The Field Museum of Natural history says, “Darwin got it (mostly) right. But did he really?

“Last month we reported on the Life Over Time exhibit at the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History. We only had enough space last month to give a broad overview of the exhibit, and mentioned some specific errors in passing. We want to address some of those errors in detail. We’ve already dealt with ’Stanley Millers origin of life experiment on several occasions, so there is no need to talk about that again. This month we planned to address the claim that “Darwin got it (mostly) right” by tabulating the things Darwin got right and wrong, and then consider what they said about horse evolution, and peppered moths. Unfortunately, we have so much to say about Darwin, that our “six page newsletter” is ten pages this month, so we have to put off horse evolution and peppered moths for at least another month.”

Origin of Species is a book that practically everyone has heard of. Most people think they know what it says. Few people have actually read it. You have heard of Origin of Species, haven’t you? You know what it says, don’t you? Have you read it? See what we mean?

One would think that Origin of Species would be required reading for every modern introductory biology class. It isn’t. As we examine it in detail, you will see why it isn’t. Darwin got it mostly wrong. If biology students read Origin of Species, the teacher would have to spend most of every lecture telling the students that what they read isn’t true. 

We haven’t talked much about the errors in Darwin’s Origin of Species in previous newsletters because it is an old, out-dated book, full of errors well-known to modern science. Therefore, evolutionists might claim that we are taking cheap shots at early theories that evolutionists no longer believe. But, according to the Field Museum, “Darwin got it (mostly) right.” That makes Darwin’s Origin of Species fair game. Since they have made the claim that Darwin was mostly right, it is appropriate to ask, “Just how right was Darwin?”

We and the museum apparently agree that Darwin got some things right and some things wrong. The sticking point is the word “mostly”. That is a subjective term that is difficult to quantify. So, let us examine what Darwin wrote, and you can decide whether Darwin was mostly right or not.

More individuals are born than can possibly survive.

Darwin observed that not every creature that is born lives long enough to reproduce after its kind. Certainly, he got that right. Ask a mathematician how many rabbits there would be on the Earth after 1,000 years, starting with a single pair, if all survived to maturity. Worse yet, imagine how many mosquitoes would be in the world today if none of them were eaten by fish or birds. The world is not overrun with rabbits and mosquitoes because not all of them survive long enough to reproduce.

At best, the number of creatures that have offspring is equal to the number of creatures born. Who would argue that the number of creatures that have offspring is more than the number of creatures born? Creatures that were never born certainly can’t have children.

It has been said that having children is hereditary. If your parents didn’t have any children, then you won’t either. We all know people who, through choice or circumstance, have remained childless all their lives. If you haven’t squished a spider, you know someone who did. Certainly Darwin was right when he said that more creatures are born than survive long enough to reproduce.

Perhaps you were slightly bored or annoyed because we belabored the obvious. That was our intention. If you were bored or annoyed, it is because you realize that it doesn’t take any great intellect to appreciate the fact that creatures that aren’t born certainly can’t have children, and that not all creatures that are born do have children. So, the first thing that Darwin got right isn’t really worthy of a Nobel Prize. Darwin simply wrote down what anybody who ever thought about it already knew.

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