According to this New York Times column, the father of modern biology, who was born 200 years ago today,??would be "pleased,??but not surprised" by the developments in genetics and other fields that have furthered our understanding of evolution and natural selection. But no doubt he would be outraged to learn that only four in ten Americans believe in the theory of evolution, according to a new??Gallup Poll. The news is slightly less glum for young Americans (aged 18-34); about half of them believe in the e-word. Perhaps the other half are clustered in the 23 states that, as of 2005 at least, had squishy enough standards on evolution to earn this element a D or F from Fordham's science experts.
