Theatrical_Muse Prompt 227 - Recommend a book
Holmes is not well known for taking advice or considering recommendations, so I am afraid the question put forward is somewhat irrelevant, as Holmes is also not very well known for reading literature that does not pertain to his work. However, should he put aside his structured narrow-mindedness for one day, there is one book that I would whole-heartedly recommend, if I was certain in the knowledge that he would peruse for longer than a mere few seconds.
And that is On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
It is a piece of true scientific literature that I feel speaks completely for itself.
I was a boy when it was first published in 1859, and I recall, even then, the loud, boisterous scandal it caused in the streets of London, or more specifically in the scientific and religious worlds. Though the idea of evolution itself had been existing long before Darwin's thoughts on the matter, the publication of his novel was what brought it to the fore as more than simply an idea, but as a theory, and a very viable one at that. It created debates and controversy that continue even after what is now reaching fifty years.
My own school had banned the book from their premise, and I admit that I was much too immature at the time to understand evolution completely. Nonetheless, I did obtain a copy of it upon a friend's recommendation when I was beginning to take an interest in medical science.
I was amazed and fascinated, as I am even now, with the conviction and coercion of his argument. With each reading there is always one fact that I could have possibly missed before and all the many times I had read it before then. His argument is not without its flaws, but his most convicted ones are strengthened by his meticulous and highly scrupulous attention to detail. It is this same attention to detail that puts this work before all others, his perceptive eye and brain grasping things that should have laid in shadow for many more years.
It is modern. Though all science continues to grow around it, Darwin's book continues to be at the forefront of evolutionary science. Darwin was a true devotee to his work, a quality which is clearly exhibited in his writing and his theories. Though humble as my opinion may be, I believe that he succeeded in doing what Galileo Galilei had done for the positions of the Sun and Earth, what Sir Isaac Newton had done for gravity and calculus.
I recommend this book as both an intellectual and as an humanitarian. Though some may argue that learning that are ancestral roots come from something as primitive as apes is demeaning to our stature as men, learning the truth, on the other hand, sets us apart from apes where believing or asserting in fantasies without proof could not.
Dr. John Watson
Sherlock Holmes
477 words
And that is On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
It is a piece of true scientific literature that I feel speaks completely for itself.
I was a boy when it was first published in 1859, and I recall, even then, the loud, boisterous scandal it caused in the streets of London, or more specifically in the scientific and religious worlds. Though the idea of evolution itself had been existing long before Darwin's thoughts on the matter, the publication of his novel was what brought it to the fore as more than simply an idea, but as a theory, and a very viable one at that. It created debates and controversy that continue even after what is now reaching fifty years.
My own school had banned the book from their premise, and I admit that I was much too immature at the time to understand evolution completely. Nonetheless, I did obtain a copy of it upon a friend's recommendation when I was beginning to take an interest in medical science.
I was amazed and fascinated, as I am even now, with the conviction and coercion of his argument. With each reading there is always one fact that I could have possibly missed before and all the many times I had read it before then. His argument is not without its flaws, but his most convicted ones are strengthened by his meticulous and highly scrupulous attention to detail. It is this same attention to detail that puts this work before all others, his perceptive eye and brain grasping things that should have laid in shadow for many more years.
It is modern. Though all science continues to grow around it, Darwin's book continues to be at the forefront of evolutionary science. Darwin was a true devotee to his work, a quality which is clearly exhibited in his writing and his theories. Though humble as my opinion may be, I believe that he succeeded in doing what Galileo Galilei had done for the positions of the Sun and Earth, what Sir Isaac Newton had done for gravity and calculus.
I recommend this book as both an intellectual and as an humanitarian. Though some may argue that learning that are ancestral roots come from something as primitive as apes is demeaning to our stature as men, learning the truth, on the other hand, sets us apart from apes where believing or asserting in fantasies without proof could not.
Dr. John Watson
Sherlock Holmes
477 words