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On TRACKS-THEORY of EVOLUTION Vol. 16, No. 2 Kansas Wildlife & Parks Spring, 2006 The Scientific Theory of Evolution INSIDE... What Is A Scientific Theory 2 The Scientific Method 3 Don’t Miss Evolution By Natural Selection 4 Species Spotlight:Charles Darwin 8 Our Next Did You Know? 11 Issue: Science Definition 11 Evolution of the Modern Horse 12 The Tree of Life 13 Animal Genetic Variation 15 Problem Concepts in Evolution 17 Champions NABT Statement of Evolution 18 of Kansas WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A the facts as we know them, that they have become SCIENTIFIC THEORY AND A BELIEF? THAT the cornerstones of modern science for today, but REALLY IS THE HEART OF THE CONTRO- who knows about tomorrow? VERSY OVER THE TEACHING OF EVOLU- It is important to remember that scientific theories are never considered fact and are always TION IN BIOLOGY CLASSES. OUR GOAL open to question and change if new scientific evi- FOR THIS ISSUE OF ON TRACKS IS TO dence says otherwise. EXPLAIN WHAT A SCIENTIFIC THEORY IS AND HOW THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION Public Definition of Theory MEETS THE CRITERIA FOR A GOOD SCIEN- An idea, speculation, or plan as to how TIFIC THEORY. something might be done. Most of us have theories about all kinds of things in our lives but these are NOT scientific theories WHAT IS A in any sense! Scientific Hypothesis SCIENTIFIC An idea or hunch that is used to form an experiment to determine if it is valid. THEORY? Scientists regularly use an hypothesis to begin a research project. Reprinted with permission from the Roger Tory Institute and the Electronic Naturalist, www.enatu - Scientific Definition of Theory ralist.org Overwhelming evidence in support of a For most people, a theory is an idea, more general principle explaining the operation or less well thought out, that someone has about a of certain phenomena or events that take given event or process. In science, however, noth- place in the world as in the Theory of ing gets labeled “Theory” until it has undergone a Evolution. rigorous process of questioning via research from many different approaches and still holds up. Granted, this process isn’t perfect because humans aren’t perfect, but it does do a good job of helping scientists understand how the world functions. There are many kinds of science, from astronomy to zoology- with botany, chemistry, and physics in between. But science, worldwide and in all its forms, adheres to a rigid set of standards for experimentation and conclusions, called the “scien- tific method.” Conclusions drawn by scientists who did not follow this method are regularly drawn into question by other scientists, and only those conclu- sions that have “passed the test” of the scientific method are accepted by the scientific community. Scientific Law So a scientific “theory” is quite different from a Implies exact formulation of principles “guess” or “hunch.” It is an idea that has been tried operating in a sequence of events in nature, and tried again, but never disproved (at least not observed to occur with unvarying yet!). Cell theory, germ theory, evolution theory, uniformity under the same conditions as in and molecular theory are all so well supported by the Law of Gravity On T.R.A.C.K.S. 2 The Scientific Method The scientific method (different from a sci- If the experiments bear out the hypothesis it may ence methods course) is the process by which sci- come to be regarded as a theory or even a law of entists, collectively and over time, endeavor to nature. If the experiments do not bear out the construct an accurate (that is, reliable, consistent hypothesis, it must be rejected or modified. What and non-arbitrary) representation of the world. is key in the description of the scientific method Recognizing that personal and cultural just given is the predictive power (the ability to beliefs influence both our perceptions and our get more out of the theory than you put in) of the interpretations of the natural world, we aim hypothesis or theory, as tested by experiment. It is through the use of standard procedures and criteria, often said in science that theories can never be to minimize those influences when developing a proved, only disproved. There is always the possi- theory. As a famous scientist once said, "Smart bility that a new observation or a new experiment people (like smart lawyers) can come up with very will conflict with a long-standing theory. good explanations for mistaken points of view." In summary, the scientific method attempts to mini- mize the influence of bias or prejudice when test- ing an hypothesis or a theory. As stated earlier, the scientific method attempts to minimize the influence of the scientist's bias on the outcome of an experiment. That is, 1. Observation and descrip- when testing an hypothesis or a theory, the scientist tion of a phenomenon or may have a preference for one outcome or another, group of phenomena. and it is important that this preference not bias the results or their interpretation. The most fundamen- 2. Formulation of an tal error is to mistake the hypothesis for an expla- hypothesis to explain the nation of a phenomenon, without performing phenomena. In physics, the experimental tests. Sometimes "common sense" hypothesis often takes the and "logic" tempt us into believing that no test is form of a cause for the phe- needed. nomena or a mathematical Another common mistake is to ignore or relation. rule out data which do not support the hypothesis. Ideally, the experimenter is open to the possibility 3. Use of the hypothesis to that the hypothesis is correct or incorrect. Some- predict the existence of times, however, a scientist may have a strong belief other phenomena, or to pre- that the hypothesis is true (or false), or feels inter- dict quantitatively the results of new observations. nal or external pressure to get a specific result. In that case, there may be a psychological tendency to 4. Repeat of the experiment by several inde- find "something wrong" with data which do not support the scientist's expectations, while data pendent experimenters and properly performed which do agree with those expectations may not be experiments. checked as carefully. The lesson is that all data must be handled in the same way. On T.R.A.C.K.S. 3 Another common mistake arises from the tion and open communication among members of failure to estimate quantitatively systematic errors the scientific community, the biases of individuals (and all errors). There are many examples of dis- or groups may cancel out, because experimental coveries which were missed by experimenters tests are repeated by different scientists who may whose data contained a new phenomenon, but who have different biases. In addition, different types of explained it away as a flaw in the methodology of experimental setups have different sources of sys- the experiment. Conversely, there are many exam- tematic errors. Over a period spanning a variety of ples of alleged "new discoveries" which later experimental tests (usually at least several years), a proved to be due to flaws in the methods not consensus develops in the community as to which accounted for by the "discoverers." experimental results have stood the test of time. In a field where there is active experimenta- Scientific methods are means used by scientif- ic communities for building supportable, evi- dence-based understandings of our natural world. Evolution By Natural Selection The following are excerpts from the article, the evidence. They embrace such an explanation “Was Darwin Wrong?” by David Quammen confidently but provisionally—taking it as their found in National Geographic Magazine Online best available view of reality, at least until some Extra, Nov. 2004. www.magma.nationalgeo - severely conflicting data or some better explana- graphic.com/ngm/0411/feature1 tion might come along. Evolution is both a beautiful concept and Evolution by natural selection, the central an important one, more crucial nowadays to human concept of the life's work of Charles Darwin, is a welfare, to medical science, and to our understand- theory. It's a theory about the origin of adaptation, ing of the world than ever before. It's also deeply complexity, and diversity among Earth's living persuasive—a theory you can take to the bank. The creatures. If you are skeptical by nature, unfamiliar essential points are slightly more complicated than with the terminology of science, and unaware of most people assume, but not so complicated that the overwhelming evidence, you might even be they can't be comprehended by any attentive per- tempted to say that it's "just" a theory. In the same son. Furthermore, the supporting evidence is abun- sense, relativity as described by Albert Einstein is dant, various, ever increas- "just" a theory. The notion that Earth orbits around ing, solidly interconnect- the sun rather than vice versa, offered by Two big ed, and easily available in Copernicus in 1543, is a theory. Continental drift is museums, popular books, ideas are at issue: a theory. The existence, structure, and dynamics of textbooks, and a moun- atoms? Atomic theory. Even electricity is a theoret- the evolution of tainous accumulation of ical construct, involving electrons, which are tiny all species, and peer-reviewed scientific units of charged mass that no one has ever seen. studies. No one needs to, natural selection, Each of these theories is an explanation that has and no one should, accept as the main mech- been confirmed to such a degree, by observation evolution merely as a and experiment, that knowledgeable experts accept anism causing matter of faith.
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