EO Wilson Lecture


On Friday I went to a talk given by E.O. Wilson. Here is some info about this kind, humble, wise, and brilliant man:

E.O. Wilson, recently called “one of the most important biological theorists since Darwin” by The New York Times, returns to Alabama for a special evening at McWane Science Center on Friday, May 7, 2010.

Born in Birmingham, Wilson felt a fascination with nature from a young age and grew up to become one of the world’s leading environmentalists, as proclaimed by Time Magazine and Audubon Magazine, in addition to winning two Pulitzer Prizes and numerous other awards, he was also called one of the “Top 25 most influential Americans” by Time Magazine.

Here are some quotes by EO Wilson:

There is no better high than discovery.

You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honorably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give.

We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.

It's like having astronomy without knowing where the stars are.

If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.

The essence of humanity's spiritual dilemma is that we evolved genetically to accept one truth and discovered another. Is there a way to erase the dilemma, to resolve the contradictions between the transcendentalist and the empiricist world views?


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