The talented and tireless Carl Zimmer points us to a new resource in self-guided science education (it's designed for teachers). It's a website called Understanding Evolution. It was created by the University of California Museum of Paleontology, with support provided by the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Mr. Zimmer wrote "The History of Evolutionary Thought" Section. It's full of his typically lucid prose, but I just want to call attention to this gorgeous chart on his index page -- isn't it beautifully concise? -- because it reflects the accessible professionalism of the whole site. (On the chart, note the subtle color shading within the labels to indicate the mutual influences of strands of thought.)
According to the latest polls I've been able to find, which reflect rough figures, less than a quarter of the American people believe that evolution by natural selection provides the best explanation for the origin of human life on Earth.
Here's hoping Understanding Evolution gets a lot of hits -- from Georgia, especially.