What Darwin Never Knew

What Darwin Never Knew

The documentary describes Darwinian ideas on the revolution by appreciating his contribution while criticizing some concepts he might have left out in his findings. In the first half of the film, it seems to be all about “what Darwin Knew” as it reflects on the ideas about the evolution of species according to his perception. The show covers the aspects of natural selection in the development of different species and how that affects the kind of traits they develop over time. The various explanations given by scientists and historians all have one thing in common, that Darwinism is true to some extent as there is no other way of explaining how human beings came to be. The natural selection process is an indication of species’ ability to survive, compete, and reproduce (Wise Wanderer, 2016).

The other half of the show covers the “things that Darwin Never Knew” by including other aspects in connection to the origin and development of species. As it is clear to the show, Darwin missed the points of evolution using embryology and genetics. The narrator state, “Breakthroughs in a brand-new science nicknamed “evo-devo” —are linking the enigmas of evolution to another of nature’s great mysteries, the development of the embryo” (Wise Wanderer, 2016). The possibility of mutation and its contribution to the development of species is expressed as one of the factors contributing to the evolution of species. The different parties involved explain the need to consider modern-day genetics that makes it possible to switch species. They use concepts acquired from science and history, tries to bring the aspect of missing concepts from the evolution theory (Wise Wanderer, 2016). They include the engineering of biological life into exciting results related to this development.

The film talks about the switch in genes, where a fish can transform into a dinosaur due to the biological engineering that could be a probable cause. Unlike in the case of Darwin, who claims that our ancestors could only be a species of humans or apes, these scientists, show the need to consider other options. The film criticizes while praising Darwin’s theory and aims at adding more information to the already existing ways of thinking about human beings.

Reaction to the Film

Watching this documentary was an episode of mixed responses for a person who is passionate about our archeological existence. I have a strong faith in Darwin’s theory on evolution, and it all shows its true nature because he presented scientific evidence. The fact that they disregard his work by trying to change the audience’s thinking is an aspect of concern that sounds too difficult to trust (Bekoff, 2013). The film also leaves out other naturalists responsible for the evolution theory. It is essential to consider that people like Richard Owen, A.R Wallance, John Gould, and Charles Lyell also contributed to what Darwin accomplished. I, however, stopped thinking about it because I understood that the film was an honor to Darwin.

The mention of mixed-species whereby a fish could change into something else over time is just too exciting but also annoying to watch. I failed to follow through these descriptions because first, they sounded too exaggerated and also carried no evidence. The documentary tries to express different instances that connect embryology to evolution, although they present very little substantial evidence (Bekoff, 2013). I found the information very contradicting and in a position to bring out the confusion for someone who already had another perspective from Darwinian Theory.

I would say that most of this thing they claim Darwin never knew, could be the simplest for him to understand. He went the extra mile to prove evolution by getting archeological remains from different regions to prove that humans evolved from apes. The film’s suggestion that he could have used DNA as a more natural way is just wrong. Two species could have similarities in DNA due to their nature, but that does not necessarily mean that they evolve from each other. I, therefore, find the documentary as a platform trying to fix a theory which does not exist, just by adding on more ideas on the Darwinian knowledge. I would, however, recommend it to other people as it gives diverse views about the revolution as it would also make them give their opinion about the film.

References

Bekoff, M. (2013). The Emotional and Moral Lives of Animals: What Darwin Would Have Said. In After Darwin: Animals, Emotions, and the Mind (pp. 305-332). Brill Rodopi.

Wise Wanderer (2016). Evolution – What Darwin Never Knew – NOVA Full Documentary HD

Retrieved on February 27, 2020 from, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNPbjtej1Hk