Poorly and Stupid

In 1861 Charles Darwin wrote a letter to Charles Lyell, a Scottish geologist, who besides his many scientific contributions, also advocated the use of geological surveys and explained the cause of earthquakes. Darwin, of course, brought us the first version of the theory of evolution, fundamentally altering the entire field of biology and irrevocably influencing literature, politics, and philosophy. History sees these two men as giants.

The letter itself talks about glacier movement and its geological consequences, and then at the end, Darwin includes the following paragraph.

This quote is often cited, but the letter isn’t over. There is one more paragraph.

That would be John Murray, a London publishing house that brought us Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle among many others. The little book Darwin was writing? The Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilized by Insects. It is a milestone scientific work that examines how flowers evolved their structure and color to attract insect cross-pollinators. It was a revolutionary publication that led to an explosion of research by other naturalists and is still in print today. You can read more about it in this Wikipedia article.

So if you are feeling poorly and stupid today and hate everyone and everything, especially that “little” project you are working on, hang in there. You are not alone.