Joseph McCabe
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A rebel to his last breath ...
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Post by Joseph McCabe on Feb 11, 2009 19:37:36 GMT -5
February 12 is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth.
2009 is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection; or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" - but that anniversary is at the other end of the year, on November 24.
There are of course those - millions of them - who consider Darwin at worst the personification of evil, at best a misguided man. But there are also millions of educated, thinking people who revere Darwin as a thinker, scientist and philosopher.
"Origin" is a hard read: after all, it is really a sustained argument for Natural Selection, and Darwin's "here's some more evidence!" approach can be overwhelming to an untrained reader. However, may I recommend Darwin's "The Voyage of the Beagle"? Even if you "don't believe in evolution", Beagle is a wonderful read - it's one of the great Travel books of all time.
While in Australia Darwin travelled over the "Blue Mountains" here in New South Wales, and stayed at the inn at Blackheath, about 90 minutes drive from where I live. There is still an "inn" in Blackheath, so I will go there this weekend, and drink a quiet ale to the memory of Charles Darwin.
McCabe
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Post by sayne on Feb 11, 2009 23:55:07 GMT -5
February 12 is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth . . . ;D Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division.Three freshman-engineering students were sitting around talking between classes, when one brought up the question of who designed the human body. One of the students insisted that the human body must have been designed by an electrical engineer because of the perfection of the nerves and synapses. Another disagreed, and exclaimed that it had to have been a mechanical engineer who designed the human body. The system of levers and pulleys is ingenious. "No," the third student said, "you're both wrong. The human body was designed by an architect. Who else but an architect would have put a toxic waste line through a recreation area?"One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orang-utan was reading two books - the Bible and Darwin's The Origin of Species. In surprise he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books"? "Well," said the orang-utang, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother." Do molecular biologists wear designer genes? Q: How do you tell the sex of a chromosome? A: Pull down its genes.The theory of evolution was greatly objected to because it made man think.
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Post by John S. Damm on Feb 12, 2009 0:45:41 GMT -5
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Joseph McCabe
Very Clean
A rebel to his last breath ...
Posts: 912
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Post by Joseph McCabe on Feb 12, 2009 1:04:37 GMT -5
;D Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same thing as division.Three freshman-engineering students were sitting around talking between classes, when one brought up the question of who designed the human body. One of the students insisted that the human body must have been designed by an electrical engineer because of the perfection of the nerves and synapses. Another disagreed, and exclaimed that it had to have been a mechanical engineer who designed the human body. The system of levers and pulleys is ingenious. "No," the third student said, "you're both wrong. The human body was designed by an architect. Who else but an architect would have put a toxic waste line through a recreation area?"One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orang-utan was reading two books - the Bible and Darwin's The Origin of Species. In surprise he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books"? "Well," said the orang-utang, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother." Do molecular biologists wear designer genes? Q: How do you tell the sex of a chromosome? A: Pull down its genes.The theory of evolution was greatly objected to because it made man think. Ah Sayne - I love these, and had only heard one! (The pull down the genes joke.) I also liked the pointedness of The theory of evolution was greatly objected to because it made man think. !
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Joseph McCabe
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A rebel to his last breath ...
Posts: 912
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Post by Joseph McCabe on Feb 12, 2009 1:09:17 GMT -5
In the who-was-the-more-important link, I liked the Lennon/McCartney reference ... now Steve will have to move this thread away from off-topic, back to - You Say It's Your Birthday!
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Post by superhans on Feb 12, 2009 3:11:31 GMT -5
There is still an "inn" in Blackheath, so I will go there this weekend, and drink a quiet ale to the memory of Charles Darwin.McCabe Sheeeesh! Any excuse to get down to the pub!
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JCV
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Post by JCV on Feb 12, 2009 12:43:17 GMT -5
Well, happy birthday, Charles Darwin! JCV
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Feb 14, 2009 15:14:27 GMT -5
February 12 is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. 2009 is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection; or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" - but that anniversary is at the other end of the year, on November 24. Thanks for the laugh.
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Post by sayne on Feb 14, 2009 15:34:13 GMT -5
February 12 is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. 2009 is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection; or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" - but that anniversary is at the other end of the year, on November 24. Thanks for the laugh. Joseph McCabe, don't bite. This is too easy. I warn you. It will lead to no good. However, if you want a real intellectual debate, wait for someone from the Flat Earth Society or a moon landing conspiracy theorist. ;D
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Joseph McCabe
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A rebel to his last breath ...
Posts: 912
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Post by Joseph McCabe on Feb 14, 2009 16:57:04 GMT -5
Joseph McCabe, don't bite. This is too easy. I warn you. It will lead to no good. However, if you want a real intellectual debate, wait for someone from the Flat Earth Society or a moon landing conspiracy theorist. ;D Quite so! ;D While I'm here, Joe Karlosi might like to know that his "I'm a deep (and) original thinker" has gone into everyday use in this household: we use it sarcastically when hearing a particularly shallow and common piece of wrong-headed thinking. We use it a lot when listening to pundits on TV and radio ... "hey, there's a DOT!"
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Joseph McCabe
Very Clean
A rebel to his last breath ...
Posts: 912
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Post by Joseph McCabe on Feb 14, 2009 17:00:30 GMT -5
There is still an "inn" in Blackheath, so I will go there this weekend, and drink a quiet ale to the memory of Charles Darwin.McCabe Sheeeesh! Any excuse to get down to the pub! I had a Guinness or two: one of the world's great drinks. I mean, Darwin was not Irish, but he would have liked the way the drink has evolved over the years.
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Post by Cosmos on Feb 18, 2009 11:30:57 GMT -5
Arthur Guinness & Charles Darwin...there are no substitutes.
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