“…University San Francisco of Quito and its Galapagos Institute for the Arts and Sciences excelled at managing the III World Evolution Summit with unique vision and hospitality and at highlighting the scientific relevance of the Galapagos, its role in Charles Darwin’s conceptualization of “his theory” of evolution by natural selection, and the importance of this volcanic archipelago as World Heritage… USFQ and GAIAS are exemplars of a liberal arts model in the Americas, one that merges institutional identity with cultural heritage…”

I just represented UMassD at the World Evolution Summit, San Cristobal Island, Galapagos, Ecuador. The 200-attendee meeting took place June 1-5, 2013; it included 12 keynote addresses, 20 oral presentations by international scholars, and about 30 posters by, mostly, graduate and undergraduate students. It was the third Summit organized by University San Francisco of Quito (USFQ) and its Galapagos Institute for the Arts and Sciences (GAIAS). The Summit reverberates every four years.

Both USFQ and GAIAS excelled at managing the event with unique vision and hospitality and at highlighting the scientific relevance of the Galapagos, its role in Charles Darwin’s conceptualization of “his theory” of evolution by natural selection, and the importance of this volcanic archipelago as World Heritage. Darwin visited the Galapagos in 1835 during an amazing journey (1831-1836) on board of the HMS Beagle, an expedition vessel commanded by Captain Robert FitzRoy.

Above, map of the Galapagos Islands by Captain Robert FitzRoy (1836)

Above, HMS Beagle at Tierra del Fuego, painted by Conrad Martens, ship’s artist (1831-1836)

Under the umbrella “Why Does Evolution Matter?” the Summit included five sessions: evolution and society, pre-cellular evolution and the RNA world (RNA is a precursor molecule to DNA, the carrier of genetic coding), behavior and environment, genome, and microbes and diseases. Plus an unforgettable farewell party, Galapagean style, with live music, performances, and spirits. USFQ and GAIAS are skillful at including the Galapagos community in all events, which brings pride to all parties. USFQ and GAIAS are exemplars of a liberal arts model in the Americas, one that merges institutional identity with cultural heritage.

The Summit was publicized by the media worldwide with instant twitting, video uploading online, TV and radio reporters chasing the speakers, and press releases. The Galapagos might be distantly located 600 miles west of the coast of Ecuador, but the Summit was constantly “close by” in the news. Indeed, there is no place on Earth like the Galapagos Islands and no better destination to discuss the reality of evolution.

Above, magnificent Swallow-tailed Gull. “…Indeed, there is no place on Earth like the Galapagos Islands and no better destination to discuss the reality of evolution…” Photo © 2009 Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C.

I was invited by USFQ and GAIAS to present at the Summit my research program at UMassD. In my keynote address, I discussed “Evolution, Science, Pseudo Science and the Public’s Perception of Reality.” The topic is provocative and it did trigger sharp questions from the audience, dozens of twits, journalists impatient to get exclusive interviews, and an avalanche of sympathizers with my concerns about the low public’s acceptance of evolution worldwide. I contrasted with data the anecdotic perception, even among some of the co-keynote speakers, that opposition to evolution is a phenomenon restricted to the United States, and I framed the problem conceptually, subject to scientific inquiry and testing.

During the past five years, my collaborator Dr. Avelina Espinosa (professor at Roger Williams University) and I have documented scientifically the patterns of acceptance of evolution in New England and the attitudes toward science by highly educated audiences [download PDF of scientific article on Acceptance of Evolution in New England]. With so many reputable universities, New England is a great “field site” for our studies. We have proposed that the controversy over evolution versus creationism (including all its modern forms: theistic evolution, creation science, young-earth creationism, Intelligent Design, BioLogos) is intrinsic to the incompatibility between scientific rationalism/empiricism and the belief in supernatural causation.

Dr. Espinosa and I have published extensively on the topic and tested quantitatively the “incompatibility hypothesis” which helps us understand the core reason for the controversy science versus belief. This was the essence of my keynote address at the World Evolution Summit and my colleagues’ response, plus that of the audience, were amazingly encouraging. The media went beyond: “it is time, and important, to say it the way it is” stated Rodolfo Asar, host of the TV program “On Myths and Truths: Frauds in Science” when dialoguing with Dr. Espinosa and me. Rodolfo and his co-host, Maria Eulalia Silva, play a crucial role in educating the public, their program is featured primetime by Teleamazonas.

What is the incompatibility hypothesis, how do you test it?, asked Rodolfo. I explained that acceptance of evolution and scientific rationalism is characterized by three main factors: the level of an individual’s understanding of science, her/his familiarity with the process of evolution, and her/his personal belief convictions [download PDF of scientific article about the Incompatibility Hypothesis]. In all our studies with the New England professors, educators of prospective teachers, and college students, the single negatively associated variable with acceptance of evolution is the degree of religiosity. And to test it, we have compared such trend with the views of non-believers, who do not possess the academic credentials of the New England scholars, but their levels of understanding the foundations of science and evolution are comparable to the highly educated professors. “Evolution is true regardless of our awareness of it,” I concluded.

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Unforgettable Galapagos, a Summit, and Why Evolution Matters

By Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C.

Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

There is no place on Earth like the Galapagos Islands and no better destination to discuss the reality of evolution. Charles Darwin visited this volcanic archipelago in 1835; the rest is 180 years of science’s history after a major paradigm shift from creationism –including all its modern forms: theistic evolution, creation science, young-earth creationism, Intelligent Design, BioLogos— to evolution.

Evolution is true regardless of our awareness of it. The evolutionary processes preceded the emergence of our ape consciousness –which is only about 150,000 years old. Evolution itself is indifferent to our level of understanding of it, although we must admit that proper education leads to accepting evolution and admiring one of the most magnificent phenomena ever discovered, that of organisms’ transformations by means of natural selection as described by Darwin in The Origin of Species (1859).

“Why Does Evolution Matter” was the theme of the III World Evolution Summit which just adjourned in San Cristobal Island, Galapagos, after a fascinating scientific gathering (June 1-5, 2013) organized by University San Francisco of Quito (USFQ) and its Galapagos Institute for the Arts and Sciences (GAIAS), Ecuador. Twelve international keynote speakers rationalized over evolution at the microscopic and organismic levels, the applications of evolutionary principles for the conservation of endangered species and their environments and, of course, for the relevance of evolution to human health.

Above: Galapagos Center for the Arts and Sciences (GAIAS) of University San Francisco of Quito (USFQ), San Cristobal Island, Ecuador. Photo © 2013 Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C.

Above: Galapagos Science Center of University San Francisco of Quito (USFQ), San Cristobal Island, in partnership with the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA. Photo © 2013 Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C.

USFQ and GAIAS shinned big: they led us to ‘dream’ about evolution… Yes, one can dream about reality, feel the joy of understanding the facts about life’s origins, from the tinniest molecules like RNA (an evolutionary precursor of DNA) to intriguing viruses who rely on RNA or DNA to infest each other or replicate inside cells and thus fuel unfolding biological complexity… and to the emergence of bacteria and archaea (prokaryotes, cells without a nucleus) and of nucleated unicellular organisms (eukaryotes), like amoeba, which reside freely in ponds or in the guts of reptiles and other creatures… and to the magnificent Galapagos hawks, penguins inhabiting the cold waters of this equatorial archipelago –away from their ancestral home in the South Pole— and sea lions resting on the shores occasionally awakening to hikers’ traffic. Indeed, uniquely amazing, beautiful, unforgettable.

The keynote researchers shared their scholarly stories with two hundred attendees to the Summit. I have never seen so many high school Ecuadorian kids and college undergraduates twitting science, reporting in situ the outcomes of each talk, interviewing the speakers, making science part of their youthful experiences, unafraid of asking the simplest, yet most important question: Why is evolution the foundation of all? Well, I replied, evolution offers the only naturalistic explanation about biological phenomena; it relies on empiricism and rationalism, on facts and scientific observations of rigor. Evolution is a reality that can be tested and replicated and, if us, humans, understand and embrace it, it offers the foundation of all scientific thinking. Evolution is not only about natural history, it is about appreciating our place in the universe and securing our descendants’ future existence in healthy, evolving ecosystems.

The Summit was also about launching the Lynn Margulis Center for Evolutionary Biology, affiliated with USFQ, in celebration of a genuine seeker of nature’s deep mysteries. Margulis (1938-2011) provoked fascinating controversies over the origin and evolution of cells, their nuclei and organelles, via symbiotic relationships among ancient life forms that apparently merged during the Earth’s early past. Lynn co-proposed the hypothesis of GAIA (no relation to GAIAS) which suggested that the complex associations of all organisms in the planet engender a homeostatic balance, a harmonic coexistence responsible for life’s perpetuity over eons. Lynn lived by this principle of fruitful association and influenced the academic careers of hundreds of naturalists; she was best friend to many, perhaps to most.

Chemistry Nobel Laureate (2009) Ada Yonath, Israel, delivered a brilliant talk on the evolution of ribosomes, organelles responsible for the assemblage of amino acids and, therefore, of proteins, the essence of Earthy life. Her charisma on stage paralleled the profound evolutionary relevance of the research. An exuberant journey inside the intimate confinements of molecules brought us, the audience, to imagine infinitude at the micro scale, where atoms harmonize with each other, where chemical properties and magnetic interactions resemble the delicate balance invoked by GAIA at the macro scale. I felt inner ‘enlightment’ when reassured by Ada that evolution is within us, in every particle of matter that makes who we are.

In my own talk, I addressed Evolution, Science, Pseudo Science and the Public’s Perception of Reality; in essence, my concerns about the current patterns of low acceptance of evolution worldwide and the conflict between the belief in supernatural causation and the reality of scientific rationalism/empiricism. I concluded that coexistence between faith and science is illusory due to their inherent incompatibility and that the controversy over acceptance of evolution will continue, indefinitely, via alternating mild and intense antagonism [download PDF of scientific article about the Incompatibility Hypothesis]. And while writing this piece, my research co-author and collaborator, Avelina Espinosa, alerted me about the upcoming debate The Origin and Evolution of Life: Is Galapagos a Detour? between Michael Denton, from the Center for Science and Culture (branch of the Discovery Institute –sponsor of the late doctrine of Intelligent Design) and Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic Magazine. The duel is part of the Las Vegas gathering “freedomfest” a “festival –July, 2013— where free minds meet to celebrate great books, great ideas, and great thinkers...” I hope Shermer delivers the greatness of Galapagos to honor the reality of evolution and puts to rest Denton’s efforts to smuggle the fictitious into science. — © 2013 by Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C. all rights reserved.

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Month: June 2013

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Dr. Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C — © 2013

Above, map of the Galapagos Islands by Captain Robert FitzRoy (1836)

Above, HMS Beagle at Tierra del Fuego, painted by Conrad Martens, ship’s artist (1831-1836)

Above, magnificent Swallow-tailed Gull. “…Indeed, there is no place on Earth like the Galapagos Islands and no better destination to discuss the reality of evolution…” Photo © 2009 Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C.