Monday, August 25, 2008 | Reason : In the News | print version

The Darwin Lectures

Radio New Zealand National

Thanks to Gary Walsh for the link.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/the_darwin_lectures

The Darwin Lectures

150 years ago, Charles Darwin's ideas about evolution were first announced in public - to a meeting of the Linnean Society in London. Oddly, almost no one noticed!

It might not have helped that the joint paper (with Alfred Russell Wallace) was given the ripping title 'On the Tendency of Species to Form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection'.

A year later when the book came out everyone realised just what a big bang it was in terms of ideas. The paper, the book, and now the radio lecture series�

From Sunday 24 August 2008, Radio New Zealand explores the ideas of Darwin and their impact. This six-part series from the Royal Society plays in our Sunday Feature slot, and features some of New Zealand's most eminent scientists.

Lecture 1 - Darwin and the Evolution of an Idea

Professor Lloyd Spenser Davis, University of Otago

In the last 2000 years there has been one idea, above all else, that has altered the way we view the world and our place in it. That idea is evolution by natural selection and the originator of the idea was Charles Darwin

Recorded 19 August in Napier (duration: 50:45)
Download:MP3

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1. Comment #236767 by Dhamma on August 25, 2008 at 9:51 am

*Replied to the wrong thread*

I bet this one is as good as always. I'll hear it soon.

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2. Comment #236774 by Ole on August 25, 2008 at 9:59 am

The introduction was not good. Luckily the professor commented on it.

Charles had a very special grandfather - Erasmus!

Good lecture.

Ole

Other Comments by Ole

3. Comment #236807 by Elli on August 25, 2008 at 11:04 am

I agree w Ole. I think the introduction was aimed at avoiding unnecessary controversy, but the NOMA concept is simply not a valid one. Dawkins is very good at pointing out precisely why science does have much to say on religious ideas of the universe we live in... he uses the phrase "the universe with a god is an entirely different universe then a universe without one" or something similar. I am glad the speaker immediately distanced himself from the introduction.

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4. Comment #236850 by decius on August 25, 2008 at 1:03 pm

God and evolution are not mutually exclusive.

Would this pandering fucktard introduce an astronomy lecture with "Mars war portents and paleomagnetism of the Red Planet are not mutually exclusive?"

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5. Comment #236866 by JAMCAM87 on August 25, 2008 at 1:35 pm

I was wondering if someone would be so kind as to edit the letter I am about to send to my local council.

Dear Sir/Madam,

"I am writing to you about a matter of great urgency and I hope you can take serious action in response to this letter. I believe our public education system is one of our society's most valuable possessions. What a shame then that it is failing many thousands of children with respect to an understanding of evolution. My experience of the subject of evolution by natural selection involves a few lessons in my fifth year of school when I was 16/17 years of age. I would like to point out that many students who do not take Higher Biology are not being brought into contact with one of the most important scientific theories of all time. Consequently, many leave school ignorant of the facts of evolution. I was one of the lucky ones.

I think it is imperative that children are exposed to the theory from an early age, say, by the end of primary school. Evolution should not be a controversial topic but should be as contentious a theory as the theory of gravity or the four laws of thermodynamics. I am proposing then that Darwin's theory of evolution be taught, in its basic form, to those between the ages of 10 and 12 in all schools across Great Britain. We owe it to future generations and it is the right of each individual to know the truth about our origins.

Yours Sincerely,"

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6. Comment #236922 by Quine on August 25, 2008 at 2:26 pm

As others have stated, I do not care for the intro, but this lecture is great!

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7. Comment #237124 by JeremyH on August 25, 2008 at 11:45 pm

Gotta listen to this! I love it when NZ get's put on the map in such a positive way like this, it shows we're not just a bunch of hobbits and sheep farmers.

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8. Comment #237133 by alovrin on August 26, 2008 at 2:13 am

when NZ get's put on the map

Which map is that?

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9. Comment #237134 by Quetzalcoatl on August 26, 2008 at 2:19 am

Alovrin-

Which map is that?

The one that doesn't have "Here Be Dragons" written where New Zealand should be.

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10. Comment #237135 by Ole on August 26, 2008 at 2:28 am

The lecturer mention that Darwin did not like New Zealand very much (they arrived there in December 1835).

He forgot to tell that Captain Robert FitzRoy returned in December 1843 - he was the second Governor of New Zealand (1843 - 1848)

Btw, there is a great novel by Harry Thompson, "This Thing of Darkness" that tell about the visit to New Zealand - (the book is IMO a real "page turner"!)

Ole

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11. Comment #237141 by clatz on August 26, 2008 at 2:49 am

Here, here JeremyH,

Darwin visited Aotearoa in 1835, unfortunately it was a bit of a hell hole back then:

"I believe we were all glad to leave New Zealand. It is not a pleasant place. Amongst the natives there is absent that charming simplicity which is found in Tahiti; and the greater part of the English are the very refuse of society. Neither is the country itself attractive."

hmmm, I think he is a little off the mark there in terms of the countries beauty - I don't think he got to visit Wellington so I'll forgive him :-)

I don't think he had the chance to study the amazing flora and fauna either, what would he have made of the Tuatara, Kakapo or Kiwi?

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12. Comment #237163 by clatz on August 26, 2008 at 5:46 am

Wow,that was superb.

Really is a shame the intro is so wide of the mark. The story of Darwins discovery cannot be told without reference to religion, any fool can see that.

I found the closing remarks by the speaker quite moving:

Natural selection has given rise to a single species, with the capacity to destroy the biodiversity and the biosphere, to do no less than destroy life on Earth.

It is worth us remembering that Darwin's idea of Evolution, that sketch first scribbled in a notebook not long after first arriving back from the voyage of the Beagle, was of a branching tree, a bush, not a mountain.

By implication, humans are but a twig on that bush. No more important that any of the other branches down which life has evolved; be it to barnacles or bristle cone pines.

If we take nothing else from Darwin's great idea, it should be that we are not a pinnacle, that we are not a some evolutionary peak, that we should not feel compelled to conquer other life forms like Hillary atop Everest.

Now that's what I call an idea still worth caring about.

(That might not be 100% accurate)

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13. Comment #237167 by rod-the-farmer on August 26, 2008 at 6:03 am

Spent two weeks in NZ with my spouse some years ago. Loved everything, with the notable exception of Auckland. Would never recommend ANYONE going there. Rude people, and the whole place operated like (then) it was on a different planet. Multiple instances. Remarkably different from everywhere else in NZ.

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14. Comment #237172 by mark8 on August 26, 2008 at 6:33 am

Clatz: "hmmm, I think he is a little off the mark there in terms of the countries beauty - I don't think he got to visit Wellington so I'll forgive him :-)"

I don't think the "Windy City" could have given him any better impression of NZ than the stunningly beautiful Bay of Islands.
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:OvvCt8cU4G8J::nature.wallpaperme.com/4379-2/Bay+of+Islands_+New+Zealand.jpg

It would have been the "one horse town" factor more than anything.

"I don't think he had the chance to study the amazing flora and fauna either, what would he have made of the Tuatara, Kakapo or Kiwi?"

Had he had the chance, his views would most definatly have been different. The evolution of Flightless birds on a predatory free (Harpagornis aside)archipelago would surely have intrigued him.

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15. Comment #237174 by SamKiddoGordon on August 26, 2008 at 6:39 am

Spent a whole 2 days in NZ way back when I went to the 16th world jamboree in 87/88. Was so tired from the jamboree spent most of the time on the tour bus sleeping, but still one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Ditto on Auckland fellow canuck ROD-THE-FARMER, except it has 2 ports. Thought it was remarkable how things had evolved on NZ, eg Kiwi.

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16. Comment #237179 by rod-the-farmer on August 26, 2008 at 6:54 am

Arrrgghhh. Was well into listening to the lecture, paused for a moment to answer the phone, and when I re-started it, I was back at the beginning. I will NOT continue.

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17. Comment #237180 by clatz on August 26, 2008 at 6:55 am

Wellington is blessed with a pleasant breeze more often than not, but they say you can't beat it on a good day ...

http://www.virtualoceania.net/newzealand/photos/cities/wellington/harbour/007h.shtml

http://www.virtualoceania.net/newzealand/photos/cities/lowerhutt/eastbourne/nz0114.shtml

Granted they might be few and far between, but I am going to stick to my guns here :-)

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18. Comment #237203 by Riley on August 26, 2008 at 7:44 am

Elli wrote: "the NOMA concept is simply not a valid one."

The problem is not with the NOMA concept. There is nothing about religion in principle that requires it to encroach upon the magisteria of Science. The problem is just that in practice, most religions do.

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19. Comment #237210 by Gregg Townsend on August 26, 2008 at 7:57 am

I very much appreciated the lecture. To me, the speaker was elegant and his subject inspiring.

Thank you RD.net and Gary Walsh for the link.

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20. Comment #237611 by HappyKiwi on August 26, 2008 at 8:18 pm

Extremely good lecture, trashed by the cringe-making introduction. I know Phil Smith--his parents are Salvation Army officers--which probably accounts for his sad attempt to span the unbridgeable divide between reason and superstition.

I left Wellington after two decades, had a gutsful of the 'pleasant breezes. If you get to NZ allocate two thirds of your time to the South Island.

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21. Comment #237634 by JeremyH on August 26, 2008 at 9:16 pm

rod-the-farmer:"Spent two weeks in NZ with my spouse some years ago. Loved everything, with the notable exception of Auckland. Would never recommend ANYONE going there. Rude people, and the whole place operated like (then) it was on a different planet. Multiple instances. Remarkably different from everywhere else in NZ."

You are 100% right. I moved to Auckland to study at the beginning of this year, and I'm so fed up with it I've decided to move to Hamilton and study Biology there. Auckland is dirty, grimy, dangerous (3 stabbings and a shooting in the last couple of months, as compared to nothing anywhere else in NZ) and EXPENSIVE.

If anyone goes to NZ, head to Taupo, it's where I grew up and it's the most beautiful town you'll ever see. Great fishing, the world's first ever bungie platform, and hardly any crime.

"I don't think he got to visit Wellington so I'll forgive him "

I agree, Wellington is a wonderful city. I went to the Te Papa museum when they had all the original props/costumes etc from the Lord of the Rings.

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22. Comment #237692 by godspot on August 27, 2008 at 3:16 am

Introductory comments may suck, but I love that they use Bach's chaconne to kick this off. Very tasteful & sophisticated :)

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23. Comment #237985 by Border Collie on August 27, 2008 at 1:30 pm

Fantastic!

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24. Comment #238002 by alovrin on August 27, 2008 at 1:42 pm

Quetz

The one that doesn't have "Here Be Dragons" written where New Zealand should be.

Sounds like it will be the one that says "Where the wild things are"

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25. Comment #240690 by quanTim Leap on August 31, 2008 at 9:54 pm

2nd Lecture posted on the Radio NZ website, this one is an extremely useful lecture for people seeking a basic understanding of evolution. Very clear and consice

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26. Comment #243745 by Enlightenme.. on September 7, 2008 at 8:38 am

"Arrrgghhh. Was well into listening to the lecture, paused for a moment to answer the phone, and when I re-started it, I was back at the beginning. I will NOT continue."

I have now got a 400 gig hard drive, and so can quite happily right-click and download everything to listen to at my leisure (I sometimes miss bits, and keep going back a minute or two)

Also, when I played this back in media player, I found it useful to play it at 1.1 times normal because he talked so slow!

3rd lecture is now also up.

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