From Gutsick Gibbon.
The title is the whole thing. I’m going to be administering an adapted version of the course I taught as a university instructor to Will Duffy! The course is a hybrid of general evolutionary theory and biological anthropology, and the goal is to teach Will what evolution is and why it is the foundation of modern biology.
Will Duffy is a Colorado pastor, his fame primarily coming from debunking "The Flat Earth Model" by taking several well-known flat earth content creators to Antarctica to witness the 24 hour sun.
Will is also a creationist who promised his audience he would learn about evolutionary theory to decide whether or not he finds it convincing.
This is the first "episode" of what will likely be a year-long engagement: once per month I will administer one lecture to Will using the roadmap (subject to minor changes) below:
UNIT 1
NOVEMBER: History of Evolutionary Thought- This will be a tour through the naturalists and scientists who discovered that species change over time, from the Greeks through Darwin.
DECEMBER: Mechanisms of Evolution( Mutation)-Here we establish what mutations are, and how they drive evolutionary change by investigating DNA replication and protein synthesis. Real world examples of major evolutionary change by small genetic tweaks will be discussed.
JANUARY: Mechanisms of Evolution (Natural Selection, Gene Flow, Genetic Drift)- The other three major mechanisms of evolution are outlined, including how each of them drives evolutionary change. Real world examples of major evolutionary change by each of these mechanisms will be dscussed.
FEBRUARY: “Micro” and “Macro” Evolution- This lesson pulls the previous three together to discuss the pace of evolution and provide real-world examples of each “speed”.
UNIT 2
MARCH: Nested Hierarchies- Genes and Traits: A primer on taxonomy and phylogeny using genes and physical characteristics. How do we get “species-level” family trees? Why can we trust they are accurate?
APRIL: Ontogeny- A primer on how development (both genetic pathways and physical characteristics) bolsters evolutionary theory.
MAY: Introduction to Paleontology, Geology, and Biogeography- A primer on dating methods (how we know the Earth is 4.5 billion years old), how that bears on fossils and fossil formation, and how living and extinct species in physical space bolsters evolutionary theory.
JUNE: A Tour through Deep Time- brief tour through deep time with a handful of small case studies on reconstructing ancient environments, mass extinctions, major fossil transitions of importance.
Stop at the base of our major case study in evolution: humans.
UNIT 3
JULY: Human Evolution: Apes and First Hominins- Where/When did humans split from other apes? What were the first members of our lineage like? Pulls from all previous lessons.
AUGUST: Human Evolution: Australopithecus and Kin- When did our relatives begin walking upright and using tools? How do we know these apes are related to us? Pulls from all previous lessons.
SEPTEMBER: Human Evolution: Genus Homo and Us- When did the first “humans” emerge and why? Why are we the only ones left? How does evolution explain modern human diversity? Pulls from all previous lessons.
OCTOBER: Putting It All Together: A synthesis of the previous 11 lessons as a capstone.
THIS IS AN ADAPTED INTRODUCTORY COURSE FOR A UNIVERESITY SETTING. IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE A "CREATIONISM DEBUNKATHON". Please see my other videos for that.
Superchats will be read at the end, with revenue split between Will and I. Questions for Will will not be read if they are disrespectful, snarky, or otherwise rude. It takes a lot of guts to take a course in front of the entire internet and that will be appreciated here.
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