The highly-revered and yet often poorly understood Theory of Evolution. Let's see how a scientifically-supported theory does in our Scientific Method.

Hypothesis: I theorize that the Theory of Evolution may explain the presence of life.

Our hypothesis appears to be acceptable in that it doesn't make any unsupported assumptions that do not extend from what is currently supported by the Scientific Method. So now that we have a qualifying hypothesis, we need to accumulate evidence to determine the validity of it.

Color Table:

Strong counter-evidence	Weak counter-evidence	Not useful	Weak evidence	Good evidence	Strong evidence	Not applicable

First-hand Evidence
Type of Evidence	Our instincts consider this to be..	The Scientific Method considers this to be..
Tangibility We can demonstrate empirically that evolution is an ongoing process that observes precise mathematical models. Mutations of genetic information are frequently and reliably observed in nature. 'Survival of the fittest' is a persistent law at all hierarchical levels of life. We have millions of years worth of fossils that easily demonstrate the morphological nature of life as it changes over many generations in order to adapt to the environments in which it persisted. We can also witness first-hand, the very advanced biological tools we have (the senses, instincts, mobility, adaptive reasoning, etc.) that are a product of millions of years of evolution.	..complicated. How do DNA changes make monkeys into humans?	..extremely powerful evidence.
Influence The forms of life on Earth are very advanced and complicated. Even the single-celled organisms have billions of years of evolution in their DNA. Practically every square inch of Earth is teeming with some form of life. We can observe the introduction of genetic traits in our fossil record that are most likely due to evolutionary processes.	..confusing. How does a creature just one day develop an eye?	..very compelling evidence. It's easy to trace the path of some evolved traits over many generations of fossils, spanning millions of years.
Interpretation Evolution best fits the observations.	..an unnecessarily complicated approach to explaining life.	..the best theory so far. It accommodates an enormous amount of data and observations.
Intuition Evolution is very likely the driving force for life to exist.	..unnatural. It doesn't feel like a good answer. I would expect the answer to be much simpler.	..the best of all theories as to the origins and continuance of life.
Desire It really doesn't matter what the real answer is, as long as it is accurate. If the Theory of Evolution is eventually disproved, then I'm sure the theory that replaces it will be even more spectacular.	..not applicable.	..not applicable.

Second-Hand Information Credibility
Type of Information	Our instincts consider this to be..	The Scientific Method considers this to be..
Distinguished Source Global support by virtually all scientists and scientific organizations of merit.	..compelling	..powerful support.
Agenda Source It would be very difficult to capitalize on the Theory of Evolution, thus it would be difficult to comprehend a source of this information with an agenda other than education.	..a deception. It's obvious that anybody that believes in evolution is only trying to oppose religions.	..not applicable
Mass Support There's a huge following of scientists, and even lesser-educated people.	..compelling.	..compelling, but inconsequential to the Scientific Method
Hearsay, Rumor, or Opinion People keep trying to explain it to me, but they all seem to say different things. Does anybody really understand this thing?	..so confusing. Too complicated to be true.	..irrelevant.

The instincts were not granted enough patience or logic to be able to understand the theory and so they quit long before they can get enough information to really make sense of it all. Such is the nature of our impatient instincts. The very patient Scientific Method, however, has spent the time educating itself about all the information available, reconciled it against the observations and ultimately decided that the Theory of Evolution has considerable merit.

Instinctual Conclusion

Too complicated. Doesn't feel right.

Scientific Method Conclusion

Very likely to be the solution, though there will always be room for the possibility of a better theory.

© BetterHuman.org