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E.O. Wilson has died

reuters.com

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Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#51

Post by javajosh »

the__alchemist wrote: post #17

Legend. Ants. Bees. Learning. The essence of science. He came up in casual conversation yesterday, re science and learning math, as well as how tough learning math can be once you're older. (He famously attempted to learn calculus in his 30s, and had a struggle, despite already being a Harvard professor, and world-class scientist)

It is remarkable, and wholly admirable, that he tried to learn calc later in life; it is even more remarkable that he admitted his struggle! His genuine humility and curiosity came across in spades in his wonderful little book "Consilience", so this anecdote doesn't surprise me.

Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#52

Post by harscoat »

smcl wrote: post #10

RadioLab did do a very nice ~20 minute bit on E.O. Wilson, it's just a conversation on stage (so it's not overproduced and chopped up with weird sounds like RL stuff can be): https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/91867... Just sharing because I really liked this, he comes across as a really lovely man.

"Thanks for the inspiration and may the ants be ever in your favor." https://twitter.com/phylogenomics/status/1475496023384465408

Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#53

Post by martingoodson »

One of the great writers on science. This is from ‘The Diversity of Life’: “In the Amazon Basin the greatest violence sometimes begins as a flicker of light beyond the horizon. There in the perfect bowl of the night sky, untouched by light from any human source, a thunderstorm sends its premonitory signal and begins a slow journey to the observer, who thinks: the world is about to change.”

Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#54

Post by qntty »

"[The successful scientist] is sometimes driven, I will dare to suggest, by a passive-aggressive nature, and sometimes an anger against some part of society or problem in the world. There is also an introversion in the innovator that keeps him from team sports and social events. He dislikes authority, or at least being told what to do. He is not a leader in high school or college, nor is he likely to be pledged by social clubs. From an early age he is a dreamer, not a doer. His attention wanders easily. He likes to probe, to collect, to tinker. He is prone to fantasize. He is not inclined to focus. He will not be voted by his classmates most likely to succeed."

-- E.O. Wilson

Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#55

Post by wombatmobile »

kabes wrote: post #34
wombatmobile wrote: post #18

"If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos." — Edward O. Wilson

Mankind is one species with about 7 billion specimen. Insects an entire class with in the million species and 10 quintillion specimen. Not really a fair comparison. If all mammals would dissapear there'd also be chaos. Even just whale poop has a big impact.

And yet humans commonly think they are the most important thing on earth, placing themselves at the apex of some pyramid.

E O Wilson gives us perspective by seeing the world not as a bauble in a real estate store, but as a canvas for all of biology.

Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#56

Post by animanoir »

drewcoo wrote: post #48
yucky wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I believe that ALL "traits" can be explained by social environment rather than by biology. That probably "feels right" to say, but is it backed up with data? DNA is a real thing, not a social construct.

Social constructs are real things.

Social constructs are like farts. We need oxygen, air to breathe, but sometimes someone farts and we breath that too.

Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#57

Post by humanistbot »

qntty wrote: post #54

"[The successful scientist] is sometimes driven, I will dare to suggest, by a passive-aggressive nature, and sometimes an anger against some part of society or problem in the world. There is also an introversion in the innovator that keeps him from team sports and social events. He dislikes authority, or at least being told what to do. He is not a leader in high school or college, nor is he likely to be pledged by so…

I know the man just died, but this is such a limited and damaging understanding of what science is and who can be a scientist. You don't need any of those traits to be a successful scientist. Science is a method. This is just feeding into the "jocks vs nerds" mentality.

Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#58

Post by ravar »

humanistbot wrote: post #57
qntty wrote: post #54

"[The successful scientist] is sometimes driven, I will dare to suggest, by a passive-aggressive nature, and sometimes an anger against some part of society or problem in the world. There is also an introversion in the innovator that keeps him from team sports and social events. He dislikes authority, or at least being told what to do. He is not a leader in high school or college, nor is he likely to be pledged by so…

I know the man just died, but this is such a limited and damaging understanding of what science is and who can be a scientist. You don't need any of those traits to be a successful scientist. Science is a method. This is just feeding into the "jocks vs nerds" mentality.

And know that method by the fruits it produces, the replication crisis, and more broadly an overwhelming number of papers that are not wrong but totally pointless. I'm not saying the quote is totally right but there is something about that temperament that produces researchers who are less inclined to publish things that they know are wrong/meaningless, just to get ahead in the publish or perish paradigm.

Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#59

Post by pphysch »

joak wrote: post #37
junon wrote: post #14

Never heard of E.O. Wilson before now, but his work sounds fascinating. Anyone have any suggestions on how to break into his stuff? Sounds like he has 30 or so books, is "On Human Nature" a good start?

I'm just finishing Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life a 2016 book in which he proposes that half of the Earth's surface should be designated a human-free natural reserve to preserve biodiversity. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Earth A great read, I think we should make real his proposal. I believe we will eventually.

How would you determine which humans get displaced to make room for "human-free" reserves?

Re: E.O. Wilson has died

#60

Post by dennis_jeeves »

dwt204 wrote: post #39

Evolutionary biologists are divided on his work. His own research and published works have been used by racists for example to readily explain the social origins of intelligence, poverty, crime, and violence regarding POC. He never actively fought against such tendencies, even though he was aware that he had become the darling of white nationalists, and even fascists globally. I believe that ALL "traits" can be expla…

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