Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute, Dr. Geoffrey Simmons presented a critique of Darwin's theory of evolution. While he agrees with some of the basic tenets, such as natural selection and survival of the fittest, what doesn't follow is the idea that one species changes into another over time, he said.
The intermediate steps of species have typically not been discovered in the fossil records, said Simmons. For instance, no animals with a neck similar to the giraffe have ever been uncovered, nor has there been evidence to show that there was a predecessor to the whale. This type of information, along with the tremendous complexity of human cells and anatomy, lead Simmons to conclude that intelligent design coexists with evolution. He declared his viewpoint to be separate from creationism, in that it arose from science rather religion, and suggested that intelligent design is already taught in schools, though it is referred to as "nature."
The latest scientific studies, Simmons reported, show that modern humans descended from a small group in Africa around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago --and refuting Darwin-- we didn't evolve from monkeys but some "ancient primate-like entity."
Private Rocket Launch
First half-hour guest, Richard C. Hoagland commented on the test flight of Elon Musk's privately-built rocket. Though it narrowly missed its goal orbit, Hoagland commended the effort for producing rocketry far cheaper than NASA.