Razib wants us to come up with 10 assertions of 10 words or less which we believe that the public should know about evolutionary science. He also wants us to come up with our list before looking at his list, which means we're left to figure out what the hell he means without seeing any examples. My stab at this is below the fold, but you should come up with your own list before reading Razib's or mine (according to Razib).
10 Assertions about Evolution, in no particular order:
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Common ancestry is supported by multiple, independent lines of evidence.
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Evolution is not an entirely random process.
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Natural selection is not the only evolutionary force.
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Mutations are not always deleterious.
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Evolutionary biology is a dynamic field
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Paradigm shifts in evolutionary theory do not undermine evolution.
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Creationism has not contributed to any paradigm shifts.
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Evolution is not atheist doctrine.
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Evolutionary biology is biology -- all biology comes from evolution.
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Evolutionary biology is science, like physics and chemistry.
Note: I read Razib's list after creating mine. I tried to keep focused on the science (as Razib does in his list), but I found myself drifting into the "culture wars" stuff a couple of times. If we're talking to the general public, I think it's important to point out how creationism is bullshit when we teach them about evolution.
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my only problem with this is calling them "assertions". from a philosophical stance, it implies that it is without question.
these are facts about evolution, but don't call them assertions. when to the creationist, an assertion is "God created the universe", as asserted by the bible they accept as literal truth, then us calling facts of evolution assertions means that they CAN pull the "see, evolution is a religion" crap argument and get away with it.
they play games with vocabulary - its best not to fall into the games they want to play because it means THEY frame the argument and continue to sway the uneducated.
Joe, good point. I didn't come up with the term "assertions". That's razib's doing. Go bug him about the terminology.
Have you signed up for your FCD yet?