MovieChat Forums > Nova (1974) Discussion > What Darwin Never Knew - good, but I hav...

What Darwin Never Knew - good, but I have some complaints

posted 13 years ago by rgcustomer
1 reply | jump to latest

The episode What Darwin Never Knew is pretty good, except for some annoying rapid cuts, but I guess that's MTV's legacy to the world.

The main thing I'd object to is that this episode on evolution fails to be consistent when it compares "humans and apes" or "humans and animals". Evolution tells us that humans ARE apes, a subcategory of animals. If the narrator really believes what they are selling, as I do, they should instead be referring to "other apes" and "other animals".

I do have one minor objection about characterizing a change in hair colour as equivalent to speciation. We know from humans, even separated by oceans for centuries, this is not the case.

[–] kamas716 13 years ago

They do play kinda fast and loose with their facts in this episode. In addition to your points, they seem to COMPLETELY dismissed Alfred R. Wallace's own independent observations and conclusions on evolution.

One of the better books I've seen that explains the process of evolution in terms a lay person can understand is [u]Blueprints[/u] by Donald Johanson and Maitland Edey. Given advances over the last 20 years, it could probably stand a revision to include the new discoveries.

---------------
never wear a suit that you wouldn't be happy letting a drunk be sick over.