"The Sixth Extinction" Chapter 3

Before Charles Darwin emerged with the theory of evolution and natural selection, many scientists, such as Lyell, had preposterous beliefs such as that all extinct organisms would have the ability to reappear in the world. Consequently, Henry De la Beche responded by creating a cartoon that makes fun of Lyell by comparing him to an ichthyosaur, showing that he had evolved incorrectly. This parallels a lecture that I received on science history because many scientists believed in ridiculous theories only because they had not been disapproved by experiments. Specifically, the balloonist theory, an early neuroscience explanation brought up by Borelli, stated that muscles were able to contract and expand through air. Today, if someone were to say this, they would be laughed at or even ridiculed because this has no logical explanation. This shows how theories are not deemed “facts” because every theory has the potential to be proven wrong through experimentation.

Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution itself, since he believed that creatures “had come into being through a process of transformation that took place over countless generations.” (Kolbert, 54) Unlike Lyell, Charles Darwin had concrete evidence to support his theory because of his discoveries within the Galapagos Island where he noted that finches had different types of beaks. Because of their different beak types, he believed that overtime, the birds transformed to accommodate to their changing environment to survive and compete with other birds; he later regarded this process as “natural selection.” In turn, natural selection supported extinction because organisms would gradually become extinct if they were unable to survive and adapt to their environment; however, the extinction of the great auk was not caused by their inability to remain alive in their environment, rather it was because of “human-caused extinction.” Humans would go to Eldey Island, where the great auks lived, and hunt them down for their own interests. Many attempted to make an effort to circumvent any future bird extinctions by implicating a “ban on hunting during the breeding season.” (Kolbert, 67) This still leaves a question: If this ban would be put on every endangered species, would they no longer be endangered?