Evolution as a theory predates our understanding of genetics by many decades. Even before we were able to sequence genes, we were using morphology and a variety of other factors to determine relationships between living organisms.

Well, along came genetics. We discovered that neutral mutations in DNA tend to happen at consistent rates, which meant we could compare DNA of two organism to see how similar they were, and could even use their differences to estimate how long ago they had a common ancestor.

How can you “confirm evolution is real?” Sequence the genes of many organisms and compare them. Build your very own tree of life.