Misconceptions Assignment
Recently, we were assigned a very interesting project in Foundations in Biology. Our task is to do a scientific literature review on three common misconceptions in science. One of mine, for instance, is the following: “Evolution is the striving toward higher forms of life on earth”. Albeit a common perception, this is merely a hindsight perspective that equates the historical increase in complexity life has seen since its inception, with ‘higher forms of life’. Indeed, life doesn’t necessarily become ‘better’ as evolution happens; natural selection simply benefits the organisms that are best suited to their environments in the present. In fact, one might even say that crocodiles, by virtue of being one of the most ancient creatures on earth, are the ‘best’ biological machines, for they have survived billions of years without having to ‘evolve’!
