Evolution is the scientific idea that will change everything
within next several decades. I recognize that this statement
might seem improbable. If evolution is defined generally, simply
as change over time, the above statement borders on meaningless.
If regarded in the narrower, Darwinian sense, as descent with
modification, any claim for evolution's starring role also
appears questionable, particularly given that 2009 is the 150th
anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species.
Surely Darwin's "Dangerous Idea," however conceived, has made
its mark by now. Nevertheless, I base my claim on evolution's
probable impacts in two great spheres: human consciousness and
science and technology. Today, the commonly accepted conception
of evolution is extremely narrow, confined largely to the realm
of biology and a longstanding emphasis on mutation and natural
selection. In recent decades, this limited perspective has
become further entrenched by the dominance of molecular biology
and its "promise" of human