The standard narrative for On the Origin of Species is that it changed the way people saw the world and rocked the intellectual foundations of Christian civilization. The truth is, it didn't change anything. People didn't abandon their faith and shift their paradigms because they read Darwin; they ate up Darwin as a perfect narrative … Continue reading Thought of the Day: On Darwin’s Popularity
Evolution
A Thought on Evolution
Something that occurred to me the other day: if natural selection and chance variables in genes from generation to generation is the main engine of change, then shouldn't animals that reproduce most rapidly show the most accelerated evolution? That is, shouldn't, say, the rabbits of today be markedly different from the rabbits of a thousand … Continue reading A Thought on Evolution
A Startling Conclusion
The real question raised by the tarantula hawk’s practice of paralyzing and laying its eggs into a tarantula before burying it is this; how does it know what a tarantula is, if it was born in the dark, underground, inside the thing? How does it know to go after the tarantula, sting it, bury it, … Continue reading A Startling Conclusion
Serpent's Den 