Why is evolution not observable or testable?

Answer 1

Answer 1

It is observable and testable.
Evolution even occurs in the electronics we use every day. What did cell phones look like in 1980? What do they look like now? They have evolved.


Answer 2

1. In science, to say that hypothesis is testable means to say that the hypothesized principle should logically result in certain things being observed here and now. For instance, if a meteorite impacted the Earth 65 million years ago, then we should logically expect to find a thin layer with an increased concentration of Iridium at a depth corresponding with that age. To find such a layer means a confirmation for the hypothesis, increasing the likelihood that it is accurate ('true'). The absence of such a layer would mean a significant decrease of the likelihood that it is accurate (ie. it would have been falsified).

2. The word 'evolution', in the context of the life sciences, refers to two things:

• The observed phenomenon of shifting allele frequencies in population gene pools. This can be directly observed.
  
  
• The theory of evolution, which incorporates the fundamental theses of descent with modification, natural selection and common descent.
  
  Descent with modification is observationally verified.
  
  Natural selection has also been observationally verified on small scales (within minor taxa, on the human timescale). One can reasonably infer that the mechanism that directs evolution on these scales is the same mechanism that directs the evolution of divergent taxa from a common ancestor on larger scales. Hypotheses about specific evolutionary pressures on these scales can also be tested against observations in genomics.
  
  Common descent is observationally verified on small scales (within minor taxa) and is testable on the larger scale (between major taxa), yielding specific predictions about observations in comparative genomics and morphology.

To sum it up: yes, evolution is both observable and testable.