The Descent of Man
by Charles Darwin
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Irish geneticist speaks on Darwin’s accomplishments + slides
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Feb, 2021
Spoiler:
Aoife McLysaght, Irish geneticist and professor, presents via video on the occasion of “Darwin Day.” She shares slides that demonstrate such things as the differences and similarities between the “arms” of a human, bat, whale and cat, explaining how common ancestry leaves its trace in both our bones and our genes. She notes that Darwin seemed to understand something that has now been confirmed by geneticists, which is that there is no one major thing that makes the human brain different from that of other primates; but rather there are many small differences that seem to have a large cumulative effect.
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Scientist and curator discuss Darwin on video call
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Feb, 2021
Spoiler:
On the 150th anniversary of The Descent of Man’s publication, Jeremy DeSilva and Olivia Fryman team up to reflect on what Darwin got right and a few things he got wrong. DeSilva notes that most scientists get some things wrong and that mistakes are part of the process. He adds, however, that it's important that future generations review and correct misunderstandings and miscalculations. Both speakers lament that white supremacist groups continue to use some of Darwin's mistaken theories about race to advance their agendas.
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