Scientists must resolve holes in Darwin's theory

SCMP Education Mailbag - (Mar 14, 2009)

The latest battle in the religion-versus-non-religion war running in your newspaper over the past three weeks has, as with previous installments, been quite interesting. Yet perhaps the most significant piece on the topic, human origin, was your February 7 editorial.

In contrast to many of the public submissions your fairness was refreshing and probably prescient.

The 'intelligent design' movement is not going away. A vigorous exposure of the flaws in the theory of evolution has been needed for a long time, and intelligent-design proponents are just the tap on the first domino.

To be believable, the theory requires a mind-boggling length of time for the evolutionary changes, and it is arrived at through the assumption that radioactive decay rates have been uniform throughout the ages. But recent research by scientists who do not accept the theory has shown the assumption of uniform decay rates is untenable. The clicking of the dominoes has begun.

For the time being the masses will be shielded from these new facts by the mainstream scientific establishment. But their fingers cannot remain in the dyke holes forever.

It will not be too many more decades before those who cling to the amoeba-swamp thingapeman-human explanation of origin will be only pitiable variations of 'The Emperor's New Clothes'.

DANNY THURSTON, Sheung Shui