Book Progress #24

more cat pictures

There are few things more satisfying than being able to get back to original papers, letters, and articles to discover something new. Even though I could conceivably write a solid chapter based upon reviews and popular accounts I feel that reading original source materials is not only important for accuracy, but also for my integrity as a writer. Thanks to Google Books I was unable to uncover some information I thought I was never going to be able to find, as well as some information I didn't expect.

While Richard Owen is commonly (and properly) cited for recognizing the mammalian nature of Richard Harlan's Basilosaurus, an accidental occurrence revealed another important piece of information about the affinities of the archaeocete. I first heard about the story while reading E. Ray Lankester's Extinct Animals, yet as juicy as the anecdote was there were no exact details. As much as I wanted to include the story I decided to leave it out; I did not want to create an inaccurate historical account. Now I have the confirmation I was looking for, however, and I'm proud to be able to present a new piece of information (however trivial) that I have never seen cited in any other reviews.

I still feel that the chapter on whales lacks a proper ending (if only some fantastic new skeleton could be announced or some stunning new piece of research make it's way into the journals!) but I have added significantly more to it than I originally intended. When I started writing it I doubted that I would be able to contribute anything new, but as the piece has taken shape I truly believe I have created a unique synthesis that goes beyond laying out the geological succession of increasingly aquatic whales. Some of what I have written has been anticipated in other works (whenever I think I have stumbled onto something relatively novel I usually find that S.J. Gould, if not someone else, has already thought of it) but if nothing else I feel that a new popular review of whale evolution is desperately needed.

As I finalize my selection of the evidence to make my case the main task before me is going to be editing. The first section of the chapter, the historical narrative, is very strong and represents some of my best writing. The review of the current state of scientific understanding, however, is a bit scatter-shot and will undergo some major changes (I know, for one thing, that some of the text is redundant). Nevertheless, I have learned a great deal and I'm hoping that this particular chapter will present one of the most engaging narratives in the entire book. The only way to find out, though, is to finish what I started.

Here is the latest Wordle for the chapter, derived from what I added today;

title="Wordle: Whale Chapter"> src="http://wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/118182/Whale_Chapter"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">