Darwin is the capital and main port of northern Australia, located at the northern end of the northeast entrance of Darwin Port in Timor Sea. Founded in 1959, it is called the northern gateway. It was named after the famous British biologist Darwin who visited here in 1839.

Darwin belongs to the equatorial maritime climate, which was originally a barren land inhabited by indigenous people. In the 65438+70s, it gradually developed because of the discovery of gold mines nearby. During World War II, it was once an important military base of the Allied Forces and suffered 64 air strikes by Japan. 1974 during Christmas, the buildings in the urban area were destroyed by a strong typhoon, leaving only a government office building with a heptagonal roof alone. After post-disaster reconstruction, it has become a modern city.

The inhabitants of this city are aborigines, Greeks, Italians and China. China people came here in the 1950s of 19, and there is a China temple, Liesheng Palace, in the city. The residents here like to drink beer. According to the average population, beer consumption is second only to Munich, Germany, ranking second in the world.

The center of the city is located on a narrow island in the north of Darwin Harbour, and the suburbs extend along the harbour. Smith Street, the main street, is about 20 kilometers long. Palm trees, orange butterfly trees and white jasmine trees on both sides of the street have beautiful scenery under the sun. Fanny Bay, a suburb, used to be a place where prisoners were exiled, and a prison was built. Now it has become a residential area and a summer leisure place.

The city is surrounded by the sea on the east, west and north, and is a paradise for fishing and swimming lovers. The botanical garden in the city covers an area of 34 hectares, and there are many unique tropical exotic flowers and herbs in the garden. There are crocodiles, bison and wild dogs endemic to Australia in Arrouga Park, 2 1 km north of the city center. 32 kilometers southeast of the city, there are Howard Hot Springs and natural wonders termite mounds, which are 3 meters high and stand like hills. The top of the anthill is like a dagger, facing south and facing north for sunshine, so it is called magnetic anthill. It is said that each anthill can accommodate about 2 million ants.

It also produces copper, gold, lead, manganese, iron and uranium. It is a mineral export port and trade center in northern Australia, and also an air transit station between Australia, Asia and Europe.

Darwin is a fascinating place with rich culture. It has many tourist spots in the city, from Doctors Gully, where fish can be fed, to sunset jazz on the casino lawn, which is amazing. From Darwin's slow outward exploration, the tropical scenery of Yuan Ye gradually revealed in the Northern Territory is even more beautiful.

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Charles robert darwin (English original name: charles robert darwin,1809.02.12-1882.04.19) is a British naturalist, the founder of evolution theory and the theoretical pioneer of functional psychology. He was born into a family of doctors in Shrewsbury, England, and died of a heart attack in Dunn Village, Kent, England.

brief history

Darwin's grandfather predicted the theory of evolution, but because of his reputation, he never made his beliefs public. His grandfather and father are both local famous doctors, and the family hopes that he will inherit his ancestral business in the future. 1825 years old, his father sent him to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine.

Since Darwin had no intention of studying medicine, he often went to the wild to collect animal and plant specimens after entering medical school, and became interested in natural history. His father thinks he is "idle" and "idle". In a rage, 1828 sent him to Cambridge University to study theology, hoping that he would become an "outstanding priest" in the future, so that he could continue his interest in natural history without shaming his family. However, Darwin became more and more interested in natural history, and he completely gave up the study of theology. During his stay in Cambridge, Darwin met J. Henslow, a famous botanist at that time, and Sidgwick, a famous geologist, and received scientific training in botany and geological research.

183 1 After graduating from Cambridge University, his teacher Henslow recommended him as a "naturalist" to join the British Navy's "Beagle" on February 27th, 65438. First, I visited Brazil, Argentina and other neighboring islands on the east and west coasts of South America, then crossed the Pacific Ocean to Oceania, then crossed the Indian Ocean to South Africa, then returned to Brazil by bypassing the Cape of Good Hope through the Atlantic Ocean, and finally returned to Britain on June 2 1836.

This voyage changed Darwin's life. After returning to England, he has been busy with research and determined to become a serious scientist to promote evolution. 1838, he accidentally read T. Malthus's Theory of Population, from which he was inspired, further confirming a very important idea he was developing: the world was not created in a week, the age of the earth is much older than that mentioned in the Bible, and all animals and plants have changed and are still changing. As for humans, it may have been changed by some primitive animals. Darwin realized the significance of struggle for existence in biological life and that natural conditions are necessary "choosers" in biological evolution. Different natural conditions, different selectors and different results.

However, he is extremely cautious about publishing the research results. 1842 began to write an outline, which was later expanded to several articles. 1858, under the pressure of young naturalist R. Wallace's creative epiphany and the encouragement of his friends, Darwin decided to submit Wallace's articles and some of his own essays to the professional Committee. 1859 The Origin of Species was published, and the first edition 1250 copies sold out on the same day. Later, Darwin spent twenty years collecting data, enriching his theory of species evolution through natural selection, and expounding its consequences and significance.

As a creative person who does not pursue fame, Darwin avoided the controversy about his theory. Darwin wrote several books for scientists and psychologists when religious fanatics attacked the theory of evolution as contrary to the biblical theory of creation. The origin and sexual selection of human beings reports the evidence that human beings evolved from lower life forms, that animals and humans have similar psychological processes, and that natural selection occurred in the process of evolution.

D Schultz, a psychological historian, commented in 198 1: "In Darwin's theory, the importance of psychological factors in species evolution is obvious, and he often quotes the conscious reactions of human beings and animals. Because psychology and consciousness are consistent in evolution, psychology has to accept this evolutionary view. "

Darwin's works have influenced psychology in at least four aspects:

It emphasizes the continuity of psychological function between animals and humans;

It changes the research object of psychology from the content of consciousness to the function of consciousness, and changes the goal of psychology to study the adaptation of organisms to their environment;

It provides reasonable evidence for various alternative investigation and research methods, not just experimental introspection;

It focuses on individual differences between members of the same species.

Darwin had a special influence on the development of functionalism, and his theory of evolution led to the rise of American functionalism psychology, thus opening a new era of American centralism psychology.

Main works:

Origin of species: 1859

Variation of animals and plants at home: 1868

Human Origin and Sexual Selection: 187 1

Expressions of people and animals: 1872

150 years ago 183 1 year1February 7, a small sailboat with a displacement of only 235 tons sailed to the Atlantic Ocean from Leigang facing the English Channel. Charles Darwin, a 22-year-old young man, was on a survey ship of the British Navy. The purpose of this ship sailing is to explore the world for five years.

Today, when it comes to Charles Darwin, everyone knows that he is a famous advocate of evolution in the history of human culture, but when he boarded the Beagle, he was still an unknown young man! At that time, he was already very concerned about the kinds of creatures. The so-called species is the same species that organisms can mate with each other to reproduce. Just like lions and cats, there are different species, and Cory and Terrier, a tall long-haired sheepdog, belong to the same species. Usually, animals of different species have obvious differences in appearance, but like lions and tigers, dogs and wolves, although different species look very similar. How did such a delicate relationship come about? Darwin was troubled by this problem for a long time.

After the Beagle set off from Leigang, it went south along the coast of South America, bypassed strait of magellan and entered the Pacific Ocean. /kloc-0 arrived in Galapagos islands on the equator of the eastern Pacific Ocean in September, 835. During his four-year voyage, Darwin observed and collected animal and plant specimens all the way. However, what really inspired Darwin to think about the origin of species was all kinds of creatures on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The creatures of the Galapagos Islands

A typical example of "obviously different, slightly similar"

The Galapagos Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean about 1000 km west of Ecuador, consists of fourteen small islands scattered near the equator. Galapagos means tortoise in Spanish. As the name implies, there are turtles weighing more than 100 kilograms on the island, which surprised Darwin and his party. There are also iguanas, which are more than one meter long. This lizard has a marine type living near the coast and a terrestrial type living inland. They are not the same species. In addition, there are pelican-like frigate birds, seagulls, boobies, finches and other rare birds. On these islands far from the mainland, there are many birds that can fly far and reptiles that can starve for a long time.

The life in the Galapagos Islands is really different from other places, not only birds and reptiles, but also other fish, shellfish, insects, flowers and plants. For example, the 15 species of fish and 15 species of terrestrial shellfish collected by Darwin there are all new species that cannot be seen elsewhere. The Galapagos Islands are a treasure trove of species.

But these are almost all new species of island creatures, which are subtly similar to those along the Pacific coast of South America, with obvious differences and subtle similarities. The beagle stayed on the island for five weeks. A few days before leaving, the vice consul of the islands came to say goodbye to them. During the chat, the vice consul said, "Although there are many turtles with similar shapes on this group of islands, I can see at a glance that they only belong to that island." When Darwin heard this sentence, he had a great response in his heart, because he also found the same phenomenon among the plovers here. There are thirteen species of plovers in Galapagos Islands, which are basically similar in appearance, but different in beak length and curvature. Darwin believed that these differences may be related to the different foods of birds on each island, such as plant seeds, caterpillars and insects. If so, isn't it obvious why there are differences between species? Darwin's inspiration from observing the creatures in the Galapagos Islands laid the foundation for the immortal masterpiece Primitive Species on biological evolution in the future.

Wandering in youth

Endless interest in natural history

The following is a brief introduction about Darwin's life. Charles Darwin was born on1February, 8991February, 2009, next to American President Lincoln. His father is a famous doctor and his mother is the daughter of Potter Wedgweiler. His grandfather Erasmus Darwin was a famous doctor, naturalist and poet.

Although Darwin's family background was so superior, he was not an excellent student when he was young. Although he is keen on collecting plants and insects, he is not interested in Greek and Latin taught at school at all. Seeing this, Darwin's father had to change his mind and send him to Edinburgh to study medicine. But he was also uninterested in studying medicine, especially when he was a surgical trainee, and he was scared out of his mind. In addition, he knew that he could inherit a Ponzi property that could make the land enjoy for a lifetime, and he no longer had to practice medicine for a living, so he resolutely gave up studying medicine.

His father finally sent him to Jiao Jian University, hoping that he could learn to be a priest, but after he went to Cambridge University, he didn't do what his father wanted to do. At this moment, his long-hidden interest in natural history broke out completely. Under the guidance of Professor Hanslow, he read many books about animals and plants, which greatly increased his knowledge in the field of natural history. He often encourages Professor Hanslow to observe on the spot. Thanks to the teacher's recommendation, he can ride a little Laba dog around the world. Before boarding the ship, his teacher recommended him to take a copy of Principles of Geology written by geologist C Lyle. During the long voyage, he memorized the book.

Someone who pushes evolution to completion.

Erasmus Darwin and Lamarck

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, was the first to observe the subtle similarities between different forms of creatures in nature and boldly speculated that human beings evolved from plants, animals and nature.

Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, also wrote in his works: "It is a bit bold to assume that microorganisms evolved into various warm-blooded animals ..." These biological assumptions actually ignited the spark of evolution. In addition, the book "Animal Philosophy" written by zoologist Lamarck also states: "In order to eat the leaves of tall trees, antelopes have been trying their best to stretch their necks and become giraffes for a long time. Although this idea is not accepted by people today, it is the fuse to ignite Darwin's theory of evolution.

Georges cuvier and the Old Testament

Genesis, the Old Testament, has great resistance to the hypothesis of evolution. Genesis says that all the major objects on the earth were created by God at the same time. For people who believe in God, it is absurd to say that the antelope has evolved from a microscopic subject to a warm-blooded animal and that it has craned its neck for years to become a giraffe. At that time, the dogma of the Bible was science. For example, Asha, the Archbishop of Ireland in the17th century, inferred that the earth was born at 9: 00 a.m. on April 26th, 4004 BC based on a series of events described in the Old Testament. In other words, the age of the earth is only about six thousand years old.

In addition, contemporary with Lamarck, there is a French-born paleontologist-Gu Aiwei. When he found the bones of some paleontologists, he painted the images of those paleontologists like magic, including hairy mammoths and reptiles as big as whales. Gu's explanation for the extinction of these animals and the discovery of marine fossils on high mountains is also wonderful. Gu saw Noah's flood event in the Bible, so he used this event to solve the above problems. He said that Noah's flood recorded in the Bible happened many times on the earth, so these ancient creatures in the past were drowned by floods, and such a big flood would push the seabed up and turn it into a mountain. According to this statement, the upheaval on the earth can be completed in an instant, and it does not take a long time. These statements are consistent with those contained in the Bible, so people who believe in God use them to build theoretical systems, and it is very difficult to break these concepts.

Hatton and Lyle

But the "geological principle" that Darwin asked during his voyage did not say so. Principles of Geology was written by Lyle who inherited the theory of Scottish geologist J Hutton in the18th century. Hatton believes that the seabed turned into a mountain because of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, and today's mountain features are also formed by weathering and erosion caused by long-term wind and rain. This change according to the laws of nature has been the case since ancient times. This theory is called "the theory of uniformity", and the evidence to prove this theory is the trace left by the changes of the earth over the years.

After reading Principles of Geology, Darwin thought: "If the earth is really so old, it is not impossible for microorganisms to evolve into warm-blooded animals. At this point, the age of the earth has become a prerequisite for the establishment of evolution.

Malthus' population theory

However, in the long history of the earth, on what basis did organisms evolve? Lamarck's statement is really hard to believe today. One day, Darwin read A Theory of Population written by Pastor Malthus. The book says: "The growth rate of population usually exceeds the growth rate of food supply. So Darwin made the following inference: "So should creatures other than human beings. If so, then some small animals born at the same time are doomed to starve to death, but which one should starve to death? Probably can't adapt to the living environment and starve to death! 」

Darwin further recalled the plover he saw in the Galapagos Islands. These migratory birds from South America are all of the same species, and they can mate with each other to breed. However, after coming to the island, in order to adapt to the special environment of each island, they have all mutated, and only these birds that can mutate with the environment of each island can survive. After a long time, the birds between the islands became different species and could not mate with each other and reproduce. Darwin called it "natural elimination", and human beings probably evolved from microorganisms according to this law of natural elimination.

From 1844, Darwin began to write down the relationship between the origin of this species and biological evolution in his notebook. At that time, it happened to be a year after he married a cousin and settled in the suburbs of London.

A letter from Wallace

1858 One day, Darwin received a letter from Alfred Rachel Voss in east indies, in which he expounded his views on the origin of species and discussed the issues of demography and natural selection. These theories coincide with Darwin's ideas. Darwin, who has always been indifferent, was very surprised after receiving this letter, so after consulting with his friends, he decided to publish his paper with Wallis in the Journal of Linnaeus Association. The next year, Darwin made public the essence of his research, "species first".

I devoted my later years to research and writing.

Since Darwin expounded in the theory of evolution that "human beings are descendants of monkeys", it has aroused fierce refutation from all sides. Fortunately, a biologist named Thomson Henry hax Lie tried his best to defend the theory of evolution so that Darwin could think quietly without external interference. Darwin, who was extremely disgusted with debate, finally had to concentrate on his research life. Although he is in poor health, he is patient and leads a regular life. Although I only work for an hour or two every day, I have finished a lot of research. The successful experiment is very simple and does not depend much on instruments. Most of the instruments used in the research only use magnifying glasses, and rarely use microscopes.

Darwin died on1April, 882 19 at the age of 73. His body was buried in Westminster Abbey, where Newton, Faraday and other great Englishmen were buried.

Seven years after the publication of Primitive Species, 1866, Mendel published a paper on genetics, which is of great significance to consolidating the position of Darwin's theory of evolution. However, it was not until 1900, thirty-four years later, that this genetic paper was proved by experiments by Frith, Collins, Germark and others. At that time, the estimated age of the earth was only 1 100 million years, but people who believe in the theory of uniform change believe that the age of the earth should be longer than this. In fact, they have been proved right now. According to current technology, the age of the earth is 4.5 billion years.