Icons of Evolution FAQs

Icons of Evolution
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Icons of Evolution
The web site for Dr. Wells' book.
Center for Science & Culture
This center, part of the Discovery Institute, is the organization that Dr. Wells is a senior fellow of and which promotes the idea of "Intelligent Design."
Icons of Anti-Evolution
Another presentation of the problems of Dr. Wells' book.
Icons of Evolution?
Alan D. Gishlick's detailed and illustrated debunking for the National Center for Science Education.
29 Evidences for Macroevolution
What is the real evidence for common descent?
The Talented Mr. Wells
Kevin Padian and Alan Gishlick review Icons for the Quarterly Review of Biology. (PDF File)

Creationist Jonathan Wells, an intelligent-design advocate affiliated with the Discovery Institute, has written a book entitled Icons of Evolution, which states that some of the best-known evidences for evolution -- such as the peppered moths, the Miller-Urey abiogenesis experiment, and the finches of the Galápagos islands -- are false, fraudulent or misrepresented in college-level textbooks. Articles found here refute Wells' book and demonstrate that the traditional, mainstream-science-supporting interpretations of these "icons" are correct.

Icon of Obfuscation
Nick Matzke's long and comprehensive article lists Wells' "icons" and refutes his claims one by one, showing how in each case it is Wells who has promoted deceptive interpretations of these famous evidences for evolution.
 
Jonathan Wells and Darwin's Finches
This article examines one of Wells' "icons" -- the finch species of the Galápagos islands -- in greater detail, showing how Wells' claims about them do not stand up to scrutiny.
 
Wells and Haeckel's Embryos
A biologist reviews the embryology "icon" in detail and shows that contrary to Wells that embryos are evidence for evolution.
 
Icons of Human Evolution
A review of the "From Ape to Human: The Ultimate Icon" chapter of Icons. It is part of the Fossil Hominids section of this Archive.
 
Kansas Evolution Hearings: Testimony of Jonathan Wells
A transcript of the testimony given by Wells in the so-called "science hearings" of May, 2005.
Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism

In 2006, Wells published a new book called The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design. The Panda's Thumb has a detailed reviews of this factually incorrect book: