A Brilliant Blunder

 

Introduction

Oscar Wilde once wrote: “Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.”

Mistakes are inevitable. It will happen no matter what. Not only today people make mistakes but since mankind came to earth, blunders happened. Humans are prone to them. In every aspect of life, every field of study there is a record of numerous accidents done by people and not without consequences. Historical blunders had consequences.

In Greek mythology, the destruction of the city of Troy was the disastrous result of the elopement of princess Helen with Paris. In Philosophy, Aristotle’s idea of bodies moving towards their natural place was a mistake. Karl Marx’s prediction of the impending collapse of capitalism was no short of a mistake, and so was Sigmund Freud’s speculation on death instinct.

To cut a long story short, many great people in history whether they be philosophers, thinkers or commanders who have done mankind's incredible services had even committed blunders. Our great heroes became only so because they had done things wrong probably so many times. And guess what? The unexpected discoveries and mind-blowing inventions still happened. This tells us that science indeed is the search for truth. But it is not a straightforward path. Rather a complicated one with lots of winding tracks. Hence, starting blunders is necessary to guide to the right path.

Specifically, the science that is making progress, went through the same tiring journey. It saw many blunders that could’ve possibly ruined the theories we know of today that could have blocked the progress of science.

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

One of these theories is the well-known Theory of evolution by the 19th-century naturalist Charles Darwin. A theory is an explanation of how something in nature works. It is supported by experiments and evidence so is considered true with high certainty.

His was the most inspiring nonmathematical theory that explained evolution resulting in diversity.

Diversity is characteristic of Planet Earth. All living organisms are perfectly fashioned for the requirements that life imposes on them. There seems to be no flaw anywhere (and when needed, nature performs the adaptation process). This unimaginable mystery depicts an utmost crafty hand- a mastermind. A divine being. Many theologians between the 13th-18th century were convinced of that.

Earth is diverse. But how did this diversity come about? This was a question which surely had bothered ancient minds. Their thoughts were that every single specie was eternal and unchangeable. Everything was fixed right from the beginning. This early notion was shattered by the idea of evolution and natural selection which was deemed the single best idea anyone has ever had.

The first book published by Charles Darwin was ‘On the Origin of Species-1859’. To clear the misconception, not even a single word in this book discusses the origin of mankind or that of the universe. It explains diversity and adaptation along with its mechanism of natural selection. The main concepts were

1. Evolution: The species that we encounter today did not always exist in the past. They are descendants of earlier species that became extinct.

“Nothing in biology makes sense in the light of evolution.”

“Creation is realized in this world using evolution.”

1. Gradualism: A slow process of transformation that span tens of thousands of generations
2. Common Ancestor: All the members of a taxonomic class have originated from a common ancestor.

He further went on to say, ‘all animals and plants (everything) originated from one prototype (being) into which life was breathed’. Although he was aware this could be misleading, yet he went on and explained diversity by using the analogy of a tree with its branches sprouting in many directions. Just like a tree has a single trunk which splits into various branches, likewise, diversity on earth originated from a single being. Humans evolve just like any other organism on earth which makes them rank on the same level. All terrestrial creatures are part of the same family. So, humans, accordingly, are not the ‘Lords of Creation.’  Darwin’s evolution is like a bush, not a ladder. And it had, naturally, faced opposition for more than 150 years because of removing humans from the pedestal on which they have put themselves. To make it even worse, the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ results in insects, being greater in number, excelling over humans.

1. Natural Selection: This is the mechanism by which evolution occurs. Before the evolution theory, a problem regarding adaptation arose in the minds of naturalists. If species are perfectly adapted to their environment, how could they still evolve and remain adapted to their environment? So, Darwin came up with an answer- Natural Selection.

First, let's see what Darwin observed:

1. Species produce more offspring than can survive.
2. Individuals within a given specie are never identical
3. If some of them possess any kind of inheritable and advantageous trait that increases their chance of survival, it is passed on to the next generation- over time population shifts to organisms that are better adapted.

Natural Selection is the principle by which the advantageous variation is preserved and successfully passed on to the offspring. Through this process, better characteristics are preserved while harmful ones are eliminated resulting in the evolution towards better adaptation. Another name for natural selection (environment selects the ‘best characteristic’ to increase chances of survival) is ‘Survival of the Fittest’, which is now rarely used as it means only the fittest and the strongest survive.

Where was the Blunder?

The journey of this theory wasn’t clear. It did face criticism that would have caused havoc. Not much was known about genetics at that time. The hereditary theory was flawed. It was believed that there is an equal contribution of characteristics from both parents. Hence offspring are all intermediate and identical. This is like the mixing of paints in equal amounts. If this was believed to be true, where was the diversity of Darwin’s theory? Darwin’s theory could not have worked along with the old inheritance theory. This was a setback and could have seriously harmed the eminent theory of evolution.

Later, Gregor Mendel known for his modern theory of inheritance, performed experiments to get the desired results. He explained the laws of inheritance accurately and laid the foundation of modern genetics that considered diversity.