Darwin’s Worms
Darwin’s Worms
I happen to be reading Charles Darwin’s The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms. I’ve already read The Origin of Species, The Voyage of the Beagle, and The Descent of Man—all excellent books—but I thought it would be nice to round out my Darwin reading with this lesser-known work. It’s a fascinating read (though fairly boring): meticulous recording of all his experiments with worms around his garden in Kent (where I grew up and enjoyed the countryside). He is extraordinarily scrupulous with the facts, the consummate scientist, as he is in his better-known works. His interest in worm castings is boundless, especially their quantity. We also hear a lot about their burrows and techniques of constructing and protecting them. This is worm-philia at its most sublime. I will never look at the humble earthworm the same way again (I will always say hello). At the same time, I cannot help reflecting on our current period: there is an innocence and purity about Darwin’s work that has quite disappeared in our age of Big Science, grant applications, professional rivalry, overly technical exposition. But also, the worms themselves: they make us look worse every day—with our horrible politics and teetering universities. At least the worms do useful work and don’t try to destroy anyone. Who is the true worm—us or them? They should have a nasty word derived from us (“He is such a hume”). I have met several human worms—only now I will refrain from using this word as a derogatory. Worm, good; human, bad.
Could be the next big Ottawan hit and if we can use the illness you brought the world’s attention to – we can stick Shitshow on the end as well.
Ha ha oops responded to wrong post – i imagine you can guess which one I meant to.
I’m guessing TRUMP.
Amazing! I’ll make it harder next time – you must have done over a thousand blog posts on here – which I find quite staggering – considering the intellectual breadth and depth of the writing ( though a fair amount is beyond me I must admit).
I find it staggering too–I never expected to produce so much. There is no sign of an end to it either, though a man can hope. Notice the silence of the philosophical establishment: it must be quite an embarrassment. I think it has no equal in the history of philosophy (this will infuriate people).
So many great discoveries made by people like Darwin. I wonder whether people like the great man are even involved with science today. Darwin went against the grain and as you say – it was all about facts.
Rupert Sheldrake may turn out to be wrong about a number of things , but his critiques of science seem very valid to me. They are very similar to what you have said and similar also to the views of Sabine Hossenfelder (someone who probably doesn’t give him the time of day, yet is quite happy to imaginatively conjecture that the universe could be neural as opposed to him suggesting consciousness for the sun).
It seems to me that you have to have a very different (and unimaginative) skill set to get on in the world today, everything is political and polarized – it may be the end of us.
You have inspired me to read some Darwin.
I suggest The Voyage of the Beagle to start with. We are on the brink of collapse, morally, intellectually.
Darwin knew they were important, and he was right. Given time he would have marvelled, as we do, at the whole vast, myriad, living entity that is a healthy soil, where earthworms thrive. I have watched these tireless co-workers year in, year out, transform all our organic household waste into rich, soil conditioning fertiliser of the highest quality. Maintaining them is a simple routine of feeding every few days. It takes about a year for the compost they make to heap up to the top of the bin, when I empty it (and them) out and start again.
There is surely much to learn from these humble, harmless animals as we watch them go busily about their vitally essential work of transforming rubbish into living earth. What value can we put on such utility?
In contrast We are now all too aware of those in the human realm; all too busy with their despoiling and destroying; scheming; creating mayhem and division.
What times we live in.
I quite agree: worms worthy, humans horrible. If I were still in a rock band, I’d call us The Worms. I’m contemplating a paper on worm epistemology.