The Accidental Species: Misunderstandings of Human Evolution
“It’s the curious phenomenon in which otherwise sane and rational news reporters lose all sense of reason or proportion when confronted with anything to do with human evolution, no matter how trivial or (ultimately) inconsequential it might be. Scientists make all kinds of discoveries every day, but almost all add just one small brick to a wall of knowledge that’s sky high. Very few are deserving of any press coverage at all, let alone in the tumescent tones reserved for human evolution. Yet it ...seems that any paper on human evolution is fair game for the breathlessly orgasmic treatment usually reserved for voice-overs for commercials for expensive ice cream. If all discoveries are treated the same way, one is forced to wonder, then no discrimination can be made between them, and the effect is a kind of dull infantilization in which the significance of the discovery is obscured, and science as a whole is done a disservice.
A recent case was the media brouhaha surrounding the discovery of a fossil primate called Darwinius masillae.MoreLess
A recent case was the media brouhaha surrounding the discovery of a fossil primate called Darwinius masillae.MoreLess
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