The Writings of Charles Darwin on the Web

November 9, 2004 1:16 PM

The Writings of Charles Darwin on the Web. Thanks to the British Library.
posted by plep (11 comments total)

See also here for Chuck D and much more besides!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:25 PM on November 9, 2004

Cool, now I don't have to spend any money to read up. It helps to understand others' point of view by reading their positions' tomes.

You can read up on the opposition for free, too!
posted by y0mbo at 1:34 PM on November 9, 2004

"Could a system we do not completely understand be constructed by means of a process we cannot completely specify?" David Berlinski vs. the world.
posted by Faze at 1:36 PM on November 9, 2004

thanks everybody.


I can only add the obligatory quote:

That's good. You believe the world's 12,000 years old?

"That's right."

Okay, I got one word to ask you, a one word question, ready?

"Uh-huh."

Dinosaurs.
posted by matteo at 1:42 PM on November 9, 2004

matteo -- In repudiation of the worthless Bill Hicks, I offer you the magnificent Philip Gosse:

Gosse's argument is simple. If you had been present in Eden twenty minutes after Adam's creation, you would have observed his navel, a scar left from a birth that never happened. In his digestive tract would have been the remains of a meal he had not eaten two hours before. His feet would have had calluses from walks he had never taken. A nearby tree, cut down, would have shown real rings of unreal years of growth. Gosse goes on and on with this arument, separating all time into historic time,


posted by Faze at 2:08 PM on November 9, 2004

Faze, Gosse's Prochronic Time sounds pretty but truly is just Hick's Prankster God:

Get this, I actually asked one of these guys, OK, Dinosaurs fossils - how does that fit into you scheme of life? Let me sit down and strap in. He said, "Dinosaur fossils? God put those there to test our faith." Thank God I'm strapped in right now here man. I think God put you here to test my faith, Dude. You believe that? "uh huh." Does that trouble anyone here? The idea that God.. might be.. fuckin' with our heads? I have trouble sleeping with that knowledge. Some prankster God running around: "Hu hu ho. We will see who believes in me now, ha ha." [mimes God burying fossils] "I am God, I am a prankster." "I am killing Me." You know, You die and go to St. Peter... "Did you believe in dinosaurs?" "Well, yeah. There was fossils everywhere" Thuh [trapdoor opens] "Aaaaaaarhhh!" "You fuckin idiot." "Flying lizards, you're a moron. God was fuckin' with you!" "It seemed so plausible, ahhhh!" "Enjoy the lake of fire, fucker!"

posted by matteo at 2:21 PM on November 9, 2004

> In repudiation of the worthless Bill Hicks I offer you the magnificent Philip Gosse

Gosse's amusing notion that a creator would build a universe seemingly already-in-progress just to cover his ass has a nice Gary Larson-esque appeal that I favor strongly.
posted by SteelyDuran at 2:34 PM on November 9, 2004

Great link, plep. Thanks!
posted by homunculus at 2:38 PM on November 9, 2004

I rejected the biblical account some time ago when I thought long and deeply about Noah's ark and wondered that if there were two of every kind, what happened to the ants when there were also ant eaters on the boat.
posted by Postroad at 3:32 PM on November 9, 2004

Also online: some of Darwin's correspondence, with much more to come.
posted by thomas j wise at 5:07 PM on November 9, 2004

[INSERT WISCONSIN JOKE HERE]
posted by MrBadExample at 6:57 PM on November 9, 2004