Darwin [quotes] wrong 12 Feb 2009 This doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, but it turns out that a number of widely quoted sayings of Darwin are, in fact, invented. I would not be surprised to find out they are taken from reviews and other authors’ summaries of Darwin. Evolution History
Evolution Some reading 18 Jul 2009 My longtime correspondent Bill Benzon has a very nice piece on the biological failure of the so-called “literary Darwinism” movement, in particular that of Joseph Carroll, who is the leading exponent of it. As Bill points out, we can mistake cultural tropes for biological traits all too easily. Will Thomas… Read More
Biology Thermodynamics, and the origin of replicators 14 Mar 2010 Over at Discover, Sean Carroll has a nice post on thermodynamics, free energy and the origins of life. It’s a good intro, but in the course of it he remarks: Obviously there is a lot missing to this story, and much of it is an absence of complete understanding on… Read More
History Irish history of science 18 Sep 2009 The deputy prime minister, or Tanaiste, of Ireland, has made a slight gaffe: She said the IDA would be marketing Ireland as the innovation island — “like Einstein explaining his theory of evolution”. After that, she said that Ireland would win sport like Darwin discovering gravity, and sing in Eurovision… Read More
I almost wish Darwin had said those things you cited, because they’re quite concise and enlightening. Oh well, his real words are no less so. Apocryphal quotes are common where famous people are concerned, but that pair of quotes is really quite good!
I almost wish Darwin had said those things you cited, because they’re quite concise and enlightening. Oh well, his real words are no less so. Apocryphal quotes are common where famous people are concerned, but that pair of quotes is really quite good!