To the editor:

Stan Helweg, in his July 28 letter, implies that one kind of organism turning into another is evolution. According to Webster’s Dictionary, the biological definition of evolution is “the continuous genetic adaptation of organisms or species to the environment by the integrating agencies of selection, hybridization, inbreeding and mutation.” So, yes, adaptation is part of evolution — as is hybridization, which we see whenever someone crosses a dachshund with a Chihuahua, and mutation, which we see when three-eyed frogs show up in Minnesota.

But, Mr. Helweg is correct that my example of bacterial resistance was simplistic for the 250-word limit of the Public Forum — as was his. Neither my example nor his is correct regarding this complex issue, which is proof enough that children in Kansas need to be taught evolution in school and decide for themselves what to believe regarding human history. This was, after all, the whole point of my original letter.

Christina K. Bolas,

Lawrence