> dlecoint@garnet.acns.fsu.edu (Darius A. Lecointe) writes:
>Is there *anyone* who can *briefly* state the theory of evolution?

All organisms alive today are descended from organisms that lived in
the remote past.

All live today has undergone a process of descent with modification.

All organisms today are descended from a common ancestor.


Each of these statements are not theory.  They are regarded as fact
by biologists today.  Still, when someone says "evolution" this is
what is usually meant.

The "theory of evolution" most widely accepted today is the NeoDarwian
synthesis.  This combines Darwin's original insights with genetics and
population biology.  According to this theory, evolution is a change
in gene frequency over time in a population.  When populations become
isolated reproductively, gene frequency changes lead to divergence and
ultimately to speciation.  Speciation events produce a hierarchial
connection between living organisms and their ancestral forms.  This
geneological hierarchy forms the basis for phylogeny and systematics.

Is that brief enough?




--
Philip Nicholls                   "To ask a question,
Department of Anthropology         you must first know
SUNY Albany                        most of the answer."
pn8886@thor.albany.edu