The conventional narrative for evolution is outdated. I am not casting doubt on the fact of evolution. I am saying that the way most people think of life's story has not kept pace with new knowledge about evolution's many and disparate paths.
The short version of the conventional narrative describes life as one big family linked by common ancestry. All of us, from bacteria to kelp, condors, and people, are fellow travelers through time, sharing our deepest and oldest roots. In this narrative, the path of common ancestry is a sprawling series of splitting events. A single species splits to become two, and those two species become four, which become eight, then 16, then 32, and so on, with bifurcating branches for millions of species. In this view, the course of common ancestry is diagrammed as a tree, with dividing branches denoting species, and is linked to the process of natural selection, which favors those individuals and groups enjoying greater reproductive success. As Charles Darwin wrote: "The affinities of all the beings of the same class have sometimes been represented by a great tree. I believe this simile largely speaks the truth."
