evolved to be more mature over the last decade. You might remark that your attitude toward child poverty has evolved after you visited an orphanage in the Honduras. Evolution in biology has the same meaning! Evolution is just the change of organisms over time (time in this case is an extremely important idea, and I will return to it later…). These changes build up until new species are formed and the tree of life branches. Natural selection is the idea of natural processes (environment, predators, diseases, population pressures, parasites, etc) ’selecting’ for useful traits. Darwin, in Origin, used the analogy of artificial selection to help explain it. Most farmers, animal breeders, orchid growers out there know that if there is a trait that you desire in an organism, you look for organisms that posses that trait and then breed them, hoping the offspring will also have that trait. In natural selection, an organism might have some small mutation(more on this term later as well) that helps the organism survive just a little better than its neighbors. It is able to reproduce and pass on that mutation to its offspring. Over time, all of the organisms of that species has that trait. For example: all humans are bipedal, but most chimpanzees are not. At some time in our history, some distant ancestor started walking on two legs. It proved a useful strategy for something, and now we walk upright. So natural selection is simply the environment selecting traits. Blindly selecting traits, I will add. There is no farmer choosing the traits… Hence the ‘natural’ designation.

I think that is enough for one day. Next time I will talk more about the changes or mutations that cause the different traits for nature to select…

Scott

Taxonomy of Calculusaurus…

Well friends, I am almost finished. What started as a battle with a fearsome beast, the Calculusaurus, has evolved into an alliance, perhaps even a friendship. Yes, I have learned that the Calculusaurus is not defeated by force of arms or direct confrontation. One must treat the Calculusaurus gently, with companionship, yet still be wary. Little by little, with practice, the Calculusaurus is brought to one’s side where it becomes an ally… for I have learned something else:

There are more than one calculusaurid! There are more than one species in the genus Calculusaurus. In order to enlighten you, my loyal readers, I will describe the taxonomic organization of said creature:

Genus: Calculusaurus
Species:
1)C. derivativius: known for its smaller stature among calculusaurids, it feeds mostly on first year students. Its physiology consists of limits and derivatives and algebraic excess
2)C. integralusnewtonii: Larger than C. derivativius it is also far more dangerous and aggressive. It has been known to sum infinite series while calculating the area under curves. Unable to be approached unless one has tamed a C. derivativius.
3)C. multivariabilius, C. vectoronoma, and C. tensoraeaii: Little is know of these fearsome beasts that lurk in the shadows of math departments everywhere. To first-years they are but a rumour, a shadow on the edge of the mind. To more experienced mathmagicians, they are mighty beasts, tamed only by those that posses the most potent of mathmagic and spellquations. If I ever learn more of these three, I will tell you…

So but one final task, and I will perhaps have tamed my own C. derivativius and then one day I will be able to hunt a fearsome C. integralusnewtonii.

Do not drink and derive…

S.

On Mathematics…

As you may or may not know, I am in the midst of a Calculus class (Calculus 1 – Limits and Derivatives) at my university. It is a difficult class, but at the same time, it is rewarding. Calculus is something that I have always wanted to learn as I know it is a powerful mathematical tool, especially for understanding and solving physics problems. As I was sitting in class the other day, I was struck by an interesting thought, a realization if you will. I realized that math is the only absolute truth in our universe. This is an idea I have heard of before, but at this moment the idea fully crystallized in my mind. I was thinking about the proofs that one can work out in mathematics. Proofs that are independent and true, literally. Mathematical proofs are unique in that they are true regardless of language, philosophical viewpoint, location in the universe, &c. Though some proofs are simple and some hideously complex, all can be shown to be true independently of all other information.

I thought about this later. Those geometric proofs that many of us grew to loathe in Math 10 were actually glimpses of universal, absolute truth! What a fantastic thing! Proving that the angles on either side of a line transecting parallel lines were equal holds true always!

This thought gave me a new perspective on mathematics, and helped to gain a glimmer of understanding as to why people can become enamored with the subject, and dedicate their lives to studying and teaching “impractical” pure mathematics. I have also realized why early mathematical philosophers, Pythagoras was one, saw a touch of the divine in their formulas and geometries. Mathematics is a subtle and complex subject, but when I think of the inherent truth of it, I feel much more interested in learning and studying it….

Consider:
In some places god is called Yahweh, others Jehovah, Shiva, Thor, Cthulu or does not exist at all. But everywhere in the universe is 2+2=4 true and 2+2=5 false…

Ubi dubium ibi libertas

S.

Be Thankful…

It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, and it is time for all of us to be thankful. We can be thankful if we have a roof over our head, or food to eat, or clean drinking water. We are able to choose our government, and openly complain about them. We are free to be Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Christian, Straight, Gay, Bi or whatever. We are at peace in our country and we are generally safe. The list could go on, but I want the readership to continue it.

What are you thankful for? And as you add your answers, think of those that are in worse situations then yours…

S.

The World WILL not End!

I felt the need to briefly comment on the supposed end of the world caused by the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN that started firing beams of accelerated particles today. It will not cause the end of the world. First, they are not even colliding particles until next month. You have at least a month to get your affairs in order… Second: the energies they will achieve are no different than what occurs, and has been occurring since time=0 for earth, in our upper atmosphere. High energy cosmic rays, which are essentially what the LHC will be colliding, collide with atoms in our upper atmosphere all the time. As we have not been swallowed by a black hole, or as all the matter on earth has not been changed to “strange matter” by strangelets, there is little too fear. The LHC will hopefully answer some critical questions in particle physics by investigating conditions that would have occurred in the fraction of time after the big bang. It is a really cool machine!

A brief comment for those perpetuating the hysteria around the start-up of this interesting scientific endeavor: Stop wasting all of our time and focus on something that is a real threat to annihilate the human race. Nuclear weapons and nuclear weapon proliferation. Go protest the needless presence of nuclear weapons on this planet. Take the Bush government to court to stop them from deploying a ballistic missile shield, which amounts to little more than a step backward in reducing the threat of nuclear war. Nuclear weapons are a million times more of a threat to our health and safety than the LHC is, so please, go fight something worthwhile, and let the physicists get some work done…

And if I am wrong, oh well… If one must die, swallowed by a black hole is a pretty cool way to go…

My $0.03

“Finding Darwin’s God” A Review (Of sorts)

This is a blog aimed at all of the Christians (and any member of any other religious or faith-based group) that continue to deny evolution.

As I have tried to demonstrate through several arguments on various blogs and recommendations for further reading, evolution is a factual, ongoing important process that shaped all life on earth. Unfortunately people are not getting it, and are still trying to push non-scientific theories such as intelligent design and “creation science” as viable alternatives to “Darwinism”. As I do not enjoy giving up, here is yet another book for you to read. However, if you do feel that evolution= death of God and do not want to read anything about evolution, you should still read this book. Even if it is the only science book you ever pick up in you entire life, then read it. If it does not convince you that evolution is good and acceptable and congruent with a life of faith, then you are beyond hope!

The book to which I am referring is called Finding Darwin’s God by Kenneth R. Miller. Why am I endorsing this book? Let me tell you. Ken Miller is a cell biologist, and he writes biology textbooks for high school. Thus he knows what he is talking about, and can communicate in a way that is clear and makes sense (unlike this blog…). He was also a star witness against the Dover PA school board in 2005. He helped to demolish the idea that ID or Intelligent Design is a viable scientific option. “So what?” you are asking, “there are lots of books written by cell biologists that I have not read nor care to read…”. Ken Miller is also a Christian. Not an airy-fairy God the designer and then sits back and watches Christian, but the kind that believes in virgin birth, and Christ and all the important stuff. Now we have fulfilled two very important criteria about this author. He is a biologist and a Christian.

What about the book? It is a clear, concise book written especially for Christians who do not believe in evolution (not that is something you have to “believe in”. There is plenty of evidence and research, but I digress), mostly for the reason that it removes God from the picture. Miller easily destroys this idea and shows how evolution and God can fit together quite nicely thank you very much.

Miller begins by reiterating many of the lines of evidence for evolution and also destroys the “theories” of young earth creation science, intelligent design and some other half-baked ideas. He then discusses how a lot of Christians fear evolution due to some thinkers trying to apply evolution to areas that it does not apply. He then discusses how he sees an evolving universe that is consistent, logical and does not require a deceitful or conniving God.

The book is nine years old, but it is still relevant and insightful. Please go read it. If you still do not “believe” in evolution or cannot accept it, then email me and we will talk. This constant battle over ID and creationism and evolution has to stop. It is taking time and resources from far more important issues, such as stopping the rampant violence and poverty on our planet. Go read it. You can even come over and borrow my copy if you want.

My $0.02