How life changes, and how we know
This group offers a series of engaging, illustrated lectures exploring the fascinating science of evolution. Together, we will examine how life on Earth has changed over billions of years, diving into key concepts such as natural selection, the fossil record, genetics, and human origins.

Each session will feature a 45-minute presentation followed by an open by the group leader, informal Q&A, and group discussion. The lectures are designed to be highly accessible and engaging; absolutely no prior scientific background or qualification is required—just an open mind and a curiosity about the natural world. Whether you are completely new to the subject or looking to refresh your knowledge, all are welcome to join.

Most of us learned a sentence or two about evolution at school and have not revisited it since. Meanwhile, the subject itself has been transformed by genetics that Darwin never had. This course is an unhurried introduction for adults who are curious and starting from nothing.

We will cover what the theory actually claims, what the evidence for it is, and equally important how scientists know what they claim to know. The emphasis throughout is on reasoning rather than memorising. By the end, participants should be able to follow a newspaper article or a television documentary on the subject and judge for themselves whether it is telling them something solid.

The course is taught by a practising surgeon, and anatomy features throughout: the human body is a useful place to see evolutionary history written down, and I will draw on thirty years of looking inside it.

Sessions outline

Introductory session
Concept of Evolution before Darwin. The idea in its simplest form: variation exists, some of it is inherited, and not everyone survives to reproduce. That is nearly the whole of it.

We look at how Darwin arrived at the idea, what he could not explain in 1859, and we clear away the misconceptions that cause most of the later confusion: evolution as progress, as a ladder, as something with a goal, and the persistent phrase "only a theory."

Science of Evolution
We will discuss the basic science of evolution, in which we will be discussing about the definitions of Natural selection and random mutation. We will also discuss briefly deep time, common ancestry, micro- and macro-evolution, etc.

More than Natural Selection
Selection is not the only thing happening. We meet genetic drift , why population size matters enormously. We also look at sexual selection, and why the peacock's tail is a problem that needs its own explanation. Discussing natural selection with examples and analogies.

Molecular Evolution: Genes & Population
What changed when we could read DNA. How genomes record ancestry, and why shared mistakes are more telling than shared features. Molecular clocks, and how we estimate when two lineages parted. This session is the heart of the modern case and is presented without jargon or mathematics.
Where species come from, and where we came from.
How one population becomes two and can no longer interbreed, with living examples. Then the question everyone wants to reach: human origins. What the fossils show, what ancient DNA has revealed, and what remains genuinely uncertain. We close with an honest account of the open questions.

Development & Evolution (Evo-Devo)
Evo-Devo = intersection of embryology, genetics, and evolution. Key question: How do small genetic changes create big evolutionary differences?
Development is the bridge between genes and adult form.
Evidence of intermediate transitions in evolution
Mass Extinction and Radiation
Primate & Hominin Evolution
Why should we study this topic? Separation of Hominoids and primates from their ancestors. Are we still evolving?
Climate change and Evolution, Agricultural Evolution, Domestication as Evolution.
The body as evidence: a surgeon's view
A closer look at human anatomy and what it reveals about our history. The nerve that takes a long detour through the chest. The eye that is wired backwards. The pelvis that must do two incompatible jobs. These are not design faults to be apologised for; they are the fingerprints of a process, and they are visible on every operating table.