Evolution. Its a controversial topic at best, between the religious groups arguing against it, the hard-core scientists gung-ho for it and the middle men who see the evidence for it but don’t want to let go of their belief in a higher power. Personally, I’m somewhere between the middle and the extremist scientist.
Let’s take a step back though. What is evolution? Simply said; evolution is the process that living organisms go through over time to better fit their environment. Does anyone here watch “The Big Bang Theory”? Remember when Sheldon was talking to his sister about the possibility of her having a baby Sheldon, an improved model, a “Sheldon 2.0” – that’s evolution in a nutshell. A bigger, better,more suited organism.
Most people don’t deny the idea of evolution but what we find hard to believe and endorse is this idea of humans evolving from apes. Yes, there are lots of similarities between us and the chimps, but then again, you could argue that for dolphins as well. Dolphins and humans are the only two species that have sex for fun.
Humans and monkeys, aside; there is an overwhelming pile of evidence supporting the theory of evolution.
The first piece of evidence (and one of the more easy parts to remember) is the FOSSIL RECORD!
The fossil record relies stratigraphic sequence (if you can remember that term and use it then you will sound really, really, really smart). It simply means that the fossil record uses the idea that the layers further down in the Earth are older. Think about it, you finally make the effort to clean your room and all that stuff sitting on the floor under the mountains of everything else has been there the longest. “Hey! I haven’t seen this skirt in ages!” “So that’s where my other iPod cord went”. Its the same principle.
You also find that the fossils further down in the crust are actually a lot simpler than the ones at the top. You get lots of jelly fish, bacteria, single-celled organisms and the occasional shell in the lower layers. These build up and you start finding more complex fossils like fish and then finally, the MIGHTY DINOSAUR! We don’t have all that many fossils of mammals and such but we do have many that have been well-preserved due to the Ice Age. Relax, they’re dead, so even if they thaw out they won’t come back to life.
This progression from simple life forms to more complex organisms is but the first card in our pile of evidence.
Next up: Geographic Distribution.
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