To begin, I loved her enthusiasm when it came to talking about Darwin. She is incredibly knowledgeable and I think she was a great compliment to the movie. I went into the movie night without any idea of Darwin’s life, but by the end of this week I feel like I have such a deeper knowledge and interest in his life and theories. It makes me excited to see his home in England during the trip.
Dr. Anelli talked a lot about his relationship with his wife which allowed us to fill in the gaps from the movie. I like hearing about who Darwin was as a person, as they are able to derive from his letters, since we sometimes only focus on the discoveries that are made by a scientist. It’s incredible how much dedication people have to chronicling his life through his letters! It is amazing the time and effort that has gone into that project. Overall, I enjoyed the talk and the group discussion as well as the opportunity to ask questions.
I have really thought the same thing about the chronicling of his letters…it is like every trace of his life that was left behind has been scrutinized and argued over…I guess that shows the importance of his theory, at least to some people.