Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Happy Birthday, Mr. Dawrin!

Although I think Mr. Charles Robert Darwin might have been a little mortified by a sultry Marilyn Monroe-type person wishing him a "happy birthday", I (in my twisted mind) can picture the scene. (And now you are likely thinking about it, too.)

Today is Mr. Darwin's 199th birthday, and, although he would never have lived to see it, I think he would impressed to know how major an impact his "little theory" has had (for good and bad) on the intervening years. I also think that he might find it humorous that his book (Origin of Species) was being quote-mined by Christian creationists about as much as much as the average Christian quote-mines the Bible. (What is it with Christians, quote-mining, and non-existent contextualization?)

So long as Mr. Charles Robert Darwin remains as a man, and never reaches the dogmatic position of a "saint of science", I will be happy to wish the memory of the man a happy birthday each year on this day (since I can't really with the "man" a happy birthday, seeing as he is no longer alive with very little of his physical remains left, most likely).

Anyway, "Happy Birthday, Darwin!" (It really was a shame, though, how your cousin Galton misused your ideas to justify the ideas of eugenics.)

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