Jon_Herron's blog

When I introduce evolution in class, I tell my students that the strongest evidence that Darwin was right is the success of modern biology. Evolution is the theoretical foundation upon which life science is built. The fact that that life science works so well suggests that its unifying theory has a thing or two going for it.

In an earlier post, I wrote about a classic paper from the education literature called The Dr. Fox Lecture: A Paradigm of Educational Seduction. The authors coached an actor to spout nonsense with authority and charm, introduced him as an expert, and let him regale an audience of mental health professionals on a topic he knew nothing about. The listeners gave "Dr." Fox high ratings on a post-lecture evaluation, from which the authors concluded that even sophisticated learners can be tricked into mistaking form for substance.

Can a good con artist dazzle even a sophisticated audience into mistaking a load of bull for a substantive lesson? We all suspect that it's true, and that we've seen it happen. But what would we have to do to prove it? And if it is true, should we always meet charisma with skepticism?

The Evolutionary Evidence lab in EvoBeaker highlights two famous transitional fossils: Tiktaalik, a 'fishopod', and Microraptor, a dinosaur with feathers. Last month Junchang Lü, David Unwin, and colleagues described a new transitional fossil that's sure to become famous too. It's a Jurassic pterosaur from China.