Coquitlam Public Library

Ted's Evolution

videorecording

Ted's Evolution

921957122

Originally produced by National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in 2003

52

Charles Darwin started a revolution when he published his evolutionary theory in the late 1800s, challenging the belief that God created the world in seven days. Since then, Darwinian theory has become the accepted scientific doctrine but now an Australian scientist, Ted Steele, is stirring things up again. For years, Ted and his collaborators around the world have been researching ideas that challenge a fundamental principle of biology - the Weismann Barrier - and give new meaning to one of the most discredited theories in the history of science. Their proposition is based on the work of Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, published some 50 years before Darwin's The Origin of Species. The concept is that characteristics acquired during a lifetime could be passed on to the next generation. Ted is convinced that we can pass on these genetic improvements, such as stronger immunity, to our children. Encouraged by the great science philosopher Karl Popper, Ted launched his first book in 1979. It shook the foundations of evolutionary thinking. Since then, he and his collaborators have battled with the scientific establishment, their own universities and the media to have their research accepted. Has Ted devoted a lifetime to pursuing a false dream or is he about to change what we know about life on earth? Ted's Evolution documents the process of a potential paradigm shift. The stakes are high - reputations, careers and our understanding of evolution are all on the line. A Film Australia National Interest Program in association with Stoney Creek Productions. Developed with the assistance of the Australian Film Commission. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Copyright - 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Executive Producer: Franco di Chiera Producer: David Noakes, Lou Petho Director: Lou Petho Writer: Geoffrey Burchfield, Lou Petho DOP/Cinematographer: Joel Peterson, Philip Bull (additional) Narrator/Presenter: Michael Caton

live action