Party of science at work…
Legendary nature documentarian Sir David Attenborough is under fire after promoting a theory that humans evolved from an aquatic ape. As in, literally an ape that was adapted to live its life in the water:
David Attenborough's aquatic ape series based on 'wishful thinking' https://t.co/3t2fI3lXwu
— Guardian Science (@guardianscience) September 16, 2016
There are, shall we say, problems with this theory:
In which @ProfMarkMaslin and I explain what's wrong with the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis: https://t.co/yN8IoeFAjZ
— Prof Alice Roberts (@theAliceRoberts) September 16, 2016
An excerpt:
Occasionally in science there are theories that refuse to die despite the overwhelming evidence against them. The “aquatic ape hypothesis” is one of these, now championed by Sir David Attenborough in his recent BBC Radio 4 series The Waterside Ape.
The hypothesis suggests that everything from walking upright to our lack of hair, from holding our breath to eating shellfish could be because an aquatic phase in our ancestry. Since the theory was first suggested more than 55 years ago, huge advances have been made in the study of human evolution and our story is much more interesting and complicated than suggested by the catch-all aquatic ape hypothesis.
This would be the same Sir David Attenborough that President Obama flew from London to D.C. to lecture Americans on the danger of global warming:
Update: Obama flew David Attenborough from London to D.C. to make a video on why excess CO2 emissions are bad http://t.co/mTM6TIs2FI
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 26, 2015
Ironically, the White House featured Attenborough and a terrestrial ape in its propaganda piece:
.@POTUS.
David Attenborough.
Talking climate change.
Watch a sneak peek of their interview: http://t.co/SaiaqQzAqNhttps://t.co/e8bNWiIXgQ— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) June 25, 2015
The good news is that if Attenborough is right about global warming and the aquatic ape theory, humans should thrive in a world of melted ice caps and flooded coasts. It’s science.
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Related:
Slate writer accidentally exposes Obama’s stunning global warming hypocrisy in just one tweet
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