'Evolution' Advertisement Refutes Evolution Metaphor by Brian
Thomas, M.S. * On a Dallas highway near the Institute for
Creation Research offices, a billboard advertising a new
computer reads, "The laptop has just evolved." Likely, the
statement is not meant to be taken in a literal Darwinian sense,
since laptops are the product of human engineering. Why, then,
is the word "evolved"—typically used to describe a natural
process—used in the advertisement? Technical-minded evolutionary
biologists have different definitions of "evolution," but on the
street this term can carry the generalized meaning of onward and
upward advancement from simple to complex forms or functions.
Plainly, it is this concept to which the advertisement appeals.
The message is, "if you want the latest pinnacle of technology,
then buy this product. It is the most evolved, or advanced, to
date." So, evolution is equated with advancement. The means, or
"how," behind such progress is, however, not explained. But the
way this technology becam