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Anna Dela Cruz's picture

Even We Have Trouble Defining Evolution

Upon reflection of our discussion on how to teach evolution, I was struck by how much time we spent (I'd say about an hour) just defining the word "evolution" in a biological context. In the end I suppose we as a group settled on the definition: change over time of organized matter by random genetic variation interacting with differential reproductive success. However, there were some who found the word "random" problematic in its implications. For example, how do we know the emergence of a genetic mutation is "random"? Is there still the possibility of a "higher power" to determine such instances? 

Walking away from the discussion I personally felt uneasy in my current understandings of evolution. I think that the fact we as a group made repeated revisions in its definition attests to how the theory of evolution itself is in constant evolution.

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