Bitter Beetles

This week saw the opening of a "rare display of original specimens and documents from two of Britain’s greatest scientists. Find out how Alfred Russel Wallace jointly discovered the theory of natural selection and why Darwin’s pigeons contributed more than finches did to his study of evolution."

The promo for this new temporary exhibit at the Natural History Museum at Tring includes this photo of a nice assortment of beetles:



Wallace is well known for writing an 1858 paper on the concept of Natural Selection prior to, not jointly with, Darwin: "On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely From the Original Type".

Due to Wallace's belief in spiritualism, Darwin became far more popular among anti-religion zealots of the late 19th century. Here we have 2 classic examples of people, scientists actually (not Pennsylvanians like me), who tended to cling to religion...



"If I listen long enough to you
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true
Knowin' that you lied straight-face while I cried
And still I look to find a reason to believe"

Song of the week: "Reason to Believe" by The Carpenters (click the song title to visit Amazon; click here for a 28-second sample; 360kb).
G.M. Grena

Chephirah–The Biblical Village Roars Again, 186 views
Royal Banquine, 81 views
ASOR 2007 (p. 6), 62 views