Darwin’s Backyard: How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory by James T Costa.
In his own way, Darwin was an inventor as well. In a time when humanity couldn’t even agree on the age of the earth, Darwin was trying to connect the dots. His invention was his ability to experiment and re-interpret what he was seeing and discovering.
We all know Darwin and his epic voyage on the HMS Beagle (1831-1836) and his contribution to our understanding of species that he named “natural selection.” But that is just the very tip of the iceberg. Darwin actually started off observing geology and trying to find why/what caused different patterns in rock formations around the world.
The bottom line in all of Darwin’s many interests and exploits was his ability to observe and then intertwine the current ideas and theories of his time often extrapolating them into something completely different.
Yes, Darwin’s greatest contribution was the theory of evolution, but again, there is so much more. 440 pages hardcover, originally sold for $28, now as a remainder, only $14.55.