Jon, Reggie and Jackson in Namibia
February 12th
The scientists on board all thought that it was rather auspicious, that we were in the vicinity of the Equator on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. And so we celebrated and sang “Happy Birthday”. Jon Kastendiek, a biology professor, gave a wonderfully entertaining lecture about the man who was behind the science. He told us amusing and sad stories about Darwin’s family life and the struggles he encountered as he painstakingly built his case for the scientific revelations for which he is so well known.
Consistent with his role as Academic Dean, Reggie has instituted a new column which appears daily in The Dean’s Memo. Below are his thoughts on the occasion of Darwin’s birthday.
From the Crow’s Nest
Some comments on Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday…
In profound ways, our own journey is evocative of Charles Darwin’s 5-year voyage on HMS Beagle. Like him, we set out to understand the world we live in, carrying with us the hope of putting what we are to learn into rational form. Darwin used his voyage as a vehicle to explore biology and geology. Reflection and study for some 20 years after he returned home culminated in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, which enjoys its 150th anniversary this year. Despite the intervening century and a half, Darwin’s ideas are not broadly accepted at home: An August 2006 survey by the Pew Research Center found that only 26% of Americans say that life evolved solely through processes such as natural selection. Doubtlessly, the 63% of Americans who openly reject the theory of evolution find little fault with the theory of gravity. While we understand very deeply and can speak with great authority about the scientific mechanisms that underlie evolution, we are woefully ignorant regarding the mechanistic basis of gravity. Verlyn Klinkenborg comments in today’s New York Times: “...Cultural opposition to evolution [is] scientifically irrelevant. Perhaps the persistence of opposition to evolution is a reminder that culture is not biological, or else we might have evolved past such a gnashing of sensibilities. In a way, our peculiarly American failure to come to terms with Darwin’s theory and what it’s become since 1859 is a sign of something broader: our failure to come to terms with science and the teaching of science.” Science is not a belief system; it is a system whose purpose is to investigate ideas and reach testable conclusions that provide a factual basis for understanding the world, as evolution does.
One comment about timing....in reality we are about to arrive in South Africa. Tomorrow morning at 8AM, we will be steaming into what I hear is a gorgeous harbor. We will be on the bow of the ship to greet Cape Town. I am still trying to assimulate Namibia which is a fabulous country to visit and plan to post the blog as soon as I have some time to spare.
Consistent with his role as Academic Dean, Reggie has instituted a new column which appears daily in The Dean’s Memo. Below are his thoughts on the occasion of Darwin’s birthday.
From the Crow’s Nest
Some comments on Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday…
In profound ways, our own journey is evocative of Charles Darwin’s 5-year voyage on HMS Beagle. Like him, we set out to understand the world we live in, carrying with us the hope of putting what we are to learn into rational form. Darwin used his voyage as a vehicle to explore biology and geology. Reflection and study for some 20 years after he returned home culminated in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, which enjoys its 150th anniversary this year. Despite the intervening century and a half, Darwin’s ideas are not broadly accepted at home: An August 2006 survey by the Pew Research Center found that only 26% of Americans say that life evolved solely through processes such as natural selection. Doubtlessly, the 63% of Americans who openly reject the theory of evolution find little fault with the theory of gravity. While we understand very deeply and can speak with great authority about the scientific mechanisms that underlie evolution, we are woefully ignorant regarding the mechanistic basis of gravity. Verlyn Klinkenborg comments in today’s New York Times: “...Cultural opposition to evolution [is] scientifically irrelevant. Perhaps the persistence of opposition to evolution is a reminder that culture is not biological, or else we might have evolved past such a gnashing of sensibilities. In a way, our peculiarly American failure to come to terms with Darwin’s theory and what it’s become since 1859 is a sign of something broader: our failure to come to terms with science and the teaching of science.” Science is not a belief system; it is a system whose purpose is to investigate ideas and reach testable conclusions that provide a factual basis for understanding the world, as evolution does.
One comment about timing....in reality we are about to arrive in South Africa. Tomorrow morning at 8AM, we will be steaming into what I hear is a gorgeous harbor. We will be on the bow of the ship to greet Cape Town. I am still trying to assimulate Namibia which is a fabulous country to visit and plan to post the blog as soon as I have some time to spare.
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