An Enquiry into Evolution

This past Friday I attended the lecture on evolution by Professor Kjar and I found it to be very enlightening. From a biological standpoint, evolution is the change in the genetic composition of a population of living organisms throughout successive generations. This is believed to be a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among the DNA of individuals. Eventually this can create a completely new, independent species.

I believe in evolution and have done a lot of my own research on the subject so most of the general information on evolution Professor Kjar discussed I already knew. The most interesting part of his lecture for me was his use of ants in almost every part of the presentation. I am fascinated by the animal kingdom and I do not really know a whole lot about ants. He was incredibly knowledgeable on the different species of ants and their unique lifestyles. The facts on ants and how species of ants are different genetically was very interesting.

The most surprising part of the lecture was the digestive system of the ancient ant species he showed in his presentation. It was really surprising to learn that the adult members of the ant species cannot actually eat anything. They have to put their pupae next to the food and when the pupae feed on the dead animal the adults suck the nutrients out of their offspring. This is amazing that such a small creature that very few people ever notice can find sustenance in such a peculiar fashion. I now think of them as the deadly vampire ants.

I am definitely a person that has their beliefs based on facts of science instead of the faith of religion. Both belief systems have their positive and negative aspects, but I personally am a man of science mainly because of my own observations in life. I live on a farm that raise domestic as well as exotic animals and I have witnessed evolution and natural selection with my own eyes over the course of several years. In class we discuss evolution versus religion and I especially like the readings on Darwin and genetics that we have been reading recently. The lecture has helped me further establish my own beliefs and at the same time has given me a better understanding of the current arguments evolution and religion have with each other. Professor Kjar clearly explained some common misconceptions about evolution, natural selection, theories, and truths that are at the root of many problems religious people have with science and evolution. Overall, his lecture was entertaining, enlightening, and relevant to the topics discussed in core class and to the ideas I personally contemplate on a daily basis.

Picture taken from:http://www.freewebs.com/pddc2008/ant.jpg