tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post6925634558036109287..comments2023-10-02T03:29:53.174-07:00Comments on The Rough Guide to Evolution: Did Dawkins get it wrong on Darwin’s delay?Mark Pallenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911675151032525386noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-46828685021129669092008-08-09T12:41:00.000-07:002008-08-09T12:41:00.000-07:00You might be interested in this recent interview w...You might be interested in this recent interview with Dawkins when he talks about the series, and Darwin's delay:<BR/><BR/>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=397568793089029326&ei=zuydSJOmLYHm2QKbtMHZBw&q=The+Genius+of+Charles+Darwin&vt=lf<BR/><BR/>He mentions three possible reasons why Darwin might have chosen to delay publication, including the one you mention above. Why was only one reason mentioned in the series? I have no idea, but I suspect the director or editor might be a more likely suspect that Dawkins - there's only so much you can pack into three 45 minute slots after all.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13305187477309354996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-38031253928545173022008-08-05T20:52:00.000-07:002008-08-05T20:52:00.000-07:00An excellent and well-researched post, Mark. I te...An excellent and well-researched post, Mark. I tend to agree with T Ryan Gregory's conclusion, i.e. that the delay was probably the result of a complex blend of factors, the sort with which anyone who's written a thesis or dissertation will be familiar.<BR/><BR/>I also wonder if a similar acknowledgement of complexity should be applied to Darwin's epiphany - he seemed to have bursts of understanding (his first sight of the mockingbirds and tortoises, the ruminating he did on the voyage home, the work with the pigeons, the moment in the carriage near Downe), each of which was an important step in the right direction.Karen Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03597701284348386435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1647542790969230221.post-60669505568801071912008-08-05T03:32:00.000-07:002008-08-05T03:32:00.000-07:00I enjoyed the post, and in general I agree. The p...I enjoyed the post, and in general I agree. The point of my earlier post was simply that 1) people had been citing the essay without mentioning the fact that some other Darwin scholars do not agree with van Wyhe (the reason I cited Odling Smee is not the supposed search for a single keyword, but rather because it mentions other scholars who disagree and was the only source I knew of that made the point), and 2) that sometimes the fear of reaction leads to delay in a more complicated manner. As I concluded,<BR/><BR/><I>I think "yes or no" to the question of whether Darwin delayed publication out of fear is very simplistic. Anyone who has written anything of substance knows that sometimes the effect of fear of reaction is procrastination and/or excessive desire to include every piece of information available. Both can cause writing to take longer than it otherwise would. Was Darwin thorough? Yes. Is that one reason it took so long? Undoubtedly. Was he so thorough because of a fear of reaction? Probably at least in part.</I>T Ryan Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17028390880937952573noreply@blogger.com