Visiting Down House with Randal Keynes

I have now received two VIP tours of Down House with Randal Keynes (Darwin's great-great-grandson) as tour guide. Randal's mellifluous voice, sharp intellect and wide-ranging knowledge of Darwin's life, science and family make these trips an unforgettable treat!

Last Friday I visited with three eminent American speakers at the Great Read at Birmingham initiative: Ken Miller, John Hawks and Captain Ben Kirkup. John Hawks has already blogged on the experience here: http://johnhawks.net/weblog/hawks/travel/down-house-visit-2011.html

Last February, I visited with Eugenie Scott from the NCSE.

Below are links to YouTube videos of both trips. Watch them and fall under Randal's spell as he guides us through Darwin's home and gardens, his life and family.

Tour of Down House with Randal Keynes for Great Read at Birmingham speakers

http://youtu.be/YPg5OanvSl4

Tour of Down House with Randal Keynes and Eugenie Scott

http://youtu.be/1EsAttZon0A

Relevant links

• http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/welcome/grab.aspx
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenie_Scott
• http://ncse.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_R._Miller
• http://johnhawks.net/
• http://pathogenomics.bham.ac.uk/staff/mpallen.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randal_Keynes
• http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx
• http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/home-of-charles-darwin-down-house/

Rough Guide to Evolution in Nature again this week

The Rough Guide to Evolution features again in the prestigious scientific journal Nature this week, thanks to Eugenie Scott (executive director of the US National Center for Science Education), who recommends it as Summer reading:

"The 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, plus the 150th anniversary of the publication of his best-known book, On the Origin of Species, make 2009 the year to learn about evolution. Mark Pallen's The Rough Guide to Evolution provides a concise summary of what you need to know: a brief history of the idea that all living things share common ancestry, a complete survey of the mechanisms of evolution and a solid summary of how life originated and then adapted through time to a changing planet. He livens up the story with literary, musical and cultural references so that you never feel you are being told to eat your vegetables. Alas, it is not only non-specialists who don't have a firm grasp of the strength of theory and data supporting the modern understanding of evolution — many scientists outside the field of evolutionary biology struggle too. This entertaining handbook will bring anyone up to date."

Thanks Genie!