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Darwin's Private Papers Get Released To The Internet

Posted by Zonk on from the uncle-charles-is-one-of-my-heroes dept.

bibekpaudel writes "ScienceDaily reports that a wealth of papers belonging to Charles Darwin have been published on the internet, some for the first time. Some 20,000 items and 90,000 images were posted today to http://darwin-online.org.uk/. The new site is the largest collection of Darwin's work in history, according to organizers from Cambridge University Library 'This release makes his private papers, mountains of notes, experiments, and research behind his world-changing publications available to the world for free,' said John van Wyhe, director of the project. The collection includes thousands of notes and drafts of his scientific writings, notes from the voyage of the Beagle when he began to formulate his controversial theory of evolution, and his first recorded doubts about the permanence of species."

3 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How fitting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Charles Darwin woke up in the place which Jesus called outer darkness where weeping and gnashing of teeth... Charles darwin once did believe in the christ but the devil lured him away from the truth and it COST him Eternal life. He now believes there is a GOD!

  2. Re:Micro vs. Macro is fiction by sigzero · · Score: 0, Troll

    So...where are the transient forms? There aren't any and there would HAVE to be. Really, macro evolution takes more faith that faith in God.

  3. Re:Controversial? sad... by pkphilip · · Score: 0, Troll

    a) Very few genetic mutations are actually beneficial. And even if they are beneficial, very few of these mutations actually carry over to the 3rd generation.

    Cite?

            b) Some mutations are only beneficial if it *simultaneously* occurs with many other mutations.

    Such as? http://www.genetics.org/cgi/content/abstract/176/3/1759

    You may also be interested in a more detailed explanation which includes some examples of beneficial mutations and not-so-beneficial mutations as well.

    http://radaractive.blogspot.com/2006/12/beneficial-mutations.html

    As to Dawkin's actual quote in the Blind Watchmaker, he repeats the usual line about how micro evolution over time can lead to macro evolution given enough time while at the same time referring to the contradiction that we find in the problem posed by the Cambrian Explosion.

    Dawkins writes,

    "...some very important gaps really are due to imperfections in the fossil record. Very big gaps, too...the major gaps are real, they are true imperfections in the fossil record...the only alternative explanation of the sudden appearance of so many complex animal types in the Cambrian era is divine creation and (we) would reject this alternative." After realizing the fossil record isn't imperfect and the missing links really aren't missing at all, he declares,

    "The 'gaps', far from being annoying imperfections or awkward embarrassments, turn out to be exactly what we should positively expect." Right.

    Credits: I am quoting portions from www.anointed-one.net