"How much knowledge is gained by appealing to evolution as a cause of a phenomenon? It’s similar to “The devil made me do it!” Like the demon of alcohol, the demon of hard luck or the demon-possessed dog that ate my homework, the demon of Darwin serves as a convenient non-explanation for a lazy scientist or reporter unable to handle the complexities of nature.
Plants breathe with millions of tiny mouths. We used lasers to understand how this skill evolved (The Conversation, 24 March 2025). Has Tim Brodribb, a Professor of Plant Physiology at the University of Tasmania, ever heard of the fallacy of begging the question?
Q: Does he realize he is reasoning in a circle?
Translation: Things changed because they evolved, and things
evolved because they changed. Stomata evolved because the plants changed, and plants evolved because their stomata changed. Plants evolved, therefore their stomata evolved. Stomata changed because the plants changed.
This absent-minded professor has not proved anything except his own naivete. The details of his science project do not justify his conclusion.
Professor Brodribb has looked into microscopes at one of the wonders of nature, the stomata of plants.
"Our results suggest that stomatal behavior has changed substantially through the process of evolution, highlighting critical changes in functionality that are preserved in the different major land plant groups that currently inhabit the Earth."
Translation: Things changed because they evolved, and things
This absent-minded professor has not proved anything except his own naivete. The details of his science project do not justify his conclusion.
Professor Brodribb has looked into microscopes at one of the wonders of nature, the stomata of plants.
---These tiny gates permit the exchange of gases, adjusting
automatically to day/night cycles and environmental cues they read from sensors in the leaves. The guard cells around the openings adjust their turgor pressure to open and close according to the needs of the plants. It’s a marvelously sophisticated system that is exquisitely functional to a high degree of precision.
Q: Why didn’t Tim expect that different plants would have different stomata according to their needs?
"Opening the stomata at the wrong time can waste valuable water and risk a catastrophic drying-out of the plant’s vascular system. Almost all land plants control their stomata very precisely in response to light and humidity to optimise growth while minimising the damage risk."
Q: Why didn’t Tim expect that different plants would have different stomata according to their needs?
Q: Do all cars have the same wheel size?
Evolution explains everything.
It explains nothing."
CEH
