Darwin

Perhaps you've heard — today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin.

Not everyone celebrates Darwin's achievements — there are those who misunderstand Darwin's theories on evolution, and those who disagree with his conclusions completely (how much they understand of his work is another discussion entirely), but I had no idea that anyone sought to demonize him. Then again, I'd never heard of Islamic creationist Adnan Oktar — according to Oktar, "Darwinism is essential for materialist philosophy and without materialism there can be no communism, fascism, imperialism, savage capitalism, nor immorality nor terror."

(I'm sure many of those same people don't believe in the theory of plate tectonics, either — they just don't know of anyone to blame for it.)

I've been trying to explain to my six-year-old why Darwin's work was so important — I told a tale that involved chipmunks and sneakers, and I think he got the idea. (It's a start.) Then I thought of a wonderful animated short film from the National Film Board of Canada, Evolution, that I once saw in school, ages ago. I doubt it's seen in schools too often these days, which is a pity — it's completely innocuous, the concepts demonstrated through humor and without words, but I can imagine the outrage that the mere mention of the title might inspire.