Darwin's Manuscripts Going on Display

[tallahasseedem]

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051115164009990026

~snip~

NEW YORK (Nov. 15) - Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is nearly 150 years old and under fresh attack, but thanks to him scientists today understand the danger bird flu poses to humans, curators of a new Darwin exhibit say.

"Without his insights, we would fail to appreciate the dangerous potentials of rapid evolution in the avian flu virus," Michael Novacek, curator of paleontology at the museum, told a news conference on Tuesday.

~snip~

Oh yeah, there is a poll too.


Are you convinced that evolution is for real?
Yes 85%
No 15%


Could an evolution exhibit change your mind about Darwin's theory?
I'm already convinced it's a fact 83%
No, evolution is bunk 13%
It could, yes 4%

Total Votes: 101



"No, evolution is a bunk"????? :banghead:

[hlthe2b]

1. I hope these papers are well guarded.... I can just imagine

how tempting to vandalize for the most radical RWers....

[tallahasseedem]

2. You know I hadn't even thought of that....

that certainly would not surprise me. :scared:

[greiner3]

3. And I could have picked Astrology!

I am getting my degree in Evolutionary Biology. NOW you tell me it's all bunk!

[tallahasseedem]

7. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

I know, now they tell us!

[HereSince1628]

4. Personally, I think linking Darwin and viruses is a stretch.

Darwin really never understood Mendelian genetics, chromosomes weren't seen until he was nearly dead. DNA wasn't understood to be the stuff of inheretance until decades after his death, so mutation was unknown to him. Darwin simply accepted that variations occurred and that some of them were favored to produce more offspring.

Viruses weren't known until well after Darwin was dead.

Yeah, I know, despite Gould's statements to the contrary as he proposed punctuated equilibrium as his own novel discovery, Darwin did anticipate that speciation would not occur at a constant rate.

[WindRavenX]

5. I don't

The point is that without the knowledge of evolution, we would have no idea whatsoever how viruses change, nor how to combat them. Understanding evolution is key to understanding genetics and viruses, and Darwin is a great start for people who may normally not understand the connection between evolution and the nature of viruses.

[HereSince1628]

10. You should go back and read some history of evolutionary theory.

I think you can find a good summary of the historical development of evolution in Ridley's _Evolution_. It's a popular college text that should be in many libraries.

Understanding of genetics, historically the rediscovery of Mendelian genetics, contributed much more to understanding evolution than the other way around.

And the merger of genetics with natural selection wasn't nice and neat. Indeed, the emergence of a version of evolution known as "mutation theory" put forward by deVries was nearly 100% effective in overwhelming and displacing Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection!

The realization that they could be reconciled came well into the 20th century.

[Ladyhawk]

6. Darwin didn't know the exact mechanism, but he did observe how

creatures changed. :shrug:

[HereSince1628]

8. I think it's a matter of thinking with some level of criticality

Claiming that Darwin is relavent today via his ideas' critical importantance to the investigation of avian flu, as one of the museum curators reportedly said, really is hyperbole for use in marketing an exhibit.

Granted, evolution is the most important organizing principle in biology. The truthfulness of that means that you or I can consider virtually any biotic entity or activity and within the limits of our understanding find a meaningfully way to interpret it through the lens or evolution. Surely this is as true of influenza viruses as it is for any other biotic entity.

But as I pointed out, Darwin knew nothing of viruses or genetics, or really any of the details needed to understand avian flu. As a consequence of Darwin's ignorance about viruses and their biology, as well as the limitations of Darwin's own understanding of evolution, his relavent contributions to understanding the biology of avian flu are (I argue)at best very very general.

[kliljedahl]

9. Who are these Morans, up to 21%

Are you convinced that evolution is for real?
Yes 75%
No 25%
Could an evolution exhibit change your mind about Darwin's theory?
I'm already convinced it's a fact 71%
No, evolution is bunk 21%
It could, yes 9%
Total Votes: 2,258