And God Said Let There Be Evolution: The Science and Politics of Evolution

Instead of just being another book on evolution, this book puts the whole story of historical development of the theory of evolution from Darwin and Wallace to modern genetics together in an easy to understand form. Instead of overemphasizing Darwin and fossil evidence, it extends the treatment of the theory to a much bigger scientific context, which includes biochemistry and molecular biology. Furthermore, it also explores the connection of the theory of evolution with physics, and what quantum mechanics, the well-established theory of physics, may have in store for evolution. As the development of practical applications of a theory provides the ultimate evidence for its validity, this book explores the applications of evolution. This book also offers a reality check that many of us need in order to break away from so-called Darwinism. Such a breakaway is good for the scientific health of our nation and the world. In addition to busting the false synonymy between Darwin and evolution, this book also busts many other myths about evolution. Scientifically, it is hard to understand what something is without understanding what it is not. Last but not least, this book includes simple questions and problems with answers and solutions in order to provide the option for the reader to be interactive while venturing through the book. In a nutshell, this book tells the story of evolutionary theory in the bigger sociopolitical, historical, and scientific context in which it has unfolded. One of the reasons for being aware of this story and keeping the story in a bigger context is that we can learn from our past experiences and avoid the mistakes of the past. For example, such a context includes the eugenics movement, which played a significant role in the history of opposition to evolution. It is important to remember the role of eugenics so that we stay alert or on guard against the possibility of such tragedies happening again in the name of science.The need to keep this big picture of evolution in sight is direr today than ever before. Here is why. As a society, we are entering the molecular age from both dimensions, living and non-living, by using the tools of nanotechnology and bioengineering including biotechnology. As we will be able to evolve living entities in the lab, it will be possible to control evolution and its pace in many ways and thereby manually interfering with the natural biological evolution. This will have profound impact on the society and our planet as a whole. This reason alone is good enough for us to be mindful of and keep the big picture of evolution in mind.