On Thu, 14 May 2009 01:11:02 -0700, Allen Esterson responded to: >Michael Sylvester challenged us with the following challenge: >>Who did Darwin refer to when he said that this person was "like a blind >>man in a dark room looking for a black cat that does not exist"? >>A. physicist >>B. astronomer >>C.archaeologist >>D.mathematician > >Leaving aside the entirely appropriate responses from other TIPSters, >virtually everything that Darwin ever wrote, published or unpublished, is >available online (together with biographical works): > http://darwin-online.org.uk/
I knew that there was this website but I couldn't remember its address. Instead I used part of the quote to locate users of it. As is often in the case in misattribution, there were a few hits with Darwin identified as the source but then there were others identified as sources as well, a situation we've seen before (icebergs, anyone?). The Wikiquotes page helped to put this particular quote in appropriate context as well as point out the need to provide a verifiable source for the quote (NOTE: TV quiz shows are not good sources, perhaps this is a point that qualifies as a teaching moment). Brief aside: There is a fairly well-known statement attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr, about how it is not the words of our enemies that will stay with us through the years but the silence of our friends. When someone on another list used this quote, I inquired about the source for it. I was given one but when I examined an online copy of it, I could not find the exact quote. Puzzled by this, I made a request to the U.S. Library of Congress to locate the source. I received a response that the librarian assigned to located the source could not find it (though they were limited by the amount of time they could devote to this question). So, I wondered whether Dr. King actually said this. I put the issue aside because I couldn't devote more time to it. However, while watching the movie "Driving Miss Daisy" (with Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman), there is a scene where Dr. King is making a speech (a recording of King's presentation is used). In the course of the speech, Dr. King makes the quote. Clearly, he actually spoke it but why didn't it appear in his published work (or did it and the sources have been confused?). This is an odd situation: we have physical evidence that a statement was made but the written record is unclear as to where one can find it. I assume that one could watch the movie again, identify the date the speech has made, and use that as the basis examining transcripts and papers from the time. Perhaps this is something I'll do during the summer when I have time. >A Google search for Darwin plus any part of the quotation fails to bring up >a Darwin source. Case closed - except for divergent thinkers.. Wait! Are you saying I can't use game/quiz shows as definitive sources for reliable information about the world?!? Do you realize how many people rely upon such shows as well as soap operas, dramas, police procedurals like CSI, and whatever the hell genre "Lost" represents as accurate and valid represents of social and physical reality? If this is want you are saying, what is the vast majority who rely upon these programs as sources of knowledge supposed to do? Read a book? How medieval! ;-) -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
