DUE in 5 hours

Discussion on Darwin’s Dangerous Ideas: This assignment is comprised of 2 postings on the discussion board.  First, you are expected to post a substantive contribution of at least 200 words after watching Darwin’s Dangerous Idea video that is found in Module 5. Do this here on the Darwin’s Dangerous Ideas topic in the Discussions. Next, read all the discussion postings by your classmates and respond to one of their thoughts with a second posting of at least 200 words. Note: For both posts, simply saying “I agree” is not a substantive contribution. Your post must support your position, and reflect the concepts and characteristics covered in the Evolution Powerpoint presentation and the Darwin videos. Each posting is worth 20 points for a total of 40 points.  There is no grading rubric used for this assignment.

A couple of guidelines for the Darwin Discussion. I want the discussion to focus on science, not on personal beliefs. This is a science class, not a theology class. Remember, for us to examine a scientific idea we must work in the realm of the physical, the measurable, and the perceivable.  It is OK to comment on how Darwin struggled with the persecution of the church and how that still occurs today, however, I do not want a discussion, description, or debate on your personal beliefs.  This is not meant to insult anyone’s personal beliefs, it is just difficult to debate your beliefs on this discussion board. 

One way to focus your thoughts is to type them in a word processing program and then later cut- and-paste them into the Discussion posting. This allows you time to think about what you want to say and to save your response. Finally, if you want to debate anything, you must provide literature citations or references for your argument – we are interested in facts and data – not opinions – no exceptions.

Here is the link:

http:// then answer to this guy with 200 words :

First off, I feel that this was a very well done film.  I have always learned about what Darwin did but it was nice to get a little more insight into who he was and how he lived.  

The biggest thought for me regarding the film was how difficult it was for him to try and hide/protect his findings because of the standings of those around him.  I picture myself making a significant discovery that is so exciting and groundbreaking that I cannot hardly sleep at night, yet I cannot share it because it would be my demise.  How hard that must have been.  I wonder how many people in real life believed him but also could not show it or let him know?  

Something that I learned from the film was that people helped him make his discoveries.  Maybe that is not entirely accurate to history, or maybe it is a widely known fact but I always imagined him traveling around by himself and making the discoveries that he did.  In the film, a man that seems to be a taxidermist, assists Darwin in identifying the different Finch species, which allows Darwin to make his conclusions on how they got where they did and what lead to their difference in anatomy or appearance.  

Darwin’s insight pertaining to the natural population control in humans relating to nature is fascinating.  Nature has it’s own way of choosing those best able to survive based on traits.  This is relatable to the finches that Darwin found.  The islands were essentially all the same, yet there were different species of finches on different islands.  For whatever reason, those best fit to survive on those specific islands did just that, survive.  This is the same with the rest of nature, seeing as humans have the cognitive ability to understand what we need to change to survive and adapt, nature does it unconsciously, or so it would seem.  The fittest will survive.