When I realized, in 1978, that Lucy did represent a new species of human ancestor, and that I had an opportunity to name this new species, I realized this was a revolutionary step in understanding human origins.
Donald JohansonRead
Evolution is a fact. It is the best explanation of what is known from observations. It's a theory as powerful as the theory of gravity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Evolution is a scientifically supported explanation for the diversity of life, comparable in strength to theories such as gravity.
In this quote, Donald Johanson emphasizes that evolution is not only a well-supported fact, but also a powerful scientific theory that explains a vast array of observations about life on Earth. He equates its significance to that of the theory of gravity, indicating that both concepts are foundational to our understanding of the natural world.
Themes
EvolutionScienceTheoryGravityExplanationLife
In practice
Example use cases
During a presentation on the importance of scientific theories, I referenced Johanson's quote to highlight the significance of evolutionary theory.
More from Donald Johanson
All quotes βWhere we are going as a species is a big question. Human evolution certainly hasn't stopped. Every time individuals produce a new zygote, there's a reshuffling and recombination of genes. And we don't know where all of that is going to take us.
Donald JohansonRead
And what I wanted to do was, I wanted to explore problems and areas where we didn't have answers. In fact, where we didn't even know the right questions to ask.
Donald JohansonRead
I think that many of my ideas are correct, but I'll bet you, before my death other discoveries will be made that will prompt me to alter various ideas I have about human evolution.
Donald JohansonRead
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