https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/teaching-evolution-to-tibetan-monks/

“We believe that we came into existence when an ogress mated with a monkey. Is that possible?”

The question comes from one of a hundred saffron-clad Tibetan monks sitting cross-legged on floor cushions; they are my students for a two-week crash course on evolutionary theory. It’s my first day, and I’m already in a quandary. Cultural narratives and science conflict all the time. How could I field such questions without disaffecting the class?