Understanding Evolution for Teachers is a website run by the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) in Berkeley. Part of the website addresses a number of misconceptions about evolution and one of them is: Misconception: “Evolutionary theory is incomplete and is currently unable to give a total explanation of life”.
What I particularly like about their explanation is the "jigsaw puzzle analogy" that they use to illustrate the concept. Looking at the figure, you can immediately see the relevance—the fact that a few pieces are missing does not mean that we can't see the big picture.
There is no doubt about the general structure of evolutionary theory in spite of the fact that some pieces of the puzzle haven't been put in their proper place. There is no doubt about the fact that neither creationism nor any other explanation fits the scientific data.
I don't know who first came up with the jigsaw puzzle analogy. I first heard about it on talkorigins many years ago but I've forgotten who the author was. Please let me know if you remember. This figure needs to be widely disseminated because it makes an important point. I hope the University of California and the Understanding Evolution website won't object as long as we attribute it to them.
[Hat Tip: John Dennehy]
This subject must surely be connected with information theory, redundancy and message reconstitution and the like.
ReplyDeleteThe sort of picture you show there is really only relevant to the fossil record. If you use nucleotide sequence similarities you don't get these sorts of gaps. The way the jigsaw is set up at the moment would allow IDiots to continue suggesting that the missing pieces show God poofing new species into existence.
ReplyDeleteIIRC The jigsaw puzzle post on TO was a response to a "How do you teach science" post. I believe it won, or was at least nominated for, a PotM.
ReplyDeleteThe original poster said that he handed out jigsaw puzzles to teams within his class and they could learn various techniques i.e. investigate the boundaries of the puzzle (straight edge hunt), construct disconnected easy to find areas, make and test hypotheses about missing pieces/connections, find other groups working on bits of "our" puzzle &c.
A very effective, non-controversial tool to demonstrate scientific methods.
Martin
Life's Manifest
ReplyDeleteRecapitulation of some earlier notes on
The Drive, Nature And Purpose Of Life: Scientific Comprehension
http://www.physforum.com/index.php?showtopic=14988&st=195&#entry330517
A. Uniqueness Of science among human artifacts
ALL aspects of our culture are, of course, anthropoartifacts, including science. Yet among those artifacts science has a distinct uniqueness for us.
During the recent several centuries in the course of human history humans have been developing science at an accelerating rate as a provider of convincing, ever closer approaching, approximate models of the real world.
B. The drive and nature of life
The drive of life and of its evolution is to enhance the functionality and survivability of the genes, in order to maintain and enhance Earth-biosphere's temporary constrained energy storage and to maintain it BIO as long as possible.
It is the genes, life's prime strata organisms, that evolve, and the evolution of genomes, the 2nd stratum of life, and of the 3rd life stratum cellular organisms, is an interenhancing consequence of their genes' evolution.
C. The nature of life
Earth Life: 1. a format of temporarily constrained energy, retained in temporary constrained genetic energy packages in forms of genes, genomes and organisms 2. a real virtual affair that pops in and out of existence in its matrix, which is the energy constrained in Earth's biosphere.
Earth organism: a temporary self-replicable constrained-energy genetic system that supports and maintains Earth's biosphere by maintenance of genes.
Gene: a primal Earth's organism. (1st stratum organism)
Genome: a multigenes organism consisting of a cooperative commune of its member genes. (2nd stratum organism)
Cellular organisms: mono- or multi-celled earth organisms. (3rd stratum organism)
D. Update of underlying life sciences conception is thus feasible
- First were independent individual genes, Earth's primal organisms.
- Genes aggregated cooperatively into genomes, multigenes organisms, with genomes' organs.
- Simultaneously or consequently genomes evolved protective and functional membranes, organs.
- Then followed cellular organisms, with a variety of outer-cell membrane shapes and
functionalities.
This conception is a scientific, NOT TECHNOLOGICAL, life-science innovation.
It is tomorrow's comprehension of life and of its evolution.
IT IS FRAUGHT WITH INTRIGUING DARWINIAN EVOLUTION IMPLICATIONS.
IT IS FRAUGHT WITH INTRIGUING TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS POTENTIALS.
E. The purpose of OUR, human, life
The purpose of OUR life and its promotion is ours to formulate and set. It derives solely from our cognition.
Suggesting,
Dov Henis
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-P81pQcU1dLBbHgtjQjxG_Q--?cq=1