a great synopsis of evolution? no, i don’t think so

 The great & wonderful FB (</snark>) this morning delivered me a link to this video, describing it as ‘a great depiction of the process of evolution’.

 To which, having watched it, I can only say, ‘no, I don’t think so’.

Why? Well, apart from the music (repetitive rap-style tracks don’t do a lot for me, but then I am a Grumpy Older Person, lol), the whole thing smacks of the old Scala Naturae – the idea that evolution is a linear process. Which is anything but correct. A lot of the iconography of evolution repeats this misconception, but that doesn’t make it right.

And the video contributes to another misconception: that humans are the pinnacle of the evolutionary process. I mean, that’s pretty much all the second half of the video focuses on.

As it happens, it looks like there are several different versions out there. The one below at least has a better handle on mammal evolution (I mean, it has Dimetrodon!, but it still subscribes to those same misconceptions. 

Which is rather a pity, really.

2 thoughts on “a great synopsis of evolution? no, i don’t think so”

  • I noticed a couple of interesting details in the first vid. (1) the wind blew the fur/hair off the ape. (2) blue jeans are the first clothes that modern man wears. (3) the end of the evolution is an obese person, which could be seen as the beginning of the end.
    Did you see Prime TV’s doco “Are We Still Evolving?”. It was a little thin on detail but raised some interesting ideas.

  • Alison Campbell says:

    LOL. Well, everyone knows jeans have been around for ever!
    I started watching but had to switch channels before the TV suffered an injury 🙂

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