February 12th is Charles Darwin's birthday.
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change"
— Charles Darwin
"If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once a week."
— Charles Darwin
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we would expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference. "
— Charles Darwin
Darwin's Theory of Evolution was considered "dangerous" in his time, and suffers from many misconceptions today.
Why was/is this theory considered "dangerous"?
Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was considered dangerous in 19th-century England because it threatened the prevailing views of the Anglican Church and society at large. If extrapolated beyond its role as a scientific theory, it seemed to run counter to the notion of humankind's supremacy and God's hand in the world order. The same fear exists today. Evolution can seem to be in direct conflict with deeply held belief systems of how life came to exist on Earth. (From PBS)
Carl Sagan briefly describes the course of evolution:
More videos of Carl Sagan regarding Evolution, from the popular Cosmos series:
Frequently Asked Questions About Evolution from PBS
