Endless forms most beautiful 2008 Jul 31
Posted by Karl in : science , trackbackI recently completed Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. I expected the book to be theoretical, but Darwin packed the book full with careful observations about the physical world. I found Darwin’s arguments striking because he is cautious in his claims. Where others would rush ahead shouting, “see, I told you so,” Darwin amasses excessive data supporting his claims.
The book starts by describing the knowledge of the day about breeding. Darwin describes how domestic animals vary and how people select particular characteristics. Over many generations, this selection results in distinct characteristics that are associated with particular breeds. The second chapter expands upon this topic by describing variation and selection in the natural world. Given knowledge about breeding domestic animals, it is a small leap to realize that variation and natural selection can, over long periods of time, bring about great changes.
For me, the most striking evidence of evolution is that there are so many closely related animals. Evolution predicts that the most successful kinds of animals will have a large number of closely related cousins because genetic variation causes them to slowly diverge from one another. This is exactly what we see. For example, there are many different types of cats and it it is possible to breed between them to create mixtures like tigons and ligers*. This is in sharp contrast to the concept of special creation, where animals are thought of distinct kinds that cannot be mixed.
I found it interesting that Darwin goes out of his way to allay the worries of people wanting to retain a belief in a creator. Darwin suggests that God could have created the first ancestor(s) that eventually resulted in all living things. In the closing of the book, Darwin writes:
There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.
Darwin’s work holds up well after 150 years. You may find the old prose difficult but, in my opinion, the slog is well worth it.
* Origin of Species does not mention tigons and ligers. It’s just a convenient example.
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