Weird Science Part Two: Col. Kurtz

The late Marlon Brando as Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.
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I entered my next class, Basic Principles of Behavior Modification hoping for something more down to earth. As class begun a wild-eyed Veteran tore into the room replete with combat pants and a USMC t-shirt. Before we could alert building security he informed us he was the instructor.

He had a crazed look that brought Col. Kurtz immediately to mind. He showed up every class time with a juice bottled filled with some dark, thick Agent Orange-like substance which he would swig before spewing fresh curses at whoever had the audacity to ask him a question.

And yes, I checked it out later...he had tenure.

One day he entered into intellectual combat with a young Creationist, which is generally pretty entertaining to watch. The professor had just finished showing a movie about moths in England. The white moths survived at first because of the proliferation of white elm trees in the area, rendering them invisible to predators. But when a factory was built and the soot from the factory started to turn the white elms a dark charcoal shade the birds swept down and ate the white moths like candy. At that point the naturally darker moths became the dominant moths of Hampstead heath as they were now camoflaged.

This was conclusive proof of the proces of Natural Selection, a major tenent of Evolutionary theory.

After the film the conversation went something like this:

Creationist: Professor?
Kurtz: Yeah WHAT!?
C: I understand what happened in the film and have no qualms about Natural Selection...
Kurtz: (rolling eyes in the back of his head and taking a swig)
C: ...that seems easily demonstratible within each species, but what evidence do you have for one species evolving into a whol enew one? Should we have millions of intermediary fossils?
Kurtz: Didn't you watch the fucking movie!!?
C: Yeah, I saw the movie and I agree that Natural Selection occurs. But you didn;t answer my question. Another one is how does emotion, self-consciousness, personality and reason evolve from primal slime?
Kurtz: (taking a hefty swig) What are you fucking blind!!? The MOTHS! The MOTHS! WHADDABOUT THE GODDAMN MUTHA_FUCKING MOTHS!!?

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Part Four next.