Happy Birthday Darwin

[@theCBE]

200 years old today. I thought there would be enough people on this board to appreciate it. This year also marks 150 years since On the Origin of Species came out.

I'm sure there are lots of articles out there about him today... at least there should be. So post them all here.

I'll start. NYtimes.com article

I doubt that much in the subsequent history of Darwin’s idea would have surprised him. The most important discoveries — Mendel’s genetics and the structure of DNA — would almost certainly have gratified him because they reveal the physical basis for the variation underlying evolution. It would have gratified him to see his ideas so thoroughly tested and to see so many of them confirmed. He could hardly have expected to be right so often.
Perhaps one day we will not call evolution “Darwinism.” After all, we do not call classical mechanics “Newtonism.” But that raises the question of whether a biological Einstein is possible, someone who demonstrates that Darwin’s theory is a limited case. What Darwin proposed was not a set of immutable mathematical formulas. It was a theory of biological history that was itself set in history. That the details have changed does not invalidate his accomplishment. If anything, it enhances it. His writings were not intended to be scriptural. They were meant to be tested.

[Bagor]

The UK's Guardian newspaper takes a look at the social and historic context of his revolutionary discovery (narrated).

Never knew that him and Lincoln shared the same birthday.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/in...charles-darwin

Poor Wallace hardly gets a mention.

[@theCBE]

Another good one from the Economist.

THE miracles of nature are everywhere: on landing, a beetle folds its wings like an origami master; a lotus leaf sheds muddy water as if it were quicksilver; a spider spins a web to entrap her prey, but somehow evades entrapment herself. Since the beginning of time, people who have thought about such things have seen these marvels as examples of the wisdom of God; even as evidence for his existence. But 200 years ago, on February 12th 1809, a man was born who would challenge all that. The book that issued the challenge, published half a century later, in 1859, offered a radical new view of the living world and, most radical of all, of humanity’s origins. The man was Charles Robert Darwin. The book was “On the Origin of Species”. And the challenge was the theory of evolution by natural selection.

Since Darwin’s birth, the natural world has changed beyond recognition. Then, the modern theory of atoms was scarcely six years old and the Earth was thought to be 6,000. There was no inkling of the size of the universe beyond the Milky Way, and radioactivity, relativity and quantum theory were unimaginable. Yet of all the discoveries of 19th- and early 20th-century science—invisible atoms, infinite space, the inconstancy of time and the mutability of matter—only evolution has failed to find general acceptance outside the scientific world. Few laymen would claim they did not believe Einstein. Yet many seem proud not to believe Darwin. Even for those who do accept his line of thought his ideas often seem as difficult today as they were 150 years ago.

[troutman]

Also, Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday.

http://darwinanniversary.ucsd.edu/

February 12, 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birthdays of two historic figures whose ideas and actions shaped the modern world—Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. For scientists, Darwin’s 200th birthday anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on how far knowledge about our natural world has come since the publication of On the Origin of Species and to examine the future direction of biology and other disciplines. For historians and political scientists, the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday has taken on new meaning with the election of our nation’s first African American president.

[photon]

Thought a new avatar was appropriate.

[Locke]

Darwin's theory is bunk. I dont see him evolving from 'dead.'

[Gozer]

Who?

[Canada 02]

The journal Science is doing a year long series of articles to mark his birth and res ... errr .... authorship of Origin of Species. Lot of good scientific articles if you have access to this journal

http://www.sciencemag.org/darwin/

[Bobblehead]

Roger Ebert says Happy Birthday

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009...e_fittest.html

On February 12, we celebrate the bicentennials of two of the greatest figures of the 19th century: Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. In hailing Lincoln, bells will peal from sea to shining sea. The same date is also designated around the world as Darwin Day, and in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, his birthplace, a cake with 200 candles will be presented in the Square, and everyone will be offered a slice. If you're of school age, living in Shropshire, and your birthday is Feb. 12, the city invites you to Darwin's Birthday Bash. This is a grand celebration for a man whose Theory of Evolution promoted atheism, inspired Hitler's genocides, and thinks your grandfather was a monkey.

None of those things are true, but such claims are what I've been dealing with since Dec. 3, 2008, when I published a blog entry praising Darwin's Theory and castigating Ben Stein's documentary "Expelled," which claimed the opposing theory of Intelligent Design was being silenced in a crime against freedom of speech. That entry has so far drawn some 280,000 visits and inspired nearly 1,300 comments comprising some 145,000 words, every one of which I have read. The thread is still active and growing every day.

[Russic]

All this thread does is make me miss photons old avatar. That may have been my favorite avatar on the internet.

[photon]

Oh it'll be back.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Russic

All this thread does is make me miss photons old avatar. That may have been my favorite avatar on the internet.

Which one?

Photon goes through avatars like women go through shoes.
(And unless I'm mistaken, he lifted this one from Ars Technica)

[keenan87]

communism rocks..haha

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Which one?

Photon goes through avatars like women go through shoes.
(And unless I'm mistaken, he lifted this one from Ars Technica)

sorry ... I was referring to his dancing darwin avatar. It made me laugh almost everytime I saw it. Kind of like the dancing kitten with headphones on.

[Save Us Sutter]

U of C is hosting lectures all year on Darwin and his ideas. Some of them have already happened but there are more to come this spring. They are free and open to the public.

Here's a schedule for anyone interested.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Which one?

Photon goes through avatars like women go through shoes.
(And unless I'm mistaken, he lifted this one from Ars Technica)

Spoilsport!

Originally Posted by Russic

sorry ... I was referring to his dancing darwin avatar. It made me laugh almost everytime I saw it. Kind of like the dancing kitten with headphones on.

Oh yeah, that one was good too. I've still got it around somewhere.

[photon]

Hey even Google has a new image today!

[kipperiggy]

I can't quite remember from my first-year biology class, can someone help me out here? Darwin and Wallace basically had the same ideas, except Darwin was quicker to get his published. Wallace gave his work to Darwin to read, and Darwin told him it was no good, only to work faster to get his book done and publish it first.

[Bagor]

^^^

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_...ural_selection

Natural Selection and Darwin section explains the relationship between the two.

[photon]

Sounds like a creationist creation to try to discredit Darwin.

Darwin and Wallace came to the same conclusions independently and about the same time. There were many similarities, though Darwin's work was much better supported since Darwin understood the true implications of what he was proposing and wanted to be thorough. Some of Darwin's work and Wallace's work were even presented at the same time.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...ary.evolution?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publica...win%27s_theory