because "missing link" as a catch phrase has captured the imagination of the general public; it's a "Science McNugget" kind of thing. I spend a fair amount of classroom time discussing why the concept of a "missing link" is misleading. Unfortunately, there are some students who simply CANNOT rid themselves of the idea. I'm betting that many Slashdot readers also find themselves in the situation of simply not being able to lose the idea even when they *know* that it's wrong. It's simply too ingrained.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, the Wikipedia entry for "Missing Link" does a pretty good job... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_link
because "missing link" as a catch phrase has captured the imagination of the general public; it's a "Science McNugget" kind of thing. I spend a fair amount of classroom time discussing why the concept of a "missing link" is misleading. Unfortunately, there are some students who simply CANNOT rid themselves of the idea. I'm betting that many Slashdot readers also find themselves in the situation of simply not being able to lose the idea even when they *know* that it's wrong. It's simply too ingrained.