The ability to plug data into spread sheets or programs for statistical analysis does not qualify a person as having an understanding of higher mathematics. That doesn't cut it.
If I recall, it was evolutionist Julian Huxley that pointed out that evolution theory had a huge flaw from a purely probabilistic viewpoint, though he remained a believer. Others have added to and reinforced his work.
People majoring in science typically take the mathematics courses that are most relevant to their discipline. Most biological functions that I am familiar with can be described by a logarithmic/exponential function, and I am completely capable of deriving equations as I need them. The only benefit to having taken calculus is that I can follow equations in discussions of biophysics. In any case, I believe I adequately refuted the assertion that life sciences are completely devoid of mathematics, even if my math background did not prepare me for a career in aerospatial engineering.
The ability to plug data into spread sheets or programs for statistical analysis does not qualify a person as having an understanding of higher mathematics. That doesn't cut it.
In practice, you have to understand the mathmatics before you can plug the numbers into Excel or SPSS. Otherwise, you can plug numbers in all day, but you'll never know whether your results are valid or even close to plausible. I should mention that during the time I shared an office with a statistician, I never once (in several years) saw her calculate statistical functions by hand. She always plugged the numbers into some program (usually SPSS).
If I recall, it was evolutionist Julian Huxley that pointed out that evolution theory had a huge flaw from a purely probabilistic viewpoint, though he remained a believer. Others have added to and reinforced his work.
The "probabilistic flaw" is only an artifact resulting from the assumption that the "endpoint" was the intended goal of evolution all along. When you consider it from a more scientific point of view--that any species can fill a particular niche as long as it has certain characteristics, then the evolution of a species to fill a niche is almost inevitable. For evolution to occur, it is only necessary for DNA to mutate, for the DNA repair systems to fail to repair the DNA, and for the mutation to be neutral or to confer an advantage. These events happen rather frequently.