“ I'm going to start a series of articles about the common sense aspect of evolutionary theory. What about evolution is actually practical knowledge? How can it help people understand things relevant to their own work or lives? This goes beyond the gee-whiz, “Where do we come from”, National Geographic-kind of interesting question. That's nothing more than a framework for idle curiosity: it presents evolution as a kind of adjunct or substitute for religious inquiry. I want to convey something more important. It matters that we evolved. The process of evolution allows scientific predictions that we can use to make things happen, to make them work. Evolutionary biology illustrates and informs us about decisions that society will have to make in the next 20 years; decisions that I want my students to be informed about. When I teach evolution, I emphasize a common sense perspective. Understanding a science means knowing the boundaries of the possible.”

Notes in practical evolution

John Hawks will publish on his blog an essay every Friday on evolution with a common sense perspective. Very interesting.