Micheal Jordan, Lebron James, Barack Obama; all of these men are idolized as heroes by legions of fans for their impact on society. A hero is someone whose gift and unfathomable impact on their respective professions has caused people to not only envy that person, but strive to live a life that mirrors their ideals and interests. Although I am a huge sports fan and treat tremendous athletes as enviable, but my ultimate heroes are my parents. The two people that introduced me into reality, and cultivated my brain with the idea that there is no one path in life. they instilled in my head that I should do what i like, and experiment with all that life offers me. They have led me in the path of the exploration of the world, and have carved me into an individual who has an extreme thirst for knowledge.
Throughout the years I have come to discover my true beliefs about the world through the path that my parents paved, and have since discovered that science and human progress are the reason for existence. I have many hero's within the scientific universe, but Charles Darwin is the man that changed the landscape of scientific thought through his theory of evolution. The picture i have posted above helps explain evolution, and the process of natural selection. The circle diagram represents how the start of life came about through a formation of molecules that, when blasted with a chemical reaction, led to the spark of life billions of years ago. over the last 4.7 billion years, this single organism has slowly evolved through a trial and error process into various mutations that fit a particular niche in the ecosystem that allows for survival. the mutations led to the spawning of dinosaurs, mammals, sea dwelling creatures, and even insects. The mutations that allow for reproducing and ultimately the survival of a particular species have braved the span of time, while less effective mutations have since died out due to the inability to adapt to the harsh environments of the world.
In 1859 Charles Robert Darwin published his innovative book On the Origin of Species to lukewarm responses from the scientific field during that time. his naturalist ideology led him to ponder the christian upbringing he experienced in Shrewsbury, England, culminating in a trip to Chile in the 1850's. After doing research on the wildlife found in Chile, he took a trip to the recently discovered Golopagos Islands in search of a 'centre of creation'. Darwin found a group of mockingbirds and finches in the Golopagos that closely resembled birds he discovered in Chile. He also found large tortoises with slightly different shells that the locals used to identify their origin. Upon documenting these variances through extremely meticulous drawings and a collection of live and dead specimens, Darwin came to an ultimate theory. Darwin stated, "I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection."
Natural Selection fuels the idea of evolution, and explains the formation of man in its current state as a long process of trial and error that led to intelligent thought. When he released his findings to the world, many called it blasphemy, and claimed it completely denies religion as a whole. fast forward to the present time, and Darwins original ideas can be found in almost every science textbook that is taught in school. for a free-thinking man to put out a book so controversial and so different from the thinking during that time period is the sign of a true hero. Questioning what is commonly accepted is hard to do, and I admire Darwin for the impact he has made on millions of people.
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