Evolution: 24 myths and misconceptions

If you think you understand it, you don\'t know nearly enough about it

It will soon be 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin and 150 years since the publication of On the Origin of Species, arguably the most important book ever written. In it, Darwin outlined an idea that many still find shocking – that all life on Earth, including human life, evolved through natural selection.

Darwin presented compelling evidence for evolution in On the Origin and, since his time, the case has become overwhelming. Countless fossil discoveries allow us to trace the evolution of today\'s organisms from earlier forms. DNA sequencing has confirmed beyond any doubt that all living creatures share a common origin. Innumerable examples of evolution in action can be seen all around us, from the pollution-matching pepper moth to fast-changing viruses such as HIV and H5N1 bird flu. Evolution is as firmly established a scientific fact as the roundness of the Earth.

And yet despite an ever-growing mountain of evidence, most people around the world are not taught the truth about evolution, if they are taught about it at all. Even in the UK, the birthplace of Darwin with an educated and increasingly secular population, one recent poll suggests less than half the population accepts evolution.

For those who have never had the opportunity to find out about biology or science, claims made by those who believe in supernatural alternatives to evolutionary theory can appear convincing. Meanwhile, even among those who accept evolution, misconceptions abound.

Most of us are happy to admit that we do not understand, say, the string theory in physics, yet we are all convinced we understand evolution. In fact, as biologists are discovering, its consequences can be stranger than we ever imagined. Evolution must be the best-known yet worst-understood of all scientific theories.

So here is New Scientist\'s guide to some of the most common myths and misconceptions about evolution.

There are already severalgood and comprehensive guidesout there. But there can\'t be too many.

Shared misconceptions:

Everything is an adaptation produced by natural selection

Natural selection is the only means of evolution

Natural selection leads to ever-greater complexity

Evolution produces creatures perfectly adapted to their environment

Evolution always promotes the survival of species

It doesn\'t matter if people do not understand evolution

\"Survival of the fittest\" justifies \"everyone for themselves\"

Evolution is limitlessly creative

Evolution cannot explain traits such as homosexuality

Creationism provides a coherent alternative to evolution

Creationist myths:

Evolution must be wrong because the Bible is inerrant

Accepting evolution undermines morality

Evolutionary theory leads to racism and genocide

Religion and evolution are incompatible

Half a wing is no use to anyone

Evolutionary science is not predictive

Evolution cannot be disproved so is not science

Evolution is just so unlikely to produce complex life forms

Evolution is an entirely random process

Mutations can only destroy information, not create it

Darwin is the ultimate authority on evolution

The bacterial flagellum is irreducibly complex

Yet more creationist misconceptions

Evolution violates the second law of thermodynamics

关于演化的24个迷思和误解：开篇

如果你自以为已经理解它了，那么你知道的可能还不够。

查尔斯.达尔文出生至今将近200年了，而生物进化论发表至今也有150年，它可能是至今为止最为重要的一本书。在这本书中，达尔文用草图表达了那至今仍然使人震惊的思想——地球上所有的生命都通过自然选择实现变异求存，包括人类。

在《生命起源》中，达尔文用强有力的证据说明进化现象的存在，从他的时代起，这种认识就树立起不可抗拒的权威。不计其数的新化石发现让我们可以追踪有机体从原始形式开始的进化历程。DNA测序已经抹去人们心中对于所有生物拥有共同起源的怀疑。从适应了污染环境的胡椒蛾（黑化现象）到HIV和H5N1禽流感病毒的迅速变异产生新的变体，我们周围可以看到无数行为进化的例子。进化现象就像地球是圆的一样被当作科学事实。尽管有“山脉在不断运动”这样的事实为证，但是大部分地球人并没有被告知进化的真相，如果他们接受了这样的教育。甚至在英国达尔文出生的地方，那儿非宗教人士不断增长，人们普遍接受良好的教育，最近的一次调查却显示只有不到一半的人口相信进化论。

对于没有机会了解生物学或者自然科学的人来说，那些超自然学说信奉者的主张可能比进化论更令他们信服。同时，那些拜进化论者中间也充斥着误解。

我们大部分人都乐意承认我们并不能理解那些物理学理论，听起来像天方夜谭，但是却又很确信自己理解进化论。事实上，生物学家不断搞研究发现的结果可能与我们想象背道而驰。所有科学理论中，进化论流传最广但是人们对其误解也最深。

为此，新科学家杂志社组织人马撰写了一些列指点迷津式的文章，介绍人们对进化论的一些公共迷思和误解。

这里已经有好些精彩且全面的讲解。误解实在太多。

公众的误解（系列文章）：

创世论迷思（系列文章）：

译者注：1.我实在缺少自然知识储备，错误和不妥之处，欢迎指正；2.文中的“虚构”和“误解”条目暂不做链接，待25文全部翻译完成后，再做这个工作。