I just purchased a new book by James Watson, Nobel Prize Laureate and co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. Its title is Darwin, The Indelible Stamp: The Evolution of an Idea. Watson includes in this one volume, four of the most important books by Charles Darwin: The Voyage of the Beagle, On the Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Further, each book is introduced with commentary by Watson. In the forward of the book, Watson provides an overview of the work Darwin did, how he became aware of Darwin at a young age, how central Darwin’s ideas about evolution play in Biology. One statement he made, which was a quote from Theodosius Dobzhansky was “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. The four books included here are treasures and it is wonderful to have them in one volume. In other posts I have written on the evolution – creationism controversy, and this book by Watson, and his comments add to the debate. For Watson, the debate should be over. Near the end of his forward, Watson says this about Darwin’s ideas: ” Let us not beat about the bush—the common assumption that evolution through natural selection is a “theory”in the same way as string theory is a theory is wrong. EVOLUTION IS A LAW (with several components) that is as well substantiated as any other natural law, whether the Law of Gravity, the Laws of Motion, or Avogadro’s Law.” Watson goes on to say that evolution is a fact, disputed only by those who choose to ignore the evidence or put their sense on hold. As he further states, Darwin’s (and Wallace’s) ideas on evolution continue to shape the way we think about the living world and about existence. These statements are profound in light of the culture clashes between science and the religious right. I’ll continue this discussion, and perhaps we need to think out loud about theory vs law in science. But for now, what do you think about what Watson has to say about evolution?