It made me very happy at the end of Episodes 2 to 5 of the new BBC series ‘Evolution’ when the words “The Evidence” appeared as a title on the screen. As a scientist, this is what I had been waiting for. These sections obviously contain some of the strongest scientific content of the series. They show several scientists, mainly talking about transitional fossils. Despite this, there is still a tendency to assume, rather than defend, evolution. The fossils tend to be presented as filling in details of an evolutionary story that we know must have happened, rather than explicitly as evidence for evolution per se. The emphasis is overwhelmingly on pattern rather than process. It does not seem to have crossed the mind of the BBC team that some viewers might have their doubts about the validity of evolution as a complete explanation for how we got here, and might want evidence for that, rather than evidence for one particular pathway over another.
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