Historical Influences Blog Post: #1
1.) Alfred Russel Wallace arguably had the most influence over the development of Darwin's theory of Natural Selection. Alfred Russel Wallace was a contemporary to Charles Darwin. I feel as if Russel Wallace was the most influential on Darwin's theory because he found his own research and came to the conclusion of Natural Selection nearly at the same time as Darwin and the two were able to put their ideas together for the concept of Natural Selection. This effected Darwin's theory of Natural Selection because it positively aloud him to get feedback on his ideas and alter his theory based on the work of another person.
2.) Alfred Russel Wallace contributed to the scientific community by displaying his extensive research on different animals from different nations. He traveled all over the world refining his work. An example of his work would be how he observed the adaptation of Maleos, only found in Indonesia's island of Sulawesi, and how the Maleos have adapted from sitting on their eggs to using Geo-Thermal energy from the hot springs that heated the Earth. His biggest contribution to science was asking the question "Why do we find this animal in this place?"
LINK:
https://www.npr.org/2013/04/30/177781424/he-helped-discover-evolution-and-then-became-extinct
3.)
"If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be different"
I feel as if this point really was the most effected by Russel Wallace because he, like Darwin, would travel a lot and see new parts of the world that many didn't even know existed just to find specific animals. He realized that all terrain was different and the fact that every part of the Earth displayed different attributes showed, in turn, that the animals that inhabited those areas had to display different traits to adapt for survival. Wallace learned this early on in his quest for the theory of Natural Selection, that the terrain had a big role on how animals adapt.
4.) I feel as if Darwin could have developed his theory without the influence of Alfred Russel Wallace, but his work wouldn't have been as conclusive. The two minds thinking alike without conspiring on the topic was insane, and if Wallace hadn't come forward with his findings then I feel that Darwin would have had no one to conspire with, leaving his work somewhat incomplete in the sense that there was nothing or no one to check his work.
5.) Darwin knew the church would not approve of his publishings and didn't want the backlash from the church. He also was very confident on his theory and was going to publish his works anyway. Many scientists at the time were skeptical in publishing their works that went against the beliefs of the church as well.
2.) Alfred Russel Wallace contributed to the scientific community by displaying his extensive research on different animals from different nations. He traveled all over the world refining his work. An example of his work would be how he observed the adaptation of Maleos, only found in Indonesia's island of Sulawesi, and how the Maleos have adapted from sitting on their eggs to using Geo-Thermal energy from the hot springs that heated the Earth. His biggest contribution to science was asking the question "Why do we find this animal in this place?"
LINK:
https://www.npr.org/2013/04/30/177781424/he-helped-discover-evolution-and-then-became-extinct
3.)
"If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be different"
I feel as if this point really was the most effected by Russel Wallace because he, like Darwin, would travel a lot and see new parts of the world that many didn't even know existed just to find specific animals. He realized that all terrain was different and the fact that every part of the Earth displayed different attributes showed, in turn, that the animals that inhabited those areas had to display different traits to adapt for survival. Wallace learned this early on in his quest for the theory of Natural Selection, that the terrain had a big role on how animals adapt.
4.) I feel as if Darwin could have developed his theory without the influence of Alfred Russel Wallace, but his work wouldn't have been as conclusive. The two minds thinking alike without conspiring on the topic was insane, and if Wallace hadn't come forward with his findings then I feel that Darwin would have had no one to conspire with, leaving his work somewhat incomplete in the sense that there was nothing or no one to check his work.
5.) Darwin knew the church would not approve of his publishings and didn't want the backlash from the church. He also was very confident on his theory and was going to publish his works anyway. Many scientists at the time were skeptical in publishing their works that went against the beliefs of the church as well.
Andres, your answers to the last three prompts have lost their text-wrapping and are off the screen. I am posting them below to allow me to read them but also to make them viewable for other students. For all future assignments, you are responsible for checking your post after you publish to make sure it posts properly and can be read clearly.
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3.)
"If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be different"
I feel as if this point really was the most effected by Russel Wallace because he, like Darwin, would travel a lot and see new parts of the world that many didn't even know existed just to find specific animals. He realized that all terrain was different and the fact that every part of the Earth displayed different attributes showed, in turn, that the animals that inhabited those areas had to display different traits to adapt for survival. Wallace learned this early on in his quest for the theory of Natural Selection, that the terrain had a big role on how animals adapt.
4.) I feel as if Darwin could have developed his theory without the influence of Alfred Russel Wallace, but his work wouldn't have been as conclusive. The two minds thinking alike without conspiring on the topic was insane, and if Wallace hadn't come forward with his findings then I feel that Darwin would have had no one to conspire with, leaving his work somewhat incomplete in the sense that there was nothing or no one to check his work.
5.) Darwin knew the church would not approve of his publishings and didn't want the backlash from the church. He also was very confident on his theory and was going to publish his works anyway. Many scientists at the time were skeptical in publishing their works that went against the beliefs of the church as well.
Instructor feedback:
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the background on some of Wallace's other work, but since we are talking about his influence on Darwin, what about his own work on evolutionary theory? How did he come about developing his own matching theory? Were his theory and Darwin's identical?
I agree with your choice of bullet points, but since both Wallace and Darwin developed the same mechanism, isn't it fair to say that ALL of the bullet points also apply to Wallace?
"I feel as if Darwin could have developed his theory without the influence of Alfred Russel Wallace, but his work wouldn't have been as conclusive. "
Make sure you understand the timeline here. Darwin DID develop his theory without Wallace. He had been working on his idea for two decades when he became award of Wallace's theory, so Wallace's impact isn't with regard to shaping Darwin's work. Where Wallace's influence is important is as the driving factor that finally convinced Darwin to publish after delaying for more than 20 years. So while Darwin certainly developed his theory without Wallace, he may never have *published* without him.
"He also was very confident on his theory and was going to publish his works anyway."
This contradicts your first statement and is actually incorrect. Darwin was very hesitant about publishing and did delay for 23 years. That is not an inconsequential amount of time and it is worth trying to understand the reasons for this delay. Yes, "backlash" was an issue, but what does that mean? What were Darwin's concerns? And was he only worried about himself or was he also worried about how his family might be impacted by publishing? Remember that his wife was very devout. How might she have been impacted if the church responded negatively to Darwin? Remember that scientists don't work in a vacuum. They can be influenced not just by academics but also by social, cultural and personal issues.
hi
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