Thursday, April 9, 2009
Quotes
Besides introducing the chapter, what is the purpose of using quotations at the beginnings of chapters? What do the quotes tell us? Consider who says the quote and what he/she has done for their field of study. Choose two distinct quotes from the beginnings of chapters to answer the aforementioned questions. Note: as more people reply to this prompt, it will be harder to find an unused quotation.
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Having the quotes at the beginning of each chapter helps to broaden the scope of Carroll's writing. That is to say, by including the words of others, he shows how he is not isolated in his views or his points. Consider for example the quote by Johann von Goethe before chapter three:
ReplyDelete"To be sure, everything in nature is change but behind the change there is something eternal."
By including this quote, Carroll connects the theme of the chapter to a much greater theme of life; immutability in the face of change. I think that this makes Carroll's book more readable to people who may not be as into biology as we are. Goethe was a genius German writer, one who truly brought Romanticism into the region and make it a hallmark of German poetry for a century.
In addition to broadening the "scope" so to speak of Carroll's points, the quotes also serve to effectively set the mindset of and mood of the chapter ahead. The quote from Plutarch's Life of Sertorius placed before chapter 6 does this particularly well:
"It is no great wonder if in the long process of time, while fortune takes her course hither and thither, numerous coincidences should spontaneously occur. If the number and variety of subjects to be wrought upon be infinite, it is all the more easy for fortune, with such an abundance of material, to effect this similarity of results."
Having this particular quotation allows the reader to consider the likelihood of coincidences especially with regards to evolution. It makes the reader much more willing to accept what Carroll is saying because the reader is comfortable with the idea of coincidences and convergence. Plutarch was a great philosopher in his field; he was an expert at phrasing argumentation and questions in a way that made those he debated with consider and see his perspective. Thus it is appropriate that Carroll include a quote by Plutarch.
Quotations at the beginning of each chapter allows the reader to think ahead as to what the chapter will discuss. Also, the quotes allow the reader to relate what Carroll is saying to other sources or to personal views.
ReplyDeleteThe quote at the beginning of Chapter 9 is a very powerful one.
"Thinking is seeing...every human science is based on deduction, which is a slow process of seeing by which we work up from the effect to the cause" - Honore de Balzac
Remember back on like the second day of school, when Ms. I had us look at different plants? She asked us to write out our qualitative and quantitative observations. de Balzac is supporting that little activity. He is saying that we learn by seeing and we are skeptical to anything that we cannot see. Immediately into the chapter, Carroll discusses the finding of microbes on doctors' equipment which caused further diseases. With the invention of the microscope, doctors were able to actually see the microbes. Because of the microscope, humans were able to not only look at cells and microbes but also take pictures so other people could see them. Later in the chapter, Carroll discusses the doubting of evolution. Because evolution was such a new and crazy idea when it was introduced, people were still supportive of the creation story in the bible. Ironically, it was evolution that was called "blind faith".
At the beginning of chapter 2, Carroll uses the quote "The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking" - Albert Einstein. This quote really sets the reader up for the rest of the book. It allows the reader to be ready for Carroll to discuss some "refined thinking". Everyone knows about evolution and some people may even think that evolution happens on a need basis, but deeper thinking will tell the person that that is not at all the case. People may have heard of things or thought they knew concepts, but science allows the person to really explore what they thought they knew, and that is the purpose behind this quote.
I think that the quotes at the beginning of each chapter add credence to Carroll's arguments and descriptions because they are quotes of famous people. Also, it adds a nice presentational touch that connects the chapters even more.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote in the book is the one by Winston Churchill to begin Chapter 10: "The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see". This quote by Churchill means that the more history that we study, the more we can predict what will happen in the future. Specifically applied to science, this means that the study of fossils like the one's found in Wyoming during the building of the transcontinental railroad can help us learn about extinct organisms and therefore maybe get an idea about what will happen in the future. By learning about the physical makeup of these organisms from their fossils, we can track trends through the phylogenic trees which we can then use to project what will occur through evolution in the future. Although Winston Churchill was not a scientist, he was one of the greatest statesmen ever to live as well as an unsurpassed orator who led Great Britain through its most troubling period: World War II. Although it may seem strange to include a quote not from a scientist in a science book, I think that it is quite appropriate and its use only shows the universality of its meaning.
My second quote is the one by Johann von Goethe (yes, the same guy that Eric used) from Chapter 5: "Nature is, after all, the only book that offers important content on every page". I believe that this quote tries to show the amazing complexity and informative aspect of nature. There is so much to learn from studying natural sciences and this quote really strikes at how there is always something new and important to learn. Carroll obviously used this quote because he has spent his life studying biology, and it is obvious throughout the book that he agrees with this quote. As Eric stated in his comment, Goethe was the foremost important German romantic, and his work in poetry and writing have lasting effects even today. Again, this is an example of Carroll using a non-scientific oriented person's quote, which is important in that it links the natural sciences to the liberal arts.
Quotes connect to the title of each chapter and provide a glimpse as to what Carroll will discuss. He provides specific quotes as to detail the main take-home lesson from each chapter. They provide an elegant feel and given not only credence but diversity to the field of study.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite two quotes includes the one from Chapter 4, "Preserve the old, but know the new. - Chinese Proverb"
This quote emphasizes the idea of random mutations and natural selection. As we have stressed in class time and time again, natural selection does not create out of necessity; instead it is the driving force that allows a favorable condition to flower, to illuminate. The Chinese Proverb from Chapter 4 identifies the fact that mutations occur in genetic code and these mutations give rise to "new" features. These features are embraced by organisms and if such mutations provide a favorable adaptation, they are professed and passed upon to future generations; however if some old genes still are remnant, it means that they work and if they work they (the genes) survive and are reproduced. (Biological theme of natural selection/evolution). Chinese Proverbs are always to be trusted :).
My next favorite quote would be from Chapter 8:
"The simplicity of nature is not to be measured by that of our conceptions. Infinitely varied in its effects, nature is simple only in its causes, and its economy consists in producing a great number of phenomena, often very complicated, by means of a small number of general laws. - Pierre-Simon Laplace, Exposition du systeme du monde (1796)"
This quote is quite powerful because it addresses evolution in its entirety. That which is simple should not be underestimated. That which is complex should not be overestimated. Natural selection and mutations contribute to evolution and produce the infinitely varied effects of nature. These are three ideas that are pumped into one paragraph and sum up the main ideas of evolution. What needs to be known is that both natural selection and mutations work together - to "make the fittest." (Biological theme of evolution). Laplace is one of the most famous mathematicians and astronomers of all time. He was second to none and he was known as the Newton of France. His work in mathematics contributed a lasting impression in the fields of calculus and geometry. His complex field contrasts with his quote of simplicity in nature and this is what provides power to the quote.
The purpose of quotes are three-fold. Quotes not only provide an excellent summary of a lengthy chapter, but they also garner support for Carroll's views. If a notable individual, such as Winston Churchill or Charles Darwin, can agree with Carroll, readers are more apt to agree with Carroll's views as well. Also, the quotes tend to be highly succinct, and usually use strong diction and syntax to bring about a point in no better way. The quotes in a way, "hit the nail on the head" when it comes to emphasizing a specific point. The quotes before chapters 1 and 7 are key examples of the aforementioned.
ReplyDeleteQuote before chapter 1:
"When we no longer look at an organic being as a savage looks at a ship, as at something wholly beyond his comprehension; when we regard every production of nature as one which had a history; when we contemplate every complex structure and instinct as the summing up of many contrivances, each useful to the possessor, nearly in the same way as when we look at any great mechanical invention as the summing up of the labor, the experience, the reason, and even the blunders of numerous workmen; when we thus view each organic being, how far mer interesting, I speak from experience, will the study of natural history become! - Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (1859)
This quote captures the essence of not only the chapter, but the entire book as well. The quote discusses evolution as a gradual process, as "the summing up of many contrivances". Although the passage speaks nothing of DNA, it does hint on it's existence, especially in the analogy between an organic being and a mechanical invention, where the being is viewed as the "summing up of the labor, the experience...and even the blunders of numerous workmen." These "blunders" can be construed to be genetic mutations. But the greatest benefit of adding this quote at the beginning of chapter 1 is the amazing rhetoric that Darwin employs to bring about his point. Darwin compares past observations of organisms as "a savage look[ing] at a ship." His later analogy between an organism and a mechanical invention is masterful, and allows any reader to correctly comprehend the raw scope of Darwin's work.
Quote from chapter 7:
"The mortal enemies of man are not his fellows of another continent or race; they are the aspects of the physical world which limit or challenge his control, the disease germs that attack him and his domesticated plants and animals, and the insects that carry many genes..." - W.C. Allee, The Social Life of Insects (1939)
This quote provides a great segway into the subsequent passage of the chapter that explains the effect the consumption of a toxic-skinned newt had on a man (death and death-related symptoms). The rest of the chapter discusses natural selection specifically to overcome predators, and other natural hindrances, which also connects to the quote. This quote is by the author of The Social Life of Insects, and as such will garner more support for Carroll's views, as Allee is viewed as an expert in this field.