Becoming Human

Natural History, Sept, 2001 by Robert (American businessperson and engineer) Anderson

Many people dismiss evolution on the grounds that it is only a theory. Our president is of the opinion that "the jury is still out" on it, according to a New York Times article last year.

But consider what "theory" means, as the word is properly used in the sciences. Physicist Alan H. Cromer, in his 1993 book Uncommon Sense: The Heretical Nature of Science, reminds us that a theory is not to be confused with "an idea tentatively held for the purposes of argument--that we call a hypothesis. Rather, a theory is a set of logically consistent abstract principles that explain a body of concrete facts." Evolution is firmly based on just such a logical structure and is therefore every bit as certain as the existence of atoms.

On the Internet, Becoming Human (www.becominghuman.org) makes a nice introduction to the theory of human evolution and to the rapidly growing number of hominid fossils that support it. The centerpiece of the site, produced by the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University, is an interactive documentary narrated by Donald Johanson, the discoverer of the "Lucy" hominid remains. Although designed for those with a high-speed connection, the site can be viewed in bits and pieces with slower access.

Becoming Human shows the Internet's ability to update a site as new information surfaces. The "News and Views" section, for instance, recently posted several links to sites covering the discovery of a new species (the 3.5-million-year-old Kenyanthropus platyops) that challenges Lucy's pivotal position in our lineage.

Robert Anderson is a freelance science writer living in Los Angeles.