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Reposted from http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/02/google_honors_darwin.php

Posted on: February 12, 2009 4:43 PM, by PZ Myers

People are telling me that the French and UK versions of Google are highlighted today with the image above, a picture of Charles Darwin’s tangled bank, but that the US has snubbed the man. I think they’re wrong; I just looked, and google.comdoes have the above image. I can think of a few explanations: google just updated the logo a little later for our time zone, users may have been seeing a cached version of a frequently used page, or the explanation I prefer, I’m special and google takes care to present me with a special personal version of the page so that I don’t get mad at them. Admittedly, the last possibility is a tiny bit unlikely, but hey, if I’m not going to believe in a deity, maybe I can believe in a loving, omnipotent search engine. Just as long as it doesn’t start dictating what I’m allowed to do with my genitals…

Indeed, google.co.uk and google.com both have that fine logo celebrating Darwin. If you click on the image on the webpage it googles Charles Darwin, that’s cool. Thank you Google! Unfortunatelly many other local googles are not celebrating Darwin, like google.ro.  

: “David Attenborough asks three key questions: how and why did Darwin come up with his theory of evolution? Why do we think he was right? And why is it more important now than ever before?”

Pentru a citi acest post in Romana click aici.

1. Flash via Megavideo

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=XQEYA5L6

2. HDTV DivX via Ninjavideo – don’t forget to turn on the NinjaVideo Helper applet!

http://www.ninjavideo.net/video/18442

Here’s an animation of the Evolutionary road extracted from the end of the documentary with commentary by Sir David.


The BBC had this to say about the program:

David starts his journey in Darwin’s home at Down House in Kent, where Darwin worried and puzzled over the origins of life. David goes back to his roots in Leicestershire, where he hunted for fossils as a child, and where another schoolboy unearthed a significant find in the 1950s. And he revisits Cambridge University, where both he and Darwin studied, and where many years later the DNA double helix was discovered, providing the foundations for genetics.

At the end of his journey in the Natural History Museum in London, David concludes that Darwin’s great insight revolutionised the way in which we see the world. We now understand why there are so many different species, and why they are distributed in the way they are. But above all, Darwin has shown us that we are not set apart from the natural world, and do not have dominion over it. We are subject to its laws and processes, as are all other animals on earth to which, indeed, we are related.

Broadcast on:

BBC One, 9:00pm Sunday 1st February

Duration:

60 minutes

Available until:

9:59pm Sunday 8th February

Categories:

• Factual,
• Science,Nature & Environment

 once again amazes with its aptitude to create fantastic documentaries. Narrated by Evolutionary biologist Professor Armand Marie Leroi of Imperial College London, “What Darwin Didn’t Know” explores how the great scientists’ theory “evolved” over the past 150 years, what new discoveries and ways of thinking have complemented his work and completed it, managing to explain most if not all the “gaps” in the original writings.

I have watched this documentary, and although I already knew some of the basics in it, I was still amazed at how well it’s been put together; in a coherent and easy to understand way. The last part of the film is extraordinary as it discusses how the theory is incomplete as it does not predict evolution, and that in the future we may be able to do so given enough data. Leroi points out how Evolution for now is a “history” of what took place, and like Newton’s work, we need a model which we can use to predict changes and limitations in Evolution.

I’ve found 4 links that I can share with you:

1. BBC iPlayer, which only streams video to UK-based users.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00h6sbt/What_Darwin_Didnt_Know/

2. Flash via Ninjavideo/Megavideo
http://www.ninjavideo.net/video/18355

3. HDTV DivX via Ninjavideo – requires DivX Player & Java. Don’t forget to start the NinjaVideo Helper applet!
http://www.ninjavideo.net/video/18351

4. Torrent via Isohunt – requires torrent software and is illegal to download in most countries.
http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/63831809/what+darwin+know?tab=summary

Enjoy!

There is a petition at Number 10 calling PM Gordon Brown to make February 12th, Charles Darwin’s birthday, a Bank Holiday.

Ian Roberts of the Watford Area Humanists, who set it up, said:

Charles Darwin was a truly remarkable scientist. His work on evolution deserves to be honoured in some way. Making his birthday (12th February) a bank holiday would be a simple way of doing this.

The petition at the Number 10 website says:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to create a Bank Holiday on Charles Darwins Birthday (12th February).

Submitted by Ian Roberts – Deadline to sign up by: 24 January 2009 – Signatures: 507

I have already signed the petition, and urge everyone who is a British citizen, resident or expat (you need to meet one of those requirements to sign), to head over to the Number 10 website and sign. What better way to celebrate the most important scientist Britain has ever created than by honoring his 200th birthday coming up in 2009 with a Bank Holiday?



Sign the petition here.

The Natural History Museum in London is hosting the largest Charles Darwin exhibition yet to be organized. The event is in celebration of his 200th birthday in 2009, bringing into focus his revolutionary ideas and their impact on the world in the last two centuries. The “Darwin Big Idea Big Exhibition” opened on November 14th, remaining open until April 19th 2009. You can book tickets in advance here.

Rare exhibits are on display, along with specimens and documents that had never been publicly shown. The event is centered around Darwin’s journey on board the HMS Beagle, being completed by showings of his work in London and in his Down House, Kent home.

One of the centerpieces is a recreation of Charles Darwin’s study from Down House. It is in that room that the genius refined his Theory of Evolution, studying pigeons and various plants. It was from here in 1859 that he shook the world with his ground-breaking work.

A slideshow of the exhibition is available on the Natural History Museum website.
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