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| NCLC 120 focused a
lot on the theory of evolution, or the idea that species change over
time. The theory of evolution is based on time, chance, and selection.
Scientists believe that the evolution of species occurred over billions
and billions of years. Evolution is also based on chance genes being
identically mutated repeatedly. Finally, evolution is based on natural
selection or the idea that favorable traits will be passed on to the
next generation while unfavorable traits will not. The book, The Making of the Fittest, used DNA to prove evolution. Throughout the study, I had several questions that were never really answered. My first question came from chapter 5 in the book. Carroll used fossil genes in DNA as a way to prove that there was design. he states, "the patterns of gain and loss seen in species' DNA are exactly what we should expect if natural selection acts only in the present, and not as an engineer or designer would" (Carroll 136). What I did not understand was how this DNA was made. His whole argument focuses on the DNA, but he never explains how DNA was formed. I did not understand how DNA could randomly come together, and now, all of life depends on it to live. DNA is so tiny, and yet, it is so complex. If one nucleotide is misplaced, the whole gene could potentially not function. I questioned how DNA could come together by chance. |
The next question I
had was in chapter 6. I questioned whether the time scale that
scientists created for evolution was accurate. Scientists accumulated
this time scale from fossils using radiometric dating and other
processes. Radiometric dating is inaccurate because it is based on
several assumptions. These assumptions are that the rate of decay is
constant, there has been no contamination, and the amount of daughter
element in the rock of fossil when it was formed is known. If one of
these assumptions is wrong, the entire dating system is thrown off
completely. I had a hard time trusting the accuracy of the evolution
time scale because the process was based entirely on assumptions that
could potentially throw the data off millions of years. The final question I had dealt with the idea of miracles. Carroll continually states that there is no design in creation, but I wondered how nature could make up a miracle. If nature did make up miracles, I wondered why miracles didn't occur on a regular basis. Miracles are favorable for the species so natural selection would not select against them. I just could not understand how nature could make up a miracle. Throughout the study of the theory of evolution, I had many questions about its credibility. Even though my questions weren't answered, I continued to do my best to understand the theory and all of its ideas. I studied the different ways Carroll used DNA to prove the evolution of species. I looked at how natural selection occurred in different populations. I continued to learn more about the science behind the theory. |
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