Darwin and Galileo to clash at SFU
Stephen Price, 778.782.5347, stephen_price@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca
Two professors from competing universities are going head to head in an academic debate at Simon Fraser University in honour of milestone anniversaries related to the discoveries of two heavyweights in science.
Tom Archibald, SFU mathematics department chair, and Greg Bole, a UBC lecturer and Killam award recipient, will lock brains in a debate over who has influenced modern science more: Charles Darwin or Galileo Galilei?
This year marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s pioneering improvements to the telescope and resulting observation that Earth is not the centre of the universe. It’s also the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of his publication of The Origin of Species.
SFU’s free public cerebral match will take place Wednesday, Jan. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the university’s IRMACS (interdisciplinary research in the mathematical and computational sciences) video-conferencing centre. Viewers via the Internet or in person at IRMACS’ 75-seat theatre will have a ringside seat to cheer on and interact with the debaters.
Connect to this event, which will be streamed live to the Internet, by clicking on http://www.irmacs.sfu.ca/about/live-video. Email questions to questions@irmacs.sfu.ca.
The Great Debate—a headline event during Geek Week, an SFU faculty of science students’ initiative—aims to build community interest in science on and off campus.
“The event will present an engaging comedic debate arguing the assertion: ‘Be it resolved that Charles Darwin had a greater impact on modern science than Galileo,’” says Stephen Price. The SFU coordinator of student recruitment and retention is helping science students organize Geek Week.
Archibald will defend Galileo in the debate. “Galileo is far from being the mere inventor or clever experimenter who gave us the telescope as a scientific instrument and the law of falling bodies,” asserts Archibald. “He retooled the entire methodology of creating mathematical models of nature by basing them on experimental measurement. The results led to scientific successes that remain intact today.”
Bole will argue that Darwin’s seminal work presenting the radical concept that humankind evolved over time through the process of natural selection outranks Galileo’s achievements in importance.
To secure a live seat in this bloodless virtual/live debate at IRMACS, contact Stephen Price at 778.782.5347, stephen_price@sfu.ca.
—30— (electronic photo file available)
Comments
Comment GuidelinesI think that what Galileo and Darwin have in common is that their theories revolutionalized who we understand the world.
While Darwin's points are still contested, the fact remains that he introduced an idea that changed people's perspectives and understanding of the world, regardless of whether they are true or not.
Cyndi Handler
Will there be any Q&A time for audience members after?
I'm just curious how the debate will be handled considering "Evolution" is as of yet not an uncontested theory...whereas Galileo, revolutionized how we understand our world... and his findings lead to proof. Darwin's is still a theory... contested by many scholars.