In yesterday's Guardian newspaper you can find an article on Alfred Wallace. It's, arguably, a load of grade-F philosophical-grade bullshit, because it studiously ignores the fact Matthew - not Wallace or Darwin originated the theory of macroevolution by natural selection (see: Sutton 2015). But the greatest dollops of bovine incontinence come with the claims in the Guardian that:
- Alfred Wallace coined the term "Natural Selection."
- Alfred Wallace coined the term "Darwinism"
Wallace did not coin the term Darwinism. In reality, the modern usage of the term was coined by Huxley in 1860 (see here) . The term was also used to refer to Charles Darwin's grandfather as early as 1840 (see here).
So that's several more piece of bullshit bagged and dropped in the dysology bin.
Moreover, when Wallace was just 9 years old, in 1832, John Loudon wrote of Patrick Matthew's (1831) origination of the theory of macroevolution by natural selection that he appeared to have something orignal to say on "origin of species" no less! (see: Loudon, J.C. 1832. Matthew Patrick On Naval Timber and Arboriculture with Critical Notes on Authors who have recently treated the Subject of Planting. Gardener’s Magazine. Vol. VIII. p.703.).
Among seven naturalists who cited Matthew (1831) pre-1859 Loudon went on to edit two influential papers on evolution written by Blyth, who was a great influence on both Darwin and Wallace. This is just one of several routes for Matthewain knowledge transfer that have been newly discovered (see Sutton 2015 for more information).
Perhaps the Guardian should at least bother to fact-check claims before going into print to spread even more myths on the topic of the discovery of the unifying theory of biology.
An article in the Guardian on the genuine originator, Patrick Matthew would perhaps help to set the factual record straight in the press. Here is some real news! And also here.
Conclusion
That sloppy mythmongering article in the Guardian confirms the Dysology hypothesis:
.Letting scholars get away with publishing fallacies and myths signals to others the existence of topics where guardians of good scholarship might be less capable than elsewhere. Such dysology then serves as an allurement to poor scholars to disseminate existing myths and fallacies and to create and publish their own in these topic areas, which leads to a downward spiral of diminishing veracity on particular topics.
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Independently verifiable facts prove the Guardian just published two large pieces of grade-F bullshit on science: https://t.co/s0YgUIrQn8 pic.twitter.com/V3sdYgiraO— Dr Mike Sutton (@Criminotweet) July 17, 2017
