Sunday, November 30, 2014

My Year of Darwin 11/30/2014 Don't believe it? Test it.


 Charles Darwin

"I believe that the hive-bee has acquired, through natural selection, her inimitable architectural powers.
  But this theory can be tested by experiment. Following the example of Mr. Tegetmeier, I separated two combs, and put between them a long, thick, square strip of wax."  Charles Darwin, Origin of Species 1st edition (on Kindle)

Darwin is alluding to the comb-making behavior of bees. I chose this passage because it shows Darwin's willingness to experiment to test hypotheses. Here Darwin believes that seemingly complex combs can be created by a few basic rules. Cool. 


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