The Resource Darwin's backyard : how small experiments led to a big theory, James T. Costa
Darwin's backyard : how small experiments led to a big theory, James T. Costa
Resource Information
The item Darwin's backyard : how small experiments led to a big theory, James T. Costa represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Memorial Hall Library.This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
Resource Information
The item Darwin's backyard : how small experiments led to a big theory, James T. Costa represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Memorial Hall Library.
This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
- Summary
- "James T. Costa takes readers on a journey from Darwin's childhood through his voyage on the HMS Beagle where his ideas on evolution began. We then follow Darwin to Down House, his bustling home of forty years, where he kept porcupine quills at his desk to dissect barnacles, maintained a flock of sixteen pigeon breeds in the dovecote, and cultivated climbing plants in the study, and to Bournemouth, where on one memorable family vacation he fed carnivorous plants in the soup dishes. Using his garden and greenhouse, the surrounding meadows and woodlands, and even taking over the cellar, study, and hallways of his home-turned-field-station, Darwin tested ideas of his landmark theory of evolution with an astonishing array of hands-on experiments that could be done on the fly, without specialized equipment. He engaged naturalists, friends, neighbors, family servants, and even his children, nieces, nephews, and cousins as assistants in these experiments, which involved everything from chasing bees and tempting fish to eat seeds to serenading earthworms. From the experiments' results, he plumbed the laws of nature and evidence for the revolutionary arguments of On the Origin of Species and his other watershed works. Beyond Darwin at work, we accompany him against the backdrop of his enduring marriage, chronic illness, grief at the loss of three children, and joy in scientific revelation. This unique glimpse of Darwin's life introduces us to an enthusiastic correspondent, crowd-sourcer, family man, and, most of all, an incorrigible observer and experimenter."--Jacket flap
- Language
- eng
- Edition
- First edition.
- Extent
- xviii, 441 pages
- Note
- "Includes directions for eighteen hands-on experiments, for home, school, yard, or garden."--Jacket flap
- Contents
-
- Origins of an experimentiser
- Experimentising: going to seed
- Barnacles to barbs
- Experimentising: doing your barnacles
- Untangling the bank
- Experimentising: a taste for botany
- Buzzing places
- Experimentising: bees' cells and bubbles
- A grand game of chess
- Experimentising: getting around
- The sex lives of plants
- Experimentising: Darwinian encounters of the floral kind
- It bears on design
- Experimentising: orchidelirium
- Plants with volition
- Experimentising: Feed me, Seymour!
- Crafty and sagacious climbers
- Experimentising: Seek and ye shall find
- Earthworm serenade
- Experimentising: Get thee to a wormery
- Isbn
- 9780393239898
- Label
- Darwin's backyard : how small experiments led to a big theory
- Title
- Darwin's backyard
- Title remainder
- how small experiments led to a big theory
- Statement of responsibility
- James T. Costa
- Subject
-
- Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882 -- Homes and haunts
- Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882 -- Knowledge and learning
- Down House (Bromley, London, England)
- Evolution (Biology) -- History
- Biographies
- Natural history -- Experiments -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
- Handbooks and manuals
- Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882 -- Childhood and youth
- Language
- eng
- Summary
- "James T. Costa takes readers on a journey from Darwin's childhood through his voyage on the HMS Beagle where his ideas on evolution began. We then follow Darwin to Down House, his bustling home of forty years, where he kept porcupine quills at his desk to dissect barnacles, maintained a flock of sixteen pigeon breeds in the dovecote, and cultivated climbing plants in the study, and to Bournemouth, where on one memorable family vacation he fed carnivorous plants in the soup dishes. Using his garden and greenhouse, the surrounding meadows and woodlands, and even taking over the cellar, study, and hallways of his home-turned-field-station, Darwin tested ideas of his landmark theory of evolution with an astonishing array of hands-on experiments that could be done on the fly, without specialized equipment. He engaged naturalists, friends, neighbors, family servants, and even his children, nieces, nephews, and cousins as assistants in these experiments, which involved everything from chasing bees and tempting fish to eat seeds to serenading earthworms. From the experiments' results, he plumbed the laws of nature and evidence for the revolutionary arguments of On the Origin of Species and his other watershed works. Beyond Darwin at work, we accompany him against the backdrop of his enduring marriage, chronic illness, grief at the loss of three children, and joy in scientific revelation. This unique glimpse of Darwin's life introduces us to an enthusiastic correspondent, crowd-sourcer, family man, and, most of all, an incorrigible observer and experimenter."--Jacket flap
- Biography type
- contains biographical information
- Cataloging source
- DLC
- http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
- 1963-
- http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
- Costa, James T.
- Dewey number
- 576.8/2
- Illustrations
- illustrations
- Index
- index present
- LC call number
- QH31.D2
- LC item number
- C668 2017
- Literary form
- non fiction
- Nature of contents
- bibliography
- http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
-
- Darwin, Charles
- Down House (Bromley, London, England)
- Darwin, Charles
- Darwin, Charles
- Evolution (Biology)
- Natural history
- Label
- Darwin's backyard : how small experiments led to a big theory, James T. Costa
- Note
- "Includes directions for eighteen hands-on experiments, for home, school, yard, or garden."--Jacket flap
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 379-418) and index
- Carrier category
- volume
- Carrier category code
-
- nc
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
- Origins of an experimentiser -- Experimentising: going to seed -- Barnacles to barbs -- Experimentising: doing your barnacles -- Untangling the bank -- Experimentising: a taste for botany -- Buzzing places -- Experimentising: bees' cells and bubbles -- A grand game of chess -- Experimentising: getting around -- The sex lives of plants -- Experimentising: Darwinian encounters of the floral kind -- It bears on design -- Experimentising: orchidelirium -- Plants with volition -- Experimentising: Feed me, Seymour! -- Crafty and sagacious climbers -- Experimentising: Seek and ye shall find -- Earthworm serenade -- Experimentising: Get thee to a wormery
- Control code
- ocn959869358
- Dimensions
- 25 cm
- Edition
- First edition.
- Extent
- xviii, 441 pages
- Isbn
- 9780393239898
- Lccn
- 2017017865
- Media category
- unmediated
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- n
- Other physical details
- illustrations
- System control number
- (OCoLC)959869358
- Label
- Darwin's backyard : how small experiments led to a big theory, James T. Costa
- Note
- "Includes directions for eighteen hands-on experiments, for home, school, yard, or garden."--Jacket flap
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 379-418) and index
- Carrier category
- volume
- Carrier category code
-
- nc
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
- Origins of an experimentiser -- Experimentising: going to seed -- Barnacles to barbs -- Experimentising: doing your barnacles -- Untangling the bank -- Experimentising: a taste for botany -- Buzzing places -- Experimentising: bees' cells and bubbles -- A grand game of chess -- Experimentising: getting around -- The sex lives of plants -- Experimentising: Darwinian encounters of the floral kind -- It bears on design -- Experimentising: orchidelirium -- Plants with volition -- Experimentising: Feed me, Seymour! -- Crafty and sagacious climbers -- Experimentising: Seek and ye shall find -- Earthworm serenade -- Experimentising: Get thee to a wormery
- Control code
- ocn959869358
- Dimensions
- 25 cm
- Edition
- First edition.
- Extent
- xviii, 441 pages
- Isbn
- 9780393239898
- Lccn
- 2017017865
- Media category
- unmediated
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- n
- Other physical details
- illustrations
- System control number
- (OCoLC)959869358
Subject
- Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882 -- Homes and haunts
- Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882 -- Knowledge and learning
- Down House (Bromley, London, England)
- Evolution (Biology) -- History
- Biographies
- Natural history -- Experiments -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
- Handbooks and manuals
- Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882 -- Childhood and youth
Genre
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<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.mhl.org/portal/Darwins-backyard--how-small-experiments-led-to/KXhUP1cL3Rk/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.mhl.org/portal/Darwins-backyard--how-small-experiments-led-to/KXhUP1cL3Rk/">Darwin's backyard : how small experiments led to a big theory, James T. Costa</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.mhl.org/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="https://link.mhl.org/">Memorial Hall Library</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.mhl.org/portal/Darwins-backyard--how-small-experiments-led-to/KXhUP1cL3Rk/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.mhl.org/portal/Darwins-backyard--how-small-experiments-led-to/KXhUP1cL3Rk/">Darwin's backyard : how small experiments led to a big theory, James T. Costa</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.mhl.org/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="https://link.mhl.org/">Memorial Hall Library</a></span></span></span></span></div>
