Know the 37 Early Influencers Before Celebrating Darwin's 215th birthday
Know the 37 Early Influencers Before Celebrating Darwin's 215th birthday
Know the 37 people who preceded and influenced evolutionary theory
It's time to throw on your party hats, folks! We're about to embark on a quirky celebration of Charles Darwin’s 215th birthday today, February 12th. As an act of blasphemy, let's make sure to prepare two banners and two cakes. As we are going to simultaneously honor his unsung collaborator, Alfred Russel Wallace. But first, a quick history lesson (don't worry, there won't be a test).
Imagine being Alfred Russel Wallace, a young scientist, awestruck by Darwin's intellect and breadth of knowledge. He mustered up the courage to send Darwin a manuscript, outlining a radical idea that environmental stress could explain why some species outlast others. What Wallace didn't know was that Darwin had been secretly toying with the same concept for nearly two decades. Darwin was one year away from published his masterpiece, "On the Origin of Species." This unexpected correspondence with Alfred Russel Wallace sparked a sense of urgency in Darwin.
Did Darwin showcase his virtues, acknowledging the truth of their interaction?
Oh, hells no.
Darwin panicked.
He commiserated with friends. And his friends devised a path to bury the competition. They set up a public presentation at a forthcoming meeting of the Linnean Society with three items for discussion: Darwin's manuscript, Wallace's manuscript, and a letter from Darwin with a time stamp showing that he arrived at the conclusion first. Neither Darwin nor Wallace were present. Wallace was NEVER INVITED OR INFORMED OF THIS PLAN.
Fighting as a united front on Darwin’s behalf was an infantry steered by Thomas Henry Huxley (known as "Darwin's bulldog"). Each friend, a specialist in at least one scientific discipline, lent their credibility to supercharge Darwin's own. Darwin was not a skilled orator, he painted with written words. And so Darwin stayed at home, content to let bellicose, brilliant scientific allies debate critics at scientific conferences and give public lectures. Darwin used his allies to secure favorable book reviews and build public trust by confessing to errors in writing and correcting them. By offloading the burden of managing with critics, the opposition to Darwin's ideas was manageable and in the end, he triumphed.
Darwin let allies pretend his work preceded Wallace's. History, with its penchant for simplicity, remembers Darwin as the lone genius. This narrative overlooks a vital lesson: groundbreaking ideas are often born from the collaboration of brilliant minds. So, on this special day, we commemorate not just Darwin and his revolutionary theory, but also Wallace and a large number of forgotten heroes whose contributions shaped our understanding of evolution and the world.
Want to know the 37 predecessors of Darwin, some he was intimately familiar with - such as Charles Lyell and his own grandfather Erasmus Darwin? Including a few who were assaulted and killed for maintaining some version or another of descent with modification? Well, get the book with research on the untold history of evolution:
Why Evolutionary Theory Matters in 13 Lines
The ripple effects of this groundbreaking theory of evolution (attributed to Darwin) didn't stop at the natural world. It reshaped our understanding of human history. Consider the conquest of Native Americans by Europeans. It wasn't brilliant battle plans that led to victory but rather a deadly, uninvited party of diseases - cholera, chicken pox, measles, scarlet fever, and smallpox (get this masterpiece). Europeans evolved immunities over generations, while Native Americans were devastatingly vulnerable. The iPhone, that sleek symbol of modern innovation, isn't a bolt from the blue but rather the latest rung in a ladder of evolution that includes pocket calculators, portable cameras, CD players, and cell phones. Thanks to Darwin's audacious leap beyond the boundaries of conventional thinking, we can appreciate the gradual trial and error, and selective persistence that shapes everything from technology and politics to morality, education, language, music, and food.
Provocations
Now, if you’re going to celebrate Darwin's 215th birthday and that of Wallace, Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr al-Kinani, and 35 other predecessors, do it in style:
The Evolutionary Costume Party: Dress up as your favorite species from the evolutionary timeline. Whether you choose to embody a primordial single-celled organism or a sophisticated Trilobite, make sure your costume initiates a conversation starting with - what the fuck are you?
Darwin's Delicacies: Host a potluck dinner where each dish represents a different era in Earth's history. Think primordial soup starters, Jurassic jambalaya for the main course, and an Ice Age-inspired chilled dessert.
Survival of the Fittest Relay Race: Set up an obstacle course that mimics various environmental challenges. Participants must adapt to each challenge to survive and win the race. It's a fun, interactive way to understand the concept of natural selection. And a controversial conversation on social fitness (click here).
Wallace Appreciation Poetry Slam: In a dank, basement venue, create verses that shed light on Alfred Russel Wallace’s contributions. Don’t forget to address how he recovered from a bout of malaria, alone on a remote Indonesian Island. Make sure to give him props for being way ahead of his time (and Darwin), by opposing eugenics and cruel animal experiments and strongly supporting women's rights in the mid 1800’s! Go one step further and create a rap song in his honor and I will send you a signed copy of my honoring book him - here.
