A cold rainy night in Washington, DC, but a warm audience to hear Dr. Donald Johanson's presentation, Lucy's Legacy, at the National Geographic Society. A sell-out audience enjoyed his slides and wide-ranging stories told with a great deal of humor about his personal ambitions when, as a youngster, he heard about the Leakey find of Zinj to how earth strata help date fossils. Having visited Kenya, I particularly relished the fantastic photos and description of the Rift Valley, which runs much the length of Africa.Again, the excitement and enthusiasm of the audience, a broad spectrum of ages, reminded me how sad that speaking about the magnificence of the human story on earth—a story that spans millions of years—is so difficult to get into public schools. A writer friend who personally knows Dr. Johanson has written a young adult biography of him but so far has only rejection letters. I appreciate Prometheus Books' publication of The Leakeys and hope we're at a turning point for better understanding by Americans of how we evolved. Science is slowly but surely filling gaps in the mystery of human history on earth. Yet research sadly reports only 26% of Americans believe in evolution and 64% believe creationism should be taught along with evolution. Darwin himself said that the "mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us" — and he also said, “I have tried lately to read Shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated me”! The U.S. constitution allows us to believe or not believe Darwin, but we shouldn't foist our opinions on others.
new posts in all blogs
Viewing Post from: Writing a Book--The Winding Path
Mary Bowman-Kruhm,
on 12/4/2009
Blog: Writing a Book--The Winding Path (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Add a tag
By: Blog: Writing a Book--The Winding Path (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Add a tag
0 Comments on Dr. Donald Johanson's Nat Geo Presentation as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment