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Be sceptical about Darwin

Steve Jones points out that one day Darwin too may be superseded by a better theory.

An episode of the Darwin Now - Audio podcast, hosted by The Open University, titled "Be sceptical about Darwin" was published on November 4, 2009 and runs 2 minutes.

November 4, 2009 ·2m · Darwin Now - Audio

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Steve Jones points out that one day Darwin too may be superseded by a better theory.

Steve Jones points out that one day Darwin too may be superseded by a better theory.
Global responses to Darwin's ideas - Audio The Open University How was Darwin initially received in Europe, and beyond? Why was he eagerly accepted in some countries and bitterly rejected in others? And how can modern media make him accessible to a much greater audience? History professors Thomas Glick and Peter Kjaergaard reveal the controversies, which occurred when Darwin's ideas were first published around the world. Immediately, they were interpreted through the lens of wider cultural and political debates, which very much affected their reception. Few doubted that Charles Darwin was a great naturalist, but there were many who argued with evolutionary theory and some who only accepted it after significant alterations. Today the Internet has created a vast new audience for Darwin, but this doesn't mean that all the arguments have gone away.The tracks on this album were produced by The Open University in collaboration with the British Council. They form part of Darwin Now, a global initiative celebrating the life and work of Charles Darwin an Darwinian Demons - Audio The Open University Is 'natural selection' inimical to bio-diversity? Why is the natural world not dominated by a few 'super' species? And in the future, can the richness of nature be preserved? In this album, Jonathan Silvertown, Professor of Ecology at The Open University, explains how Darwinian theory uses the concept of niche specialisation to account for the diversity of flora and fauna on Earth. If it were not for environmental niches, Darwinian 'demons', might emerge, powerful species whose evolutionary fitness makes them all conquering. However, according to Darwin, the natural world is infinitely complex and inhabited by a multitude of different species, each of which is peculiarly adapted to its local environment.The tracks on this album were produced by The Open University in collaboration with the British Council. They form part of Darwin Now, a global initiative celebrating the life and work of Charles Darwin and the impact his ideas about evolution continue to have on today’s world. © Briti Darwin and language diversity - Audio The Open University Can Darwin's theory of evolution be applied to languages? If so what are the analogues for natural selection and species diversification? What truths does this approach reveal and what problems does it throw up? In this album Professor Mark Pagel of Reading University and Quentin Atkinson, an evolutionary biologist at Oxford, discuss the pitfalls and the up-sides to approaching language through a Darwinian model. Focussing on Indo-European languages, they show how mathematical and statistical models can be used to study the development of both particular words and of grammatical terms. Looking to the future they speculate on how language will develop in the new globalised culture. The tracks on this album were produced by The Open University in collaboration with the British Council. They form part of Darwin Now, a global initiative celebrating the life and work of Charles Darwin and the impact his ideas about evolution continue to have on today’s world. © British Council 2009. Evolution and the human family - Audio The Open University Can Darwin's theory of evolution be applied to cultural institutions like the family? If so, how can it help us to understand how family structures have evolved? If not, what are the limitations of a Darwinian approach? In this album, Ruth Mace, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at UCL in London, reveals how she uses a Darwinian approach to study diverse human populations. In particular, she focuses her discussion on family size, exploring how Darwinian concepts such as evolutionary trade-offs can help explain why modern families are getting smaller and smaller. The tracks on this album were produced by The Open University in collaboration with the British Council. They form part of Darwin Now, a global initiative celebrating the life and work of Charles Darwin and the impact his ideas about evolution continue to have on today’s world. © The British Council 2009.
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