04 Dec 02
The big firestorm sprung up around Darwin's works, and I think he
was the first one to provide a really thoroughgoing scientific basis for
the idea that species evolve, but that idea itself didn't really originate
with Darwin, I think. Lamarck had evolutionary notions, and so did
Darwin's grandfather Erasmus.
Darwin may well have innovated in proposing _natural selection_ as
the driving force mechanism of species evolution, however (I'm not
sure about that).
04 Dec 02
3 edits
Originally posted by maggoteerwell, alexander was not british (heck-he was barley english...) but
[b]Alexander the Great was a Briton????
I could have sworn he was Scottish. 😛
wow-you can edit the quotes! is this a flaw?
neither was he a scot-he was the guy that united england. i think (i'm
a scot-i've never, ever done anything about A da G...)😕
and i don't think Darwins has any real influence on my life (unless you
count posting this thread...). i get up in the morning-i am woken by
an alarm clock (farady+others), i eat my kellogs crunchy nut corn
flakes (mr kellog), i put on my M&S shirt (mr marks and mr spencer),
my BHS trousers (bob, henry and simon?) and get in my ford escort
(well, actually, we have a vauxhall, but that's beside the point). i then
arrive at school and am blocked by a swipe-card operated door
(teachers only, and farrady+others) i then go up to my classroom (did
anyone invent the stairs?) and sit at my desk. i could go on like this
for ages! how did darwin change your life. without some of the others i
mightn't be able to take the train into town, i might be speaking
german, i might be ruled by an autocratic ruler etc. IMHO, darwin did
noting for me...
also-one of the other two points of democracy is secret ballot
G
05 Dec 02
Originally posted by geniusThe reason you are taught modern biology and not medieval creationism in that school of yours is
...i don't think Darwins has any real influence on my life...darwin did
noting for me...
because of the scientific advances pioneered by Mr. Darwin. His discoveries played a large part in
breaking religion's stranglehold over the mind of man, and ushering in the more secularized world
we now live in. Thanks to this trend you have also been spared the drudgery of having to learn
Latin. These are obviously less tangible benifits than inventions like trains and ball point pens, but
they are far more profound.
05 Dec 02
Originally posted by geniusI'm confused: wasn't there a Macedonian called Alexander the Great? Also, I thought 'British'
well, alexander was not british (heck-he was barley english...) but
neither was he a scot-he was the guy that united england. i think (i'm
a scot-i've never, ever done anything about A da G...)😕
included 'English' and 'Scottish'. I'm English and I've never done about Alexander the Great
in history either.
05 Dec 02
Yes, wasn't it Alexander the Great who took a particular disliking to the
Greeks around about 300 BC? I'm almost certain that Alexander was
Macedonian as you say.
As for the other thing, my understanding was that Great Britain
includes Scotland, England and Wales, and the United Kingdom
includes those three countries plus Northern Ireland (I may be wrong
on this though).
Mark
05 Dec 02
Originally posted by maggoteerI always thought Alexander was Macedonian, until I read this...
Alexander the Great was a Briton????
I could have sworn he was Scottish. 😛
Here in the United States, we limit our lists of top ten most influential
Americans to ... actors and sports figures.
Sigh.
http://albhistory.netfirms.com/famousalbanians-alexander.html
05 Dec 02
Originally posted by jgvaccaroTrue - Darwin was not the first to come up with the idea that species
The big firestorm sprung up around Darwin's works, and I think
he
was the first one to provide a really thoroughgoing scientific basis for
the idea that species evolve, but that idea itself didn't really originate
with Darwin, I think. Lamarck had evolutionary notions, and so did
Darwin's grandfather Erasmus.
Darwin may well have inno ...[text shortened]... _ as
the driving force mechanism of species evolution, however (I'm not
sure about that).
evolve, but he was the first one to prove it (by studying racing
pigeons) scientifically. He did however exempt humans from 'Origin of
the Species' and somehow managed to squeeze the evolutionary
process into the 4004 BC biblical chronology. It wasn't until 'The
Descent of Man' that he stated that humans evolved from apes and
that it took quite a lot longer than 6000 years. This was easier for the
public to digest as Charles Lyell had already published 'Principles of
Geology' about Geological formations in Scotland and concluded that
the earth must be far older than the bible suggests.
Mark