Beginnings Don’t Matter as Much as You’d Think

I’ve met people who think they’re uncomfortable with evolution, but when you actually talk to them, they’re worried about something very different. They ask, “How could something come from nothing? How could life come from non-life?” Biologists aren’t sure of the origin of life. They’re working on it, there’s a whole research field on what the experts call abiogenesis. But it’s hard going, because there’s so little direct evidence. There is a lot more evidence for evolution. Evolution isn’t a theory of where life comes from, it was never meant to be one. It’s a theory that explains the copious evidence we have from the history of life, from the fossil record to genetic comparisons to leftover features in related animals. It’s a theory that tells you what to expect when you already have some life, and wait a few generations. Evolution and abiogenesis are different ideas, with different domains. You can have one without the other. And when you already have life, and want to understand…