Missing Link

The media is a buzz with news that the 'missing link' between ape and human has been found. When i first heard the story i was excited. The implications of this find are more than just history. This potentially challenges religion and by association, society. So it was with great excitement that i went researching this news story online.



I was sad at what i discovered. This is not (yet) the find of the universe. This is a media stunt. This was a publicists wet dream. You see, this story is being promoted along side a documentary about this find. And while the publicists are happy to label this find as 'THE missing link', the palaeontologist and the anthropologists aren't so quick. The Sydney Morning Herald put it this way:

The publicists for the discovery don't object to the description "missing link", but the palaeontologist and anthropologists are much more guarded. It is, however, a critical piece of our heredity puzzle.

The rest of the article proudly declares this the missing link. From what i can tell, not enough research has been conducted to determine this is 'THE link'. I fear that someone just got carried away with promoting a documentary.

I'll come back to this topic in a few month and see where the scientific community places this finding once it has had a chance to really examine it.