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At the most simple and basic level of examination, the likelihood of there being much complete understanding about a particular subject is more related to "the need to know" more than anything else. It's a question of attention, interest, and application末that's our universal nature, and probably life's as well, to extend the metaphor.
There no particular reason for anyone to know anything except through our "need" to know. Making a broad observation, "Evolution" is a typically a completely irrelevant topic末particularly its "Theory", as are an endless host of other things末you name it, it is probably mostly unless, most of the time, and you probably didn't learn it as a topic in school, much to the chagrin of those of us that depend upon teaching unless information for a living.
For example, we don't need to know much about gravity, nor particularly very much about the earth, or universe to survive. The things we really need to know are typically hardwired into us. Life doesn't fool around.
Humans, and all other organisms, compete for a place in the sun末as it were末and we assign value to things deemed important that give us an edge over nature, other humans, material objects, social order, etc. and we do it endlessly, and we create endless complexity in doing so. This gives us a method of coarsely to finely sifting through our gene pool to fine those nuggets of advantage.
The methodology for making a particular intellectual subject relevant is to demonstrate its intimate and unshakeable connection with personal survival and success. For example pick almost any medical topic that directly affects or potential affects, and people will learn about it, talk and write conjecture about it, and hypothesize about it excruciating detail. The world is filled with these obsessions.
As a thought exercise, imagine that if every mother in the world intimately knew that the survival of her progeny depended upon a their knowledge of the theory evolution, there would be no question about us knowing the theory of evolution. We would all know it, backwards, forward, sideways, and upside down to some degree, and we'd be schooled on it endlessly. I guarantee it! (The true is: We, in fact, probably all do know the theory of evolution. We just don't know that we do末this is a process of "self-discovery" fit for another essay.)
Enjoy,
C
Charles Carlson
Senior Scientist
exploratorium
3601 Lyon St.
San Francisco, CA 94123
[log in to unmask]
Tel: 415-561-0319
Fax: 415-561-0370
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