Why Evolution Works (and Creationism Fails)

Glossary

Glossary 197 academic freedom. The principle that teachers and professors must be free to pursue their research and teaching activities without external interference, as by politicians or administrators. accretion. In astronomy, the increase of mass of a celestial object such as a planet as it collects surrounding objects as a result of its gravitational attraction. ad hoc hypothesis. See auxiliary hypothesis. adaptation. A genetically based behavior, structure, or function that arises in a population as a result of genetic change, is favored by natural selection, and increases the fitness of individuals in the population that possess the adaptation. aerobic respiration. In an organism, the process of breaking down biological molecules in the presence of oxygen. agglomerated complexity. A meaningful message that has been generated by combining two or more meaningful messages and whose information as a result exceeds 500 bits. agnosticism. The belief that we cannot know whether or not God (or other deities) exists (see also atheism, deism, theism, theistic evolutionism). algorithm. A step-by-step procedure for solving a mathematical problem; especially, a computational procedure carried out on a computer. allele. One of two or more alternative forms of a gene. altruism. In our context, providing a benefit to another without expectation of reciprocity (see also reciprocal altruism). amoeboid movement. A creeping type of movement of individual cells in which the cytoplasm flows into projections of the cell membrane and the rest of the cell and its contents follow. Glossary.qxd 3/26/09 5:35 AM Page 197 anthropic principle. 1.Weak anthropic principle: If the conditions were not right for our existence, then we would not exist. Also weak form. 2. Strong anthropic principle:Conditions are right for our existence precisely so that we will exist.Also strong form (see also fine-tuning, fundamental constant). appeal to authority. An argument in which the truth of an assertion is based on the testimony of one or more presumed authorities.Though strictly a fallacy in logic, the appeal to authority lends weight to an assertion, provided that the authority is truly expert. appeal to the consequence. A logical fallacy wherein a claim of fact is rejected because its consequences are deemed to be undesirable. archean. Pertaining to the oldest known rocks. atavism. The appearance in an organism of a trait or character that was known only in an ancestral form.Also called a throwback. atheism. 1. The belief that the existence of God (or other deities) has not been proved and hence there is no reason to believe in them. 2. Sometimes, the firm belief that there is no God (or other deities) (see also agnosticism, deism, theism, theistic evolutionism). autotrophic. Relating to an organism that can synthesize its own food from nonnutritive inorganic molecules (see also heterotrophic). auxiliary hypothesis. A hypothesis that is employed to explain an apparently anomalous result.Also ad hoc hypothesis. bacteriophage. A virus that can infect only bacteria. balanced treatment. The requirement to teach creation science if evolution is taught. basal. Situated at the base or foundation of an evolutionary tree. Batesian mimicry. A form of mimicry in which the model has an attribute (poisonous, for example) that makes it unprofitable to a predator, but the mimic lacks the unprofitable attribute. biblical inerrancy. The view that the original manuscript of the Bible was completely free of error (see also biblical literalism). biblical literalism. The view that every apparently factual statement in the Bible is literally true and is not subject to interpretation (see also biblical inerrancy). big bang. The cosmic explosion that denotes the beginning of our universe 13.7 billion years ago.Also, the cosmological theory that the universe began as Glossary 198 Glossary.qxd 3/26/09 5:35 AM Page 198 a small, hot fireball that has expanded to its present state and continues to expand (see also steady-state theory). biogenic law. The principle, formulated by Ernst Haeckel, that the developmental pathway of an embryo, from fertilized egg to adult, mirrors its evolutionary history. Contrast with von Baer’s law. biped. A two-legged animal. bit. The unit of measure of information. black hole. A region of space whose gravitational field is so strong that nothing , not even light, can escape. blackbody. In physics, a perfect absorber or radiator. A blackbody emits a well-known spectrum of radiation that depends on its temperature. blind spot. The region of the retina which is located a few millimeters on...