Blog 5

                The first portions of the book The Autobiography of Charles Darwin is where Darwin describes his early life experiences in college, his trip on the “Beagle,” and his marriage when he returned from that trip. One thing that is very notable about how Darwin wrote his autobiography is that he never put himself onto this high pedestal. Often in this day and age, people when portraying Darwin make him appear to be this deep and endowed individual that was so intensely focused on the purity of science; the perfect scientist. Yet, in his description of himself, Darwin describes how average of a person he was.  He tells of the people that influenced him, how he drank and in a sense partied more than he should have, and how he never intended to make a significant contribute to science. For example, when one of his friends suggested to Darwin that he should be a Fellow of the Royal Society, Darwin thought this idea as ludicrous. Though later he does mention his ambition to have a fair place among other men of science, his ambition was never an overly prideful one. He did not want to be the most renowned man of science of his time; he just wanted to help make a contribution to, what he recognized as, an already contributed field. It seems interesting then that a man such as this went on a trip that resulted in one of the largest and most significant movements in science known. Even more so the fact that Darwin almost did not go on the trip. He only was able to go on it because of a chance offer from the captain of the “Beagle” and because his uncle was able to convince his father to let him go. This is something a lot of young aspiring scientists should recognize. Major contributions to science often come from average people with a passion for science who took a chance on an opportunity.