An evolutionary biologist explains the one thing most people misunderstand about evolution

At the opening of theAmerican Museum of Natural History ’s Brain exposition , we caught up with conservator Rob DeSalle and asked him about evolution .

First he tell us what an evolutionary life scientist does . In DeSalle ’s instance , he uses reckoner to compare really longsighted genome successiveness and cypher out where evolutionary modification has occurred over time .

Then he explained that his biggest frustration with explicate evolution to the great unwashed is the fact that they misunderstand the idea of “ vulgar ancestry . ” As he says here , in an interview conducted by Gaby Darbyshire for io9 , mass assume that evolution intend we are descended from chimps . But that ’s not genuine – we are descended from a mutual antecedent we partake in with chimps . In other words , we have an ancestor in common with chimps , but we did n’t germinate from chimpanzee .