Similar to Dr. Janet Browne, Professor Judy Stone also expressed having some issues with Charles Darwin and his theories of evolution. While Darwin’s theories of evolution are still heavily praised within the scientific community and were incredibly innovative for his time, their misrepresentation can be extremely difficult to correct. His book, “On the Origin of Species”, published in 1859, was revolutionary in it’s introduction of his new theory of evolution. However, since then there have been artistic depictions and misrepresented figures that have muddled the concepts surrounding evolution. Currently, the general public can agree that evolution is real and likely how species evolved. However, Judy Stone questions if they truly understand the complexity of the science behind it.
Not completely comprehending the science behind evolution can lead to other issues with what evolution implies. Judy Stone was able to successfully demonstrate how misunderstandings about evolution have lead some people to believe that there are genetic differences within “races”. Professor Stone was extremely adamant about the fact that there are no genetic races, but rather human culture has created the concepts of race based solely from physical appearances of individuals.
One quote from her lecture, “If species are types, then variation is imperfection”, really resonated with me. When applying this concept to the human species, this carries many social implications about individuality and human identities. Judy Stone completely disproved this quote in her lecture. She shows importantly that variation within species (both phenotypically and genotypically) is important.
I particularly liked her analysis about the current typo-logical thinking. Due to the demands to reach a larger audience, science can often be translated in a way that will make sense to all readers. However, the issue in doing this is that a lot of the scientific accuracy and precision is lost. Professor Stone analyzes this within the context. As a scientist herself, her frustration with the misrepresentation of data is completely justifiable. Science, when misrepresented, has the potential to completely skew people’s thinking.
Professor Stone’s ability to call into question the scientific “facts” that have been released to the general public is truly revolutionary. She reminds us to question science and not immediately take everything as fact. Science, like any other field of study, requires criticism and constant development.