Philosophy
Darwin's idea of evolution through natural and sexual selection has been dubbed by many as perhaps the greatest single idea anyone has ever come up with. In a remarkable stroke of genius, Chuck was able to bridge the gap between the world of inanimate matter with the world of life; he was able to explain the diversity of life on earth, including great transformations, and the mechanism responsible for that diversity; and he provided a single, coherent, testable theory capable of unifying all of the different and previously disparate biological sciences into a single, beautiful and elegant framework whose individual parts provide independent confirmation for the rest.
Relying on the elegance of his theory, Darwin postulated various predictions based on the logical consequences of his theory, but often without any direct evidence. More than a hundred and fifty years after the publication of his magnus opus, most of those predictions are being borne out by empirical experiment and scientific innovations that Darwin could never have dreamed of.
More impressively still, new scientific disciplines (like evo devo and epigenetics, for instance) are finally revealing the mechanisms capable of explaining these incredible phenomena in ways that provide even more astonishing support for Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection.
Check out the NOVA site for more resources, including other videos and interactive features.
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- Comedist Evolution
It was pointed out to me that the Comedist insistance on a new selection mechanism in evolutionary theory -- survival of the funniest -- needs clarification. Citing the Darwin Award recipients, an early Comedist convert has pointed out that being funny...
- 8. Evolutionary Theory Connects With Quantum Mechanics
8. How does evolutionary theory connect with quantum mechanics? Feel free to do a google search to buttress your answers here. Clue: Think of Brian Greene meeting Charles Darwin. If Briane Greene and...
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea - Born Equal
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection provides a wonderful scientific explanation of biological adaptation and diversity. The theory is wonderful. The process of evolution itself is torturous, blind, indifferent, and cruel....
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea - Body & Soul
It took Darwin about twenty years to publish the theory that made him feel like he was confessing to a murder (God's perhaps?), but how did he come to articulate the theory in his own mind? His voyage in the HMS Beagle had a lot to do with it, certainly,...
- Darwin: The Most Revolutionary Scientist Of All Time
150 years ago today, Chuck Darwin published his famous On the Origin of Species, so it's appropriate to dedicate today's entry to the brilliance and imaginative power of this radical intellectual. In the following thought-provoking lecture, Richard...
Philosophy
What Darwin Never Knew
Darwin's idea of evolution through natural and sexual selection has been dubbed by many as perhaps the greatest single idea anyone has ever come up with. In a remarkable stroke of genius, Chuck was able to bridge the gap between the world of inanimate matter with the world of life; he was able to explain the diversity of life on earth, including great transformations, and the mechanism responsible for that diversity; and he provided a single, coherent, testable theory capable of unifying all of the different and previously disparate biological sciences into a single, beautiful and elegant framework whose individual parts provide independent confirmation for the rest.Relying on the elegance of his theory, Darwin postulated various predictions based on the logical consequences of his theory, but often without any direct evidence. More than a hundred and fifty years after the publication of his magnus opus, most of those predictions are being borne out by empirical experiment and scientific innovations that Darwin could never have dreamed of.More impressively still, new scientific disciplines (like evo devo and epigenetics, for instance) are finally revealing the mechanisms capable of explaining these incredible phenomena in ways that provide even more astonishing support for Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection.
Check out the NOVA site for more resources, including other videos and interactive features.
.
- Comedist Evolution
It was pointed out to me that the Comedist insistance on a new selection mechanism in evolutionary theory -- survival of the funniest -- needs clarification. Citing the Darwin Award recipients, an early Comedist convert has pointed out that being funny...
- 8. Evolutionary Theory Connects With Quantum Mechanics
8. How does evolutionary theory connect with quantum mechanics? Feel free to do a google search to buttress your answers here. Clue: Think of Brian Greene meeting Charles Darwin. If Briane Greene and...
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea - Born Equal
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection provides a wonderful scientific explanation of biological adaptation and diversity. The theory is wonderful. The process of evolution itself is torturous, blind, indifferent, and cruel....
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea - Body & Soul
It took Darwin about twenty years to publish the theory that made him feel like he was confessing to a murder (God's perhaps?), but how did he come to articulate the theory in his own mind? His voyage in the HMS Beagle had a lot to do with it, certainly,...
- Darwin: The Most Revolutionary Scientist Of All Time
150 years ago today, Chuck Darwin published his famous On the Origin of Species, so it's appropriate to dedicate today's entry to the brilliance and imaginative power of this radical intellectual. In the following thought-provoking lecture, Richard...