Happy 198th Birthday, Charles! : Pharyngula

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« Who the heck is ‘Dr’ Gillian McKeith? | Main | But I like snakes! »

Happy 198th Birthday, Charles!

Category: History
Posted on: February 12, 2007 9:20 AM, by PZ Myers

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Comments

Posted by: Joshua | February 12, 2007 9:49 AM

Quick! Everybody evolve!

Huzzah for Chucky D!

Posted by: Chris Gruber | February 12, 2007 9:50 AM

Remember, he's 198 years young.

Posted by: llewelly | February 12, 2007 9:52 AM

For 198, he's looking very good - I'd have guessed him at no more than 72.

Posted by: BlueIndependent | February 12, 2007 9:58 AM

And he doesn't look a year over 90. =)

So any idea what sort of creationist antics will come about because "satan" has just had his birthday?

Posted by: grendelkhan | February 12, 2007 10:03 AM

BlueIndependent, my guess is Pat Robertson will send a bolt of lightning from the cloudless sky to fuse the sandwalk into a large glass sculpture reading "DARWIN SUCKS BELIEVE IN JESUS". But it's just a guess.

Posted by: Evolving Squid | February 12, 2007 10:15 AM

It would be awesome to have an animated give that morphs from some kind of ape picture into Darwin's picture.

Unfortunately, lack the requisite photoshop skills to provide such an image.

Posted by: Frank Anderson | February 12, 2007 10:17 AM

And what better way to celebrate than with a Charles Darwin Bobblehead? Oh, come on...it's for a good cause!

Alternatively, you could just come to Carbondale to see Dr. Massimo Pigliucci speak at 7 p.m. this Thursday night. You know, just in case you happened to be in southern Illinois that night and wanted to edify yourself.

Posted by: GreenishBlue | February 12, 2007 10:17 AM

I'm throwing a tiny little Darwin Day party tonight. We've expanded the theme a little bit and made it kind of an atheism party. I'm trying to put together a music playlist of songs about science and atheism spanning eras and genres. Let's all post our favorite atheist and pro-science songs to make my job easier!

Posted by: jonboy | February 12, 2007 11:02 AM

This has to be my all time favorite song
Artist: Monty Python
Album: Monty Python Sings
Category: Humor and movie theme music
Song Title: All Things Dull And Ugly
Philosophy: Disteleology
Description: 'Orrid parody of hymn all things bright and beautiful.
Contributed By: wbarwell@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM (William Barwell)

#10

Posted by: BlueIndependent | February 12, 2007 11:07 AM

Evolving Squid,

It would be even "awesomer" to have one that shows Jonathan Wells' face morphing from an ape to Wells, or Dr. Dino from a Brontosaurus into Dr. Dino. Those would be sure to make the creationist blogrounds.

#11

Posted by: jba | February 12, 2007 11:43 AM

GreenishBlue:

'Dont need religion' by Motorhead is a great song, if you are into that style.

#12

Posted by: flame821 | February 12, 2007 12:04 PM

The Animaniacs (WB) have a LOT of science based songs. Of course you MUST have Dolby's "blinded me with science" and I'm am trying to remember that fellow from the 50s/60s who did the table of elements and pollution and such

#13

Posted by: notthedroids | February 12, 2007 12:15 PM

"So any idea what sort of creationist antics will come about because "satan" has just had his birthday?"

Uncommondescent.com is your first-stop shop for increasingly hysterical creationism. Witness Denyse O'Leary contribution to the dialog:

"Looking at the photos fronting the Darwin Day site, I get the feeling that the old boy contracted a spiritual disease of some kind early in life that ate at his vitals."

They also have a link to the Disco Inst's reaction.

#14

Posted by: Will E. | February 12, 2007 12:17 PM

There's XTC's "Dear God," Sting's "All This Time," Dead Kennedys "Religious Vomit," and Public Image Ltd's "Religion." Otherwise, most atheist/science-y songs give me tard-tingles.

#15

Posted by: jba | February 12, 2007 12:26 PM

flame821:

Tom Leherer did the periodic table and pollution. Also, the Vatican Rag is hilarious.

#16

Posted by: notthedroids | February 12, 2007 12:27 PM

Will E, great songs, I also like Rush's "Free Will". Perhaps a little prog-y for some.

Here's a link to lyrics:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rush/freewill_20119963.html

#17

Posted by: Richard Clayton | February 12, 2007 12:37 PM

Of course, if you're a Young Earth Creationist, you know better than to trust "science falsely so-called" and those lab-coated phonies when they speak of ages and dates. Darwin's actually ONLY 49 MINUTES OLD!

#18

Posted by: Mustafa Mond, FCD | February 12, 2007 12:40 PM

Friends of Charles Darwin: Pick up your very own FCD today. You get to put an extra three initials behind your name, and it's a lot cheaper than a PhD.

#19

Posted by: BlueIndependent | February 12, 2007 12:51 PM

"Looking at the photos fronting the Darwin Day site, I get the feeling that the old boy contracted a spiritual disease of some kind early in life that ate at his vitals."

Well Darwin lived to the ripe old age of 73, and that was well above the average life expectancy in the 19th century, so that "spiritual disease" seems not to have been particularly fatal.

But the psychological source of this comment on Darwin is at the very least incoherent and unclear. Did Darwin contract this spiritual disease? Did he give it to himself or did someone or something give it to him? And, how come God's divine power was not able to cure him of it?

We of course all know the answers to such meaningless and rhetorical questions (which are themselves based on meaningless rhetoric). It's just sometimes interesting to dissect meaningless comments that have no thought behind them.

Will E.: Good on you for the Sting suggestion. Soul Cages is my absolute favorite Sting album. It's nigh on perfect cover to cover.

#20

Posted by: BlueIndependent | February 12, 2007 12:55 PM

One could also recommend the entire American Idiot album by Green Day, although it's not so much pro-athiest, as it is anti-Bible thumper.

#21

Posted by: Amit Joshi | February 12, 2007 1:18 PM

Hey PZ, weren't you ranting a few weeks back about how it's just wrong to use pictures of Darwin in his old age, since he did his most important work when he was much younger? And ditto Einstein?

Or do I confuse you with another favorite Science blogs curmudgeon?

#22

Posted by: Jeremy Henty | February 12, 2007 2:22 PM

GreenishBlue: "Oh No I Don't Believe It" - Frank Zappa

#23

Posted by: KAB | February 12, 2007 2:43 PM

Re: Atheist songs

Against Me! has a song called "Walking is Still Honest" that takes a very pro-atheist stance. The chorus is: "Can anybody tell me why God won't speak to me? Why Jesus never called on me to part the ****ing seas? Why is death easier than living? You can be anything when you're on your ****ing knees. Not today, not my son, not my family, not while walking is still honest". Being a punk rock song, there is some yelling...most notably when he gets to concept of heaven toward the end. Lots of emotion and distaste for religious indoctrination.

#24

Posted by: Tanya | February 12, 2007 2:45 PM

You simply must have "The Galaxy Song" by Monty Python on that playlist.

Unfortunately I heard a teacher call the theory of evolution Darwinism. It is painful for me when a teacher is completely wrong and teaches it to the class. Ugh.

#25

Posted by: Scott Hatfield | February 12, 2007 2:48 PM

I don't know about atheist songs so much, but a really good record with an evolutionary theme is Elvis Costello's "Monkey To Man". I love it!

#26

Posted by: Adam | February 12, 2007 3:18 PM

I think its rather amazing that Charles shared his birthday, indeed birth year (1809), with Abraham Lincoln.

The two finest minds of the 19th century, born thousands of miles apart on the very same day.

To further the amazement, Lincoln was perhaps our least religious President, with the possible exception of Jefferson. Were I not such as skeptic, I would think there would be something more to this astounding coincidence.

#27

Posted by: Stephen Wells | February 12, 2007 3:43 PM

Here at ASU we just had a little lunchtime get-together to wish Charles Darwin a happy birthday. Tea and cakes, we sang Happy Birthday, and there was a little talk on his early life and background (up until the Beagle voyage). It's a step in the run-up to the big bicentennial in '09.

I was particularly pleased to attend as my wife and I got our doctorates from the Cambridge department of Earth Sciences, which has an excellent collection of Darwin's geological samples and great material on Adam Sedgewick (who taught Darwin geology).

Happy Darwin Day to all :)

#28

Posted by: notthedroids | February 12, 2007 3:46 PM

The Industrial Revolution created the opportunity and need for Lincoln and Darwin to be who they were. I'll let James Burke fill in the details.

#29

Posted by: José Ramírez | February 12, 2007 3:53 PM

Checkout Bad Religion (Atheist Peace) and A Perfect Circle (song Judith is awesome) for some cool atheistic music.

Greg Graffin, Bad Religion's frontman, has a Ph.D. in Biology.

#30

Posted by: Mike Kaspari | February 12, 2007 4:56 PM

Of all the praiseworthy elements of Darwin's personality, his intellectual honesty is right up there. How many authors today would title a chapter "Difficulties of the Theory"? CD was clear about weaknesses in his hypothesis and said so. Nowadays so many books in EEB are advocacy science--pushing one hypothesis and highlighting only its strengths. A little of Darwin's humility and generosity would go a long way today.

Getting Things Done in Academia

#31

Posted by: Neil | February 12, 2007 5:07 PM

Not Darwin or evolution specific, but here is another suggestion of great all-purpose songs for skeptics, unbelievers, or plain old anti-religious a-holes like myself. From Frank Zappa's "You Are What You Is", tracks 14, 15, & 16: "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing", "Dumb All Over", and "Heavenly Bank Account". Or as I call them, the Holy Trinity. Or should that be A-holey Trinity?

#32

Posted by: j | February 12, 2007 5:43 PM

I dunno. Darwin looks kinda creepy in that picture. Freud-like.

#33

Posted by: BlueIndependent | February 12, 2007 5:52 PM

Mike Kaspari: ...How many authors today would title a chapter "Difficulties of the Theory"?

It is a rather rare thing today, but I have encountered some intellectual honesty in my readings lately. Specifically, this is with regard to Altschuller's TRIZ method of problem solving. TRIZ's supporters make very clear up front what problems the methods WILL help solve, and what problems it WILL NOT help solve. They are very grounded while still promoting the methodology.

I have also encountered some of them same in my career-based research. Someone putting forth a new theory or methodology will always get sell me if they're honest up front what they can and cannot do for me.

#34

Posted by: Bunjo | February 12, 2007 6:15 PM

Over on Uncommon Decscent (and other nut blogs) they are really upset by Darwin Day (good!). On one hand some are saying that scientists are worshipping Saint Darwin (shouldn't that be Saint Charles?), and on the other hand others are saying that Darwin Day is an atheist plot to discredit religion. I guess that pointing out that their trying to bring religion into science was bound to generate a counter reaction will not go down too well.

In any event as long as ID refuses to identify the designer(s), there is a small possiblity that Charles Darwin was the Son of the Designer, sent to Earth to explain his Father's design! Just joking.

Sod teach the controversy - cherish reason & demand evidence.

#35

Posted by: David Marjanović | February 12, 2007 9:25 PM

Or do I confuse you with another favorite Science blogs curmudgeon?

Yes.

#36

Posted by: Ichthyic | February 12, 2007 9:31 PM

How many authors today would title a chapter "Difficulties of the Theory"?

you must not read very many journal articles.

We don't typically label a section of a paper "difficulties...", but the limitations of any given experiment are typically noted in the results and discussion. Indeed, the peer review process itself often brings out the limitations the original author might have missed, and the author is expected to include or address said limitations in the paper before final publication.

It doesn't ALWAYS happen, but that IS the typical process.

#37

Posted by: michael ringwood | February 13, 2007 1:09 AM

Happy Birthday Charles. Thanks for being the precursor of an unprecedented scientific revolution in history.
Check out my blog on birthday e- cards for some beautiful e-greeting cards and other interesting info.

#38

Posted by: ChemBob | February 14, 2007 10:01 AM

Thanks Frank Anderson! I just bought a Darwin bobblehead for my desk at work!