Saturday, 11th February, 2012

If humans evolved from monkeys, how come there are still monkeys around?

This is a spectacularly silly question, often posed by creationists.

For a start, humans did not evolve from monkeys; monkeys and humans both evolved from a common ancestor, which was neither human nor monkey. In the evolutionary 'family tree' of primates, humans and monkeys are distant cousins. Humans and their fellow apes, such as chimpanzees and orang-utans, are closer cousins.

But, even if humans were indeed descended from monkeys, it would still be a spectacularly silly question to ask. While it is true that newly evolved species often replace the species they evolved from, this does not always have to be the case. It is like asking, "If I am descended from my grandfather, how come my grandfather is still alive?"

(For the record, though, both of my grandfathers died years ago.)