A Reading Odyssey

Happy 201st birthday, Charles Darwin

Happy 201st birthday, Charles Darwin.

About a year ago, the Reading Odyssey started a Facebook group to celebrate Darwin and his great book, "On the Origin of Species."

In that year, we have accomplished many things with our global volunteer community.

The Facebook group now has over 250,000 members, we have produced a live web/phone-based lecture series with great scholars, and we have run one of our phone-based reading groups on "On the Origin of Species."

Scholars who have participated in our lecture series include:

* Professor Sean Carroll, University of Wisconsin

* Professor Jonathan Weiner, Columbia University

* Professor Emeritus Mendelsohn, Harvard University

* Dr. George Amato, American Museum of Natural History

and many others...

Join us for continued learning and discussion in our Darwin Facebook Project.

Thanks to volunteers like Kendall Crolius, who produced the fall 2010 lecture series (and did a GREAT job), and scientists like Quinn O'Neill, Chris Farnet, James Falvo, Gerardo Camilo and many others, who keep the discussion and learning going on a daily basis.

Happy birthday, Charles!

Phil 

Avatar is a biologist's dream?

New York Times Science writer, Carol Kaesuk Yoon, argues in an essay in today's New York Times Science Times that the blockbuster movie Avatar is a "biologist's dream."

She says:

Mr. Cameron somehow has the audience seeing organisms in the tropical-forest-gone-mad of the planet Pandora just the way a biologist sees them.

I haven't seen the movie yet so I can't comment on her argument - though I'd like to believe that what she says is true. It sure would make me want to see the movie. 

Here's a link to her article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/science/19essay.html

And here's a link to the Reading Odyssey's Darwin Facebook Project where I also posted the article:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=53320310123 

Those of you who have seen Avatar and have some training in biology, what do you think?

Phil 

Sean Carroll webcast

The full video from Professor Sean Carroll's wonderful lecture, "Making of the Fittest", for the Darwin150 fall 2009 lecture series is now available online.

Please share this terrific lecture with colleagues, students, friends and family.

Video: http://www.molbio.wisc.edu/carroll/Fittest.html

Thanks, Phil

Sean Carroll podcast from Darwin150 lecture

As a gift for the 150th anniversary of Darwin's publication of Origin, we now have the podcast from the wonderful talk Sean Carroll gave this fall as part of the Darwin150 campaign.

Download the mp3 audio file here.

- right click to download the file to your computer (and be patient - it's a *big* file)

- or click on it to hear it now from this web page (but again be patient)

Download SeanCarrollDarwin150-Nov112009-MakingFittest

Thanks to Sean Carroll and his team including Megan McGlone!

Best,

Phil 

p.s. there is a musical introduction before the lecture starts!

Thankful for Darwin

On this 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's publication of "Origin of Species", I'm thankful for his multi-decade effort to understand one of the greatest questions of human history: where do we come from?

When I asked Stanford biologist Robert Sapolsky which 10 books the general public should read to gain a basic understanding of biology, nine of the books were published in the last 10 years. Only one book he recommended was older than 10 years. You know the book - it's 150 years old today.

In the fast-changing world of science and evolutionary biology, it's amazing that a 150-year old book is still relevant.

As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of this great book, reflect onthe example Darwin has set.

Other authors we have read in the Reading Odyssey have set similar examples from different domains. My favorite line in any book comes from Thucydides' introduction when he says he's not writing for "applause of the moment but as a possession for all time."

2500 years later Thucydides' history still stands as a great possession. When we read Thucydides in the Reading Odyssey we are completing hismission - we are shaking his hand through history. We are telling him that he succeeded. His book has indeed become a possession for all time.

Darwin was also not writing for the short-term. He developed his initial thinking about evolution by natural selection decades before he published. Darwin's method created Darwin's greatness. His long-term, patient approach to amassing the evidence and testing his hypotheses stands as a model for all humanity for all time.

Ironically, by virtue of evolution, humans are endowed with a tendency to think and act in the short-term. But, this tendency is not our destiny. Darwin and Thucydides and others show that we can live our lives as if what we do today will matter for decades and centuries beyond us - and for that lesson I give much thanks.

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Celebrate *today* 150th anniversary of Darwin's "Origin"  

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We are co-sponsoring two great events today, Tuesday, November 24.

- E.O. Wilson and the British Council at 1pm New York time 

No registration needed but you do need the latest version of Adobe Flash. Go here at 1pm *or later* on Tuesday, Nov 24: 
http://www.open2.net/darwinlecture

- New York Academy of Sciences at 6pm New York time 

Live webcast with Nobel Prize winners and other leading scientists. Register *free* here: http://www.nyas.org/darwin150 

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Our Facebook group on Darwin

- 260,000+ members

Please keep spreading the word and go over and write your thanks to Darwin on the wall.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=53320310123 

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Happy Origin Anniversary!

Hello Origin readers,

Happy Origin Day!  I don't know about you, but I'm really enjoying all the  celebration about Darwin, Wallace and Origin of Species.  Here are a few newspaper articles I've been enjoying this morning: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/science/24creature.html?_r=1&8dpc
(Two of my favorite subjects:  snails & Darwin.  This is also a great example of predator-prey interaction and how it can affect evolution - you should remember Darwin's discussion of this in chapters 3 & 4.  If you're interested, the video is worth watching as well.  Apart from just being cool, it's also interesting to watch it and think about how things might go differently if the snail was 'left-handed'.  The article is also written by Sean Carroll, the speaker of the third Darwin150 webcast!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/science/24cabi.html?ref=science
(An interesting story about how scientific collections can change hands and some background info on Wallace . . . . . )

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/02/09/science/20090209-darwin-evolution-documents.html?ref=science
(This is a fun section with different scientists reading their favorite sections of Origin - see if they're reading any of your favorites!)

Darwin150 also has two great events today:  E.O. Wilson speaking via taped comments at 1pm and a free webcast from the New York Academy of Sciences.  Visit here for more details and to sign up for either of them:  http://www.darwin150.com/home/2009/11/23/darwin150-events-for-the-150th-anniversary.html

Finally, our final conference call is two weeks from tonight at 8pm EST.  Please let me know if you're having any problems with the reading or have any other questions - I'm really looking forward to speaking to you all on the 8th. 

I know you probably all have the discussion questions, but just in case, I've copied them again at the bottom of this post. 

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your reading!
Stephanie

Chapter 6:  Difficulties in Theory

1.  Darwin uses this chapter to present the main difficulties that he anticipates with his theory.  Two of them are discussed in detail in this chapter, and two more are addressed in subsequent chapters.  What are these four difficulties? 

2.  Darwin argues that we can see “transitional forms” in both living species and fossils.  What does he mean by “transitional forms” and what was one example he gave of a living transitional form?  Why does Darwin suggest we see so few transitional fossils?  Can you think of any modern discoveries of transitional fossils?  (Hint:  we briefly discussed one example during our last phone chat.  Another recently discovered transition fossil has feathers.) 

3.  Darwin spends much time in this chapter discussing the eye, a structure that is also highly scrutinized by many creationists.  Why does Darwin worry about the evolution of a complex structure like the eye?  Do you think it’s easier to theorize (and accept) how these complex organs developed evolutionarily now that scientists have a better understanding of molecular and developmental biology? 

 4. In this chapter Darwin also discusses structures that may be considered opposite of the eye – “organs of little apparent importance.”  How does he explain their continued presence in organisms?  Can you think of examples of such organs in humans or other animals?  Do these structures truly have “little importance,” or do we just not yet understand their value? 

 5.  Darwin spends more time in this chapter discussing three more things that natural selection cannot do (pg 200-203).  What are these points, and what do you think of his suggestions and explanations for them? 

 

Chapter 14:  Recapitulation and Conclusion

This chapter represents Darwin’s “closing argument” – his final chance to convince his reader of his theory of natural selection.  Appropriately, he spends most of the chapter presenting a summary of his beliefs.  Having read much (or maybe all!) of his great book, please consider the following questions: 

1. What line of evidence recapitulated in this chapter was the strongest support for descent with modification in your opinion?  Explain.

2.  What line of evidence recapitulated in this chapter was the strongest support for descent with modification in Darwin’s opinion?  Explain.

3. What line of evidence recapitulated in this chapter was the strongest support for descent with modification in the average Victorian Englishman’s opinion?  Explain.

Sean Carroll's Darwin150 webcast is *tonight* at 8pm ET

Professor Sean Carroll's third lecture in the Darwin150 campaign still has a few webcast spots left. This will be one of this great scientist's best talks - a multi-media extravaganza supporting his great insights and writings.

It all begins at 8pm New York time (that's 7pm at the University of Wisconsin).

To sign-up for a free webcast pass, click here:

http://DarwinLecture3.Eventbrite.com

With the help of Darwin150 volunteers around the world, we have assembled a global audience from India to Mexico, from Europe to Canada and South America.

Phil

Homer and Darwin reading groups this week

Tonight we have two sections of Homer meeting by phone to discuss this month's reading of The Odyssey - Books 9 - 16.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday, the Darwin reading group is meeting to talk about chapters 3 and 4 in the Origin of Species. 

And the Aristotle reading group is finishing its year of reading with Rhetoric and Poetics. 

Good week for the reading groups.

On another note, we have open registration for two reading groups starting January 2010:

- The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika

Free sign-up here (for first-time readers): 
http://Xenophon2010.eventbrite.com

- Homer's Odyssey

Free sign-up here (for first-time readers): 
http://Homer2010-1.eventbrite.com

Phil 

Help!

Creationists continue to mount attacks on our Darwin150 campaign and we need your help.

How can you help?

1. Join our Facebook page (250,000+ members)

Join our Darwin150 group on Facebook and get as many friends, colleagues, faculty, students, church members to join with you. Show we can continue to grow even in the face of their concerted illegal attacks.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=53320310123 

2. Organize a group to watch a live webcast

Organize a group viewing of an upcoming live webcast either with scientist Sean Carroll, E.O. Wilson or the New York Academy of Sciences. Let's bring the words of these top scientists out to groups all over the world. This is a free and wonderful resource.

Register free here:

Wednesday, Nov 3 @8pm ET with Sean Carroll (great writer, scientist and speaker)
http://darwinlecture3.eventbrite.com

Tuesday, Nov 24 @1pm ET with E.O. Wilson (great time for high school and college classrooms to watch together this legendary biologist)
http://darwinlecture4.eventbrite.com

Tuesday, Nov 24 at 6pm ET with New York Academy of Sciences
webcast link coming soon

3. Consider volunteering

We need volunteers to help us build the campaign and continuously manage/clean-up from the creationist attacks. E-mail Phil at pterry at reading odyssey dot com, if you'd like to volunteer.

Why do they attack us?

We know how to reach mainstream Americans through the web and that it is a real threat to the creationist camp. We have more than 250,000 Facebook members making us the largest Darwin/evolution group by far. The size of our group shows the breadth and depth of support for evolution and it means all of our online activities are a target for continuous 24/7 attack by creationists. 

Plus we have free webcasts with some of the top scientists talking about Darwin and evolution. Fun but serious and compelling talks by the likes of Sean Carroll, E.O. Wilson, Jonathan Weiner and others threaten the creationist community. 

Look forward to your help!

Phil 

P.S. Why are we going public now with the attacks? We have been under daily 24/7 attack since we began in January 2009 with a Darwin birthday celebration. But the small group of extreme creationists that attack us have stepped up their efforts as we get closer to the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's "Origin of Species."

P.P.S. Why don't we detail the attacks? We don't want to help more creationists attack us by giving ideas out. Our all-volunteer campaign just keeps working and striving to stay positive and focused on what's important (and btw - we do *not* condone nor want illegal counter-attacks on creationist websites).

Dawkins "Greatest Show on Earth"

New York Academy of Sciences, partner to Darwin150 and the Reading Odyssey, is hosting Richard Dawkins tonight in New York talking about his latest book, "The Greatest Show on Earth." This book is squarely about evolution - and few write as well about evolution as Dawkins. I'll be at the private reception and his subsequent talk. I look forward to meeting Dawkins. I've always loved his writings on evolution. 

The event is over-sold and protestors are expected. Of course, our Darwin150 project is used to protest. We have removed thousands of creationist attacks from our Facebook page since we started it in January 2009.