Messages across continents in an instant, home overnight by air—and what the same journeys cost Darwin, just two lifetimes ago. … More Gratitude Practice: Modern Communication and Transportation Networks
Back on Santa Cruz: a local’s view of what tourism, conservation and education mean for the people who live in the Galápagos and the challenges they still face. … More 28 June 2021: The Real Galápagos
In the morning I walk from my hostel to the Charles Darwin Research Station (the operative branch of the Charles Darwin Foundation), about a ten minute walk along the southern coast east of Puerto Ayora. The narrow cobblestone road with a sidewalk to one side is lined on both by dense vegetation. Occasionally small, colorful … More 2 June 2021: Charles Darwin Research Station
How Evolution Evolves “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change.” – Pseudo-Darwin When Charles Darwin was conducting his researches during the Beagle voyage and upon returning home and settling in the picturesque village of Downe, England south of London, the … More On the Destiny of Species
I arrive at the airport in Guayaquil about two hours before departure, hoping that gives me enough time to get to the gate. Before checking in with the airline, first I have to wait at another counter to obtain a Transit Locater Card, and although I preregistered online, the line is slow. They seem dubious … More 1 June 2021: Arrival in Galápagos
An achingly beautiful novel about a nineteenth-century woman who discovers the process of evolution by natural selection independently of Darwin and Wallace—the greatest portrayal of the process of discovery I have encountered, and now one of my all time favorite novels. … More Book Review: The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert
On the Origin of Species is a highly readable, beautifully written book, and should be read as the textbook case of scientific induction. … More Book Review: On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin
The book to read after the Origin itself: Mayr gives an overview of Darwin’s evidence and arguments and fills in the gaps with modern science, at a level the intelligent nonspecialist can follow. … More Book Review: What Evolution Is, by Ernst Mayr
