Last updated 25 December 2018
J. L. HUDSON, SEEDSMAN, BOX 337, LA HONDA, CALIFORNIA 94020-0337 USA
Celebrate Darwin Day this February 12th!
Happy Birthday Mr. Darwin!
Thanks for everything!
Charles Darwin was born 12th February 1809.
Visit the Darwin Day Website:
www.darwinday.org/
Evolution is the most important scientific discovery of the past two centuries, revealing to us
our past, and the great history of the development of life on Earth from simple origins.
Evolution is truly "the greatest story ever told".
Evolution is a fact, not "just a theory" - it is readily observable all around us,
is demonstrated in the fossil record, and is an ongoing, ever-present process.
Although the theory of evolution by means of natural selection was
first published in 1831 by Patrick Matthew, a Scottish nurseryman, this went unnoticed
by the scientific community for 27 years until after
the joint presentation of the theory on July 1st, 1858 at the Linnaean Society by Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles
Darwin, followed by the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859 by Charles Darwin.
The theory should be called the "Matthew/Wallace/Darwinian theory of
evolution through natural selection." (Let's give credit where credit is
due!)
Evolutionary science has come a long way since Darwin (it is now recognized that
natural selection is only one of the processes causing evolution), but the fundamental fact of the evolution of
complex living beings from simple origins has been verified many times. In fact,
even in non-living matter there is an often-expressed tendency towards greater
complexity and structure—the creation of heavier elements from simple
hydrogen atoms through fusion in the hearts of stars; the consequent formation
of complex molecules from those elements; crystalline structures and minerals;
mountains, valleys, and complex structures created by erosion; currents, ripples,
and bubbles in flowing water; and many other examples.
The Writings of Charles Darwin:
Many of Darwin's books have been made available as free downloads online:
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/darwin/charles/
at the University of Adelaide Library.
Darwin was a kind and gentle man. He wrote and spoke for the rights and dignity of all mankind - he
was not a racist as some claim, but wrote and spoke of the equality and unity of all humanity. He
actively worked for the abolition of slavery, for the education of women, for the education and
welfare of the poor and working classes, and wrote eloquently against cruelty to animals and
vivisection. The cruel "social Darwinism" of those who distorted or misunderstood his
theories has nothing to do with the gentle man himself.
Send me your Darwin and evolution links!
"Nothing in biology makes sense, except in the light of evolution."
—Theodosius Dobzhansky, geneticist.
The War on Evolution
Check back here as I will eventually be uploading some more history on the war on evolution.
With the current war on evolution by superstitious religious
fundamentalists who are trying to eliminate the teaching of evolution in schools, and send the
United States back into the Dark Ages, we all owe it to our children to fight back, and insure that
they receive the best education possible.
The National Center for Science Education defends the teaching of evolution in public schools. Visit
their website at www.natcenscied.org
In a free, pluralistic society, we cannot allow religious views to be forced upon us by a vocal,
belligerent minority. If the phrase "the war on evolution" seems strong, consider that on
December 5th, 2005, University of Kansas Professor Paul Mirecki was hospitalized after a beating by
two men. During the beating, the attackers referred to Prof. Mirecki's course on the
"creation/evolution" controversy, which had in fact been cancelled the week before.
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious
conviction."
—Blaise Pascal, mathematician and philosopher, 1623 - 1662.
This is ironic because one of the main tactics developed by creationists in order to sneak
creationism into the schools is to insist that schools "teach the controversy".
Prof. Mirecki's beating underscores the
"fundamental" hypocrisy and immorality of the fundamentalists. I
recommend "The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything: Evolution, Intelligent Design, and a
School Board in Dover, PA" by Gordy Slack. This book is an interesting and readable account of
the Kitzmiller vs. Dover trial, in which conservative, George W. Bush-appointed Judge John Jones
III, after a 40 day trial, and six weeks of deliberation and writing, handed down a 139-page
decision which ruled against the teaching of creationism (under the guise "intelligent
design") in public schools.
An educational website evolution.berkeley.edu,
operated by the University of California to help teachers, is the subject of a lawsuit by a
religious couple, challenging public funding of the site.
We think that religious people are free to believe whatever they like, and teach their children
whatever they choose - if they wish to disadvantage their own children in this manner, they have
that right. They do not have the right to force their superstitions on the rest of us. Historically,
the nations that rejected evolutionary science were seriously limited in their advancement in the
realms of science, agricultural production, health, morality, and human freedom and dignity.
Evolution is the path into the future!
The century-long war against evolution is still being waged with extraordinary fervor, and it is
time for all who value truth over superstition, and human dignity over totalitarianism, to stand up
and fight back. Demand that your local schools teach your children the best science available, and
reject the teaching of superstition in the guise of "intelligent design" or "creation
science".
"Science is a philosophy of discovery; intelligent design is a philosophy of
ignorance."
—Neil Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, New York.
Even many religious believers recognize that "intelligent design" is a fraud:
"Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be. If you want to teach it in
schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not
science."
—Rev. George Coyne, Vatican chief astronomer.
"Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing
good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes
religion."
—Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize-winning physicist.
Since the posting of this page in February 2006, I have received a number of "hate emails"
from Christians. Not one of them has spoken against the violent attack on Prof. Mirecki, or given
any indication that they oppose the violent imposition of their faith on the majority of Americans.
In this respect, they are like their Islamic counterparts in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and
Africa.
No priest, minister, mullah, or rabbi ever put a man on the moon, invented an antibiotic or other
life-saver for our hospitals, or invented a radio, electric light, automobile, train, or even a
zipper or sliced bread.* When religious fundamentalists have contributed to human advancement even
1% of the amount that science and reason have, then they might have something to complain about.
Until that time, I suggest to fundamentalists that you stop using the inventions made by science for
even one week before you send me your little tirades.
While I sympathize with religionists' need for a meaning to their lives, I recommend getting up off
one's knees and creating one's own meaning:
"Evolution has no purpose; man must supply this for himself."
—George G. Simpson, paleontologist, in "The Meaning of Evolution: A Study of the History of
Life and of its Significance for Man", 1949, page 310.
Several books I can recommend:
Losing Faith in Faith by Dan Barker. Moving account by a former fundamentalist preacher as he seeks
truth, loses faith, and becomes an outspoken advocate for atheism. (Note for
2023 - Dan has since gone "woke", and is now supporting that peculiar
brand of totalitarianism, but his book is still well worth reading.)
The End of Faith by Sam Harris. A lucid expose of the failings of religious faith, the crimes of
religion, and a plea for a society based on reason. (Note for 2023 - Sam has
since gone quite flaky, and supports totalitarian ideas, but his book is still
well worth reading.)
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Hard-hitting critique of religion, and why to choose atheism
and reason. (Note for 2023 - Richard's organization has begun attacking medical
freedom, but his book is still well worth reading.)
God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. (Note for 2023 - Christopher (RIP)
stayed true to his principles all the way to his deathbed. A great man. A joke
that circulated after his death: "Did you hear about Hitchens' deathbed
conversion? A priest came to give him last rights, and Hitchens converted him to
atheism!"
The Evolution of the Wrist https://www.wristband.com/content/the_evolution_of_the_wrist/
* An interested reader has kindly corrected me on this, by
reminding me that the monk Gregor Mendel founded the science of genetics. Yes, Mendel was a monk,
and yes, many scientists over the centuries have held religious beliefs (among my friends who are
working scientists are a number who are deeply religious). But we need to remember that Mendel made
his discoveries through the use of science not religion. (I should also note that Mendel actually fudged his data to
make it come out "right". What would Jesus do? Lie about data?
Probably!) While someone will probably dig up an example of a clergyman inventing something,
I stand by the claim that religious fundamentalists have contributed less than 1% - probably
less than .0001% of all human advancement. The vast majority of religious fundamentalists have
consistently opposed all major human advances.
Let's remember that there is a difference between the religious fundamentalist of the type that
beats up people and tries to force their beliefs on everyone, and individuals with a gentler, more private faith.
The point I make here is that science - the systematic inquiry into the nature of phenomena
through repeatable and testable observation and experiment - is the source of all genuine knowledge
of reality. I do not doubt that prayer, meditation, devotion, and other religious practices may
produce interesting mental states which are satisfying or meaningful to those who experience them, but they do not
point to anything outside of the mind of the individual.
There are certainly some interesting observations here. For example, the extraordinary Indian
mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan claimed that he received mathematical insights from the Hindu
goddess Laxmi or Namagiri (it is not clear which), whom he said visited him in his dreams and instructed him.
This does not point to anything outside of Ramanujan's own brain - if a dozen mathematicians had made
the same claim, we might investigate further. And all of Ramanujan's contributions needed to be
tested here, in the non-dream world - we did not accept them on faith.