To paraphrase Theodosius Dobzhansky, nearly everything we study in biology makes sense only in the context of one central unifying concept: evolution. Yet evolution is still quite "controversial," as a recent article and letter in this publication demonstrated (R. Lewis, The Scientist, May 12, 1997, page 13; M.J. Behe, The Scientist, June 9, 1997, page 10). Many people are still convinced it never happened. How is it that so many scientists can claim something is so certain, and so many people can be so sure it's wrong? Why can't scientists "show" the public the "truth"?
We're often tempted to blame it on "them"-these "zealots" who reject evolution, who have been so blinded, their minds so closed to the truth, that nothing we can do will sway them. But, in truth, we can't lay the blame so easily. As scientists and teachers, we've dropped the ball....