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musicdeepdive's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.75
Somewhat detail-heavy to warrant the label of "popular science", perhaps, but compelling in its methodology and in how casually Darwin lays out his case while admitting the holes in said theory (and why he's comfortable accepting said theory despite the flaws). A must for everyone interested in science history, but you knew that already.
stevenrouk's review against another edition
5.0
Science is one of those funny things that seems to dodge simple definitions—in the end, however, "seeking the truth with a willingness to be wrong, gathering evidence from wherever it exists" seems to capture the spirit of the endeavor.
With that definition in mind, On The Origin Of Species is a work of brilliant science writing.
You can tell that at his root, Darwin is just a nerdy science kid who enjoys digging around in the mud, doing little experiments, and exploring nature. But after half a lifetime of doing this, and half a lifetime of corresponding with his fellow scientists (he was extremely well connected in the scientific community), he had enough evidence at his disposal to lay out an argument for the development of new species that was more thorough, logical, and well-supported by the evidence than any that came before.
Darwin spends pages upon pages talking about things as diverse as: the action of waves on cliff erosion; the bounty of seeds found in a tablespoon of dirt; the conditions under which fossils are formed, and when they're not; selective breeding of pigeons and their reversion to ancestral traits when crossed; the means of migration and dispersal of species around the world; the similarities of embryos across many species; and many, many other topics.
What I love about this book is how much he presents the entire thing as: "here are two hypotheses; now let's look at mounds of evidence across a dozen different domains and see which theory makes the most sense, given what we know about the world."
There isn't much armchair philosophizing here. The majority of the book is descriptions of things he and others have seen and measured in nature, and experiments he and others have run (such as his "tablespoon of mud" experiment). The compilation of evidence is fairly astounding, actually.
One of the greatest traits of his inquiry is that he is always acknowledging and addressing every little difficulty in his theory—every objection he heard of, everything that didn't make sense at first sight. He doesn't shy away from the difficulties or try to sweep them under the rug; he instead tackles them head on. In fact, much of the book is spent addressing these difficulties. And he never goes so far as to say that he is 100% certain of his theories—rather, he says that the weight of evidence seems to point to his theories, despite the occasional difficulty. "If I'm wrong," he seems to say, "I truly want to know."
The truth of things seems to matter to him more than any personal attachment he may have to his theory. In fact, the theory came out of the mountain of evidence pointing in that direction—without the mountain of evidence, there would have been no theory.
In the end, I found this an inspiring and enjoyable read, despite the fact that it's a dense and often dry accounting of minute biological and geological facts. But that painstaking detail is what makes this an excellent science book, a model for others making their case. It's the account of a scientist painstakingly laying out his argument, using an extraordinary deal of evidence, acknowledging difficulties and addressing them head on, and doing it all with a great deal of humility and willingness to be wrong. Here is someone who grappled with nature, grappled with the facts, and helped to illuminate a surprising and important fact about reality.
With that definition in mind, On The Origin Of Species is a work of brilliant science writing.
You can tell that at his root, Darwin is just a nerdy science kid who enjoys digging around in the mud, doing little experiments, and exploring nature. But after half a lifetime of doing this, and half a lifetime of corresponding with his fellow scientists (he was extremely well connected in the scientific community), he had enough evidence at his disposal to lay out an argument for the development of new species that was more thorough, logical, and well-supported by the evidence than any that came before.
Darwin spends pages upon pages talking about things as diverse as: the action of waves on cliff erosion; the bounty of seeds found in a tablespoon of dirt; the conditions under which fossils are formed, and when they're not; selective breeding of pigeons and their reversion to ancestral traits when crossed; the means of migration and dispersal of species around the world; the similarities of embryos across many species; and many, many other topics.
What I love about this book is how much he presents the entire thing as: "here are two hypotheses; now let's look at mounds of evidence across a dozen different domains and see which theory makes the most sense, given what we know about the world."
There isn't much armchair philosophizing here. The majority of the book is descriptions of things he and others have seen and measured in nature, and experiments he and others have run (such as his "tablespoon of mud" experiment). The compilation of evidence is fairly astounding, actually.
One of the greatest traits of his inquiry is that he is always acknowledging and addressing every little difficulty in his theory—every objection he heard of, everything that didn't make sense at first sight. He doesn't shy away from the difficulties or try to sweep them under the rug; he instead tackles them head on. In fact, much of the book is spent addressing these difficulties. And he never goes so far as to say that he is 100% certain of his theories—rather, he says that the weight of evidence seems to point to his theories, despite the occasional difficulty. "If I'm wrong," he seems to say, "I truly want to know."
The truth of things seems to matter to him more than any personal attachment he may have to his theory. In fact, the theory came out of the mountain of evidence pointing in that direction—without the mountain of evidence, there would have been no theory.
In the end, I found this an inspiring and enjoyable read, despite the fact that it's a dense and often dry accounting of minute biological and geological facts. But that painstaking detail is what makes this an excellent science book, a model for others making their case. It's the account of a scientist painstakingly laying out his argument, using an extraordinary deal of evidence, acknowledging difficulties and addressing them head on, and doing it all with a great deal of humility and willingness to be wrong. Here is someone who grappled with nature, grappled with the facts, and helped to illuminate a surprising and important fact about reality.
ahmed_suliman's review against another edition
4.0
Charles Darwin didn't say in the theory that the man came from monkeys , he just said that all of the creatures all over the ages adapt to the surrounding conditions to survive and avoid the risk of their extinction, also to be capable of dealing with the new conditions , it's pretty interesting but complicated.
teokajlibroj's review against another edition
2.0
This book may be enormously influential, but trying to read it is like wading through mud.
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
A very important work, no doubt. At times very technical and difficult to read, at others simple. Everyone should read this, it deserves certain quotations being widely known.
The hard work Darwin put into this is evident, his thoroughness and foresight breathtaking, knowing what we know now.
The hard work Darwin put into this is evident, his thoroughness and foresight breathtaking, knowing what we know now.
shadybanana's review against another edition
4.0
The fact that this book is so often misquoted and misinterpreted to explain a more vague and delusional concept of evolution than what Darwin presented, saddens me.
Its a pity how things can be blown out of proportion.
Its a pity how things can be blown out of proportion.