Evolution

The story of how I evolved into an amateur reader of books and articles about evolution and Darwinism, dates back to the 80s. It was the time when I used to frequent the reading rooms of The Asiatic Society of Mumbai. The Natural History Magazine was readily available and Stephen Jay Gould's column "This View Of Life" soon became a "not to be missed" favourite.

The column heading was borrowed from Darwin's famous quote "There is grandeur in this view of life." What made the column interesting was Gould's multi-disciplinary approach and his predilection for literary content. His pages were a treat, linking a concept from one discipline to another from yet another discipline, which made the column immensely content-rich for lay readers like me. His specialization as a paleontologist was certainly his strength but he must have faced severe criticism from his peers for his voyeurism away from his discipline.

And as a happy coincidence, I also found his books like the "Flamingo's Smile" at Strand Book Stall. His column ended with his heroic fight with cancer. The column continued under the same heading for some time but that view of life was not the same.

To anybody who wants to venture into this subject, I would unhesitatingly recommend Stephen Jay Gould. Some of his articles are available on the net and his official site is under construction. Read more about Gould here and here.