Darwin and Dave

Would Charles Darwin have been surprised by the interest and activities marking his 200th birthday? Surely so - an introspective and thoughtful man might hope that his theories would persist but assume that the theorist would fade into the background.

Knowing the impact of his work on creationist adherents, he might not be surprised that his conclusions would continue to attract criticism from that same corner, a century and a half after publication of the Origin of Species. He might have expected the creationist arguments themselves to have evolved, but they have only changed dispersal mechanisms and turned up the volume. So it was a genuine pleasure in Attenborough's "Darwin and the Tree of Life" on the BBC to see Sir Dave tackle this head on, pick apart the arguments and present the separate pieces of evidence so clearly.

So in the countdown to Darwin's 200 on February 12th (watch out for the blog swarm for Darwin 12-15 Feb), I'm celebrating our favourite octogenarian as well.