Dennis Claxton wrote:
>
>
> The discovery of bakelite is also normal science but less exciting,
> though more exciting than tupperware.
>
> Horizontal gene transfer is closer to the big bang than bakelite I think.
>
Darwin did not know the existence of genes. In fact, as far as I know, he didn't know much at all about _how_ variations occurred or how they were passed on. But he put the facts that they did occur in an entirely new framework, and revolutionized, even arguably established, the science of biology. Since then, beginning with Mendel, there has been a preetty continuous expansion, even revolution, in the way in which those variations happened. And all of them were pretty exciting. What bothered me was the subject line. It announces a banality as though it were brand new, and thereby even cheapens the excitement of the actual discoveries. Probably a century ago someone penned a stupid headline after Mendel's discoveries became known: Darwinian evolution only part of story?
Carrol