![](\"https:\/\/www.unctv.org\/ncnow\/nchumanspark\/images\/bb_Human-Spark-LOGO.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>I watched The Human Spark<\/a><\/em> on PBS last night, a show about human evolution and what makes us distinctive, hosted by Alan Alda. I think even those who\u00a0generally keep up to date on the natural sciences will find it interesting and informative.<\/p>\nOne thought that struck me as I watched was the contrast between the scientists, archaeologists,\u00a0anthropologists and others who were working hard to find, date, and interpret the evidence we have, and the anti-evolution crowd (not mentioned in the show \u2013 why should they be?) who would simply deny (or in some cases devote extensive effort to denying) each detail in our current understanding: e.g. the age of the fossils and artifacts\u00a0(most of the ones\u00a0discussed in the episode were\u00a0around\u00a0100,000 years old); and\u00a0the common ancestry of modern humans, neanderthals, and other primates. Obviously one can only do that if one is ignorant of the extensive amounts of evidence from many parts of the globe and research in many distinct disciplines. <\/p>\n
<\/a>The irony is that young-earth creationists adopt an anti-evolutionary stance for the most part because they feel that evolution threatens human uniqueness and dignity. And yet this show<\/a> was all about human distinctiveness<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 but not simply affirming<\/em> it but also trying to understand when<\/em> and how<\/em> we developed some of our unique characteristics.<\/p>\n