The other discoverer of natural selection

November 24, 2013 10:51 AM

The animated [and largely forgotten] life of A. R. Wallace (single-link NYTimes video)
posted by beagle (2 comments total)

Darwin's own treatise had been gathering dust for years before Wallace's correspondence spurred him to publish it.

The interesting thing is that both made the same discovery from different lines of evidence. Much of the argument in OTOOS rests on Darwin's observations of English barnacles, on which he was and probably remains the leading authority. Wallace used his observations in Southeast Asia and Australia to support his argument.

Since evolution is a fact, it doesn't matter which line of evidence you pursue, because every road leads to it.
posted by Repack Rider at 2:41 PM on November 24, 2013

Bill Bailey did an awesome documentary for the BBC about Wallace:


also, eponysterical?
posted by ham at 2:58 PM on November 24, 2013 [2 favorites]