Happy Birthday, Mr. Darwin!

This is certainly a good place to remember the birthday of a man who wrote one of the most influential books in history – certainly one of the books that has caused the most controversy.

I had hoped to be a part of Blog for Darwin, but it’s just been impossible to get much done on the road this week. Instead, I will encourage you to check out the links at Blog for Darwin and celebrate one of the great thinkers of our time.

On a more personal note, I have never truly understood the problem that some people have with evolution. My father, a devout Catholic, explained it to me this way when I was a child: God created man, but we don’t know anything about his creation process. Perhaps everything began with God stirring his finger in the intergalactic soup that formed the galaxies and eventually our Earth. Perhaps his creation process included protozoa and amphibians and dinosaurs and men, the way that a loaf of bread requires mixing and kneading and rising and baking. Just because we have begun to discern some of the steps does not make the process any less miraculous. It’s not like you or I could do it.

There are some great links out there to read today, and I may be adding some here as the day goes on. I’ve already suggested Blog for Darwin, and check out my pal Phyl’s posts over at Bookishgal – a little about Darwin and more about On the Origin of Species.

An online pal of mine decided that Darwin Day was a great time to restart her blog. Stop and see my mathy friend Mojave over at Non-Standard Deviations to get her take on the day.

So, Happy Birthday, Mr Darwin! You’re an inspiration to free-thinkers everywhere.