About
The name of this blog is borrowed from Charles Darwin’s monumental The Origin of Species. Darwin used this title to refer to the simple beginnings of humanity and all of life, a simple beginning that then led to the untold and stunning riches of complexity that we see in life on this planet. I believe that this title could also refer to science itself, which evolved from the simplest of processes; observation of natural phenomena, documentation, hypothesizing, experimenting, and theorizing. From those simple beginnings, science has grown into a bedrock of our existence, not only in its practical and explanatory benefits, but also as what the late Carl Sagan called a “candle in the dark”, a method of finding our way around this world and making sense of it. In this process, science has also forged a profound bond with the human psyche and with human society, and its practice is seamlessy intertwined with its history and philosophy. A fascinating aspect of science is its practitioners themselves, who have made science a human endeavour, as full of glories and follies as politics and history, and more permanent.
In the time that follows, I hope to explore science itself, and its connections with society and the human mind. Skepticism and debate is an integral part of scientific and social progress, and I welcome all kinds of comments and criticism.
I also blog at:
Excursions into the mundane and revealing, which is my regular and general blog and
The curious wavefunction, which is my technical scientific blog