The Complete Work of Darwin Online — One of the Most Important Contemporary Collection
Almost all of the complete collection of writing by Charles Darwin is available online at http://darwin-online.org.uk/.
I personally think that this is one of the most important contemporary document collections. There's a lot of great science papers available out there, some thousands of years old. So, why is Darwin so important?
For starters, he wrote in English, which is a language that is available to many people on the planet. I'm not sure how many people are able to read English, but we can see the very original writing of a great mind without having to go through a translation. Though there are many great translator out there, most translation causes a bit of the original texture and subtleties to be lost.
Another reason why Darwin Online is important is the fact that we get to glimpse inside one of the greatest minds there was. Darwin is known for taking meticulous notes on just about everything he observed. Those notes are available for anyone who is interested in observing a great mind at work, or anyone who simply wishes to look at a bit of history.
Darwin may be more approachable as a scientist model than Newton, Einstein or even Hawking. He spent most of his life unknown outside of botanical circles. He only became a 'superstar' after publishing On The Origin of Species, late in his life. Furthermore, the fruit of his research was not born out of a 'flash of brilliance' but out of careful observation on the natural world — something that anyone is capable of. Thus, observing Darwin's work communicates that an average person, with enough passion and dedication can draw startling conclusions about the universe in which we live.
I'm not saying that other scientific minds did not go through the same process as Darwin. What I'm saying is that Darwin's work demonstrates the power of the scientific method — something that is not always approachable for the average individual when looking at Newton's or Einstein's work.
Darwin forever changed the way we look at nature and the universe. I believe that the theory of evolution is probably the most important scientific discovery of all time. No other theory has ever shaken our perception of the world the way evolution did.
Earlier this April, my lovely wife and I had a chance to visit the Royal Ontario Museum to see the Darwin exhibit. I was moved to see Darwin's original writing right in from of my eyes. I was humbled by his careful hand-written notes and images that led to one of the most important books ever published. To me, it was as if I had a chance to meet an idol, a role model. Of course, I'll never get a chance to actually meet Darwin, but after having gone to the exhibition, I feel like I had a chance to meet him face to face.
Now, I can continue to meet Darwin anytime I wish by visiting http://darwin-online.org.uk/. I hope you'll take the time to meet him too. He's a really nice guy and easy to get along with ;)
Charles Darwin
12 February 1809 - 19 April 1882
I personally think that this is one of the most important contemporary document collections. There's a lot of great science papers available out there, some thousands of years old. So, why is Darwin so important?
For starters, he wrote in English, which is a language that is available to many people on the planet. I'm not sure how many people are able to read English, but we can see the very original writing of a great mind without having to go through a translation. Though there are many great translator out there, most translation causes a bit of the original texture and subtleties to be lost.
Another reason why Darwin Online is important is the fact that we get to glimpse inside one of the greatest minds there was. Darwin is known for taking meticulous notes on just about everything he observed. Those notes are available for anyone who is interested in observing a great mind at work, or anyone who simply wishes to look at a bit of history.
Darwin may be more approachable as a scientist model than Newton, Einstein or even Hawking. He spent most of his life unknown outside of botanical circles. He only became a 'superstar' after publishing On The Origin of Species, late in his life. Furthermore, the fruit of his research was not born out of a 'flash of brilliance' but out of careful observation on the natural world — something that anyone is capable of. Thus, observing Darwin's work communicates that an average person, with enough passion and dedication can draw startling conclusions about the universe in which we live.
I'm not saying that other scientific minds did not go through the same process as Darwin. What I'm saying is that Darwin's work demonstrates the power of the scientific method — something that is not always approachable for the average individual when looking at Newton's or Einstein's work.
Darwin forever changed the way we look at nature and the universe. I believe that the theory of evolution is probably the most important scientific discovery of all time. No other theory has ever shaken our perception of the world the way evolution did.
Earlier this April, my lovely wife and I had a chance to visit the Royal Ontario Museum to see the Darwin exhibit. I was moved to see Darwin's original writing right in from of my eyes. I was humbled by his careful hand-written notes and images that led to one of the most important books ever published. To me, it was as if I had a chance to meet an idol, a role model. Of course, I'll never get a chance to actually meet Darwin, but after having gone to the exhibition, I feel like I had a chance to meet him face to face.
Now, I can continue to meet Darwin anytime I wish by visiting http://darwin-online.org.uk/. I hope you'll take the time to meet him too. He's a really nice guy and easy to get along with ;)
Charles Darwin
12 February 1809 - 19 April 1882
posted by J-F Bilodeau at
2:32 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home