Did Alexander Get It Right? What Do Evolution Skeptics and Creationists Really Think About Bonobos?

On the "Junk DNA" Argument

• That non-coding DNA sometimes has functions does not disprove the 98–99% figure, because sequence similarity and biological function are different questions.

• The classic 98–99% figure refers to comparable, alignable DNA segments — not every conceivable structural, regulatory, or functional difference across the entire genome.

• Alexander implies that a more complex view of the genome automatically invalidates the high sequence similarity, which does not follow.

On the Tomkins Source / Creationist Framing

• The 84% figure Alexander cites comes from a creationist context (Jeffrey Tomkins at the Institute for Creation Research) and conflicts with established scientific findings that place human–chimpanzee and human–bonobo similarity at about 98–99% in comparable regions.

• There is a clear conflict of sources: on one side, peer-reviewed genomic studies and scientific overviews of bonobo genomics; on the other, creationist literature that presents the similarity as much lower.

• Reliable information comes from genomic research and scientific reviews, not from a creationist reinterpretation.

Quick Rebuttal

"No, the 99% figure has not been disproven; it refers to comparable DNA segments. Your 16% figure comes from a different counting method and from creationist literature. That the whole genome is more complex than a single percentage is true — but that does not create a scientific consensus of 16% difference."