Happy Darwin Day!

Today is Charles Darwin's birthday. His ideas have been the basis of biological science for 150 years. Unfortunately, we live in a country that still thinks he was full of BS (see chart below, from The Economist). More than half of the US population rejects the scientifically proven fact of evolution. It's like rejecting the idea that gravity exists. It's mass delusion.

Fortunately, there is more data all the time to help us open our eyes.

I think things are slowly changing. We have a long way to go, but people are starting to see the light. Evolution is a beautiful theory that really makes the world seem more amazing and interesting to me. It may be easy to think the complexities of the human brain and the sophistication of the eye are designed by some sort of supernatural god. But it is wrong. All it takes is a little interest in the subject; just a little research, and it opens up a world of understanding of how life works. It can be hard to figure out how an octopus' skin changes color, but that doesn't mean it is a magic trick; it isn't God showing off. To say so is to discount how amazing it is that life exists on our little planet in all of its amazing varieties. All of these sentiments have been expressed by millions of people already, I know. I just thought I should add to the growing roar of people fed up with this age of ignorance we have been living in. Wake up, people. The world is more amazing than your God could have ever imagined. Happy b-day Charles.

Suggested reading: Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins