8/08/2007

Changing the theory of Human Evolution

I found this to be an interesting article. It illustrates my point that a theory is the best guess that we can do with the information that we have. That should in no way be interpretted as me saying that evolution is incorrect. It just shows that when confronted with new information, previously accepted theories must change in order to remain the best guess within the information available.

2 comments:

Fishfrog said...

Scientific theories are, and always have been, reasoned explanations and predictions based on observable facts. A theory itself, whether it be the theory of evolution or the theory of gravity, is not a fact. The nice thing about the article you linked to is it shows that scientists are perfectly willing to adapt and adjust theories when presented with new evidence. Contrary to the allegations of proponents of intelligent design, there is no conspiratorial effort by evolutionary biologists and archaeologists to suppress new data.

But it is worth pointing out that while the Theory of Evolution is incomplete, the fact of changes in species over time is incontrovertable.

arfanser said...

That is why I linked to this article. In my opinion, this shows the best thing about science. It shows that we are trying. I think a lot of times we (everyone) get bogged down in defending our positions, or attacking others. Here, there was new evidence, which was incorporated into an existing theory to make that theory the best explanation we currently have. Is it right? Probably not, simply because we do not yet have all the data. Is it the best that people who have studied it their whole lives can do right now? Absolutely. I guess it just seemed like science without all of the posturing for a change.