《A Short History of Nearly Everything》第128章

which　pushed　his　ideas　increasingly　outof　favor。　“eventually；”　according　to　the　scientist　and　historian　jeffrey　schwartz；　“darwin　lostvirtually　all　the　support　that　still　remained　among　the　ranks　of　fellow　natural　historians　andgeologists。”
ironically；　considering　that　darwin　called　his　book　on　the　origin　of　species；　the　one　thinghe　couldn’t　explain　was　how　species　originated。　darwin’s　theory　suggested　a　mechanism　forhow　a　species　might　bee　stronger　or　better　or　faster—in　a　word；　fitter—but　gave　noindication　of　how　it　might　throw　up　a　new　species。　a　scottish　engineer；　fleeming　jenkin；considered　the　problem　and　noted　an　important　flaw　in　darwin’s　argument。　darwin　believedthat　any　beneficial　trait　that　arose　in　one　generation　would　be　passed　on　to　subsequentgenerations；　thus　strengthening　the　species。
jenkin　pointed　out　that　a　favorable　trait　in　one　parent　wouldn’t　bee　dominant　insucceeding　generations；　but　in　fact　would　be　diluted　through　blending。　if　you　pour　whiskeyinto　a　tumbler　of　water；　you　don’t　make　the　whiskey　stronger；　you　make　it　weaker。　and　if　youpour　that　dilute　solution　into　another　glass　of　water；　it　bees　weaker　still。　in　the　same　way；any　favorable　trait　introduced　by　one　parent　would　be　successively　watered　down　bysubsequent　matings　until　it　ceased　to　be　apparent　at　all。　thus　darwin’s　theory　was　not　a　recipefor　change；　but　for　constancy。　lucky　flukes　might　arise　from　time　to　time；　but　they　wouldsoon　vanish　under　the　general　impulse　to　bring　everything　back　to　a　stable　mediocrity。　ifnatural　selection　were　to　work；　some　alternative；　unconsidered　mechanism　was　required。
unknown　to　darwin　and　everyone　else；　eight　hundred　miles　away　in　a　tranquil　corner　ofmiddle　europe　a　retiring　monk　named　gregor　mendel　was　ing　up　with　the　solution。
mendel　was　born　in　1822　to　a　humble　farming　family　in　a　backwater　of　the　austrianempire　in　what　is　now　the　czech　republic。　schoolbooks　once　portrayed　him　as　a　simple　butobservant　provincial　monk　whose　discoveries　were　largely　serendipitous—the　result　ofnoticing　some　interesting　traits　of　inheritance　while　pottering　about　with　pea　plants　in　themonastery’s　kitchen　garden。　in　fact；　mendel　was　a　trained　scientist—he　had　studied　physicsand　mathematics　at　the　olmütz　philosophical　institute　and　the　university　of　vienna—and　hebrought　scientific　discipline　to　all　he　did。　moreover；　the　monastery　at　brno　where　he　livedfrom　1843　was　known　as　a　learned　institution。　it　had　a　library　of　twenty　thousand　books　and　atradition　of　careful　scientific　investigation。
before　embarking　on　his　experiments；　mendel　spent　two　years　preparing　his　controlspecimens；　seven　varieties　of　pea；　to　make　sure　they　bred　true。　then；　helped　by　two　full…timeassistants；　he　repeatedly　bred　and　crossbred　hybrids　from　thirty　thousand　pea　plants。　it　wasdelicate　work；　requiring　them　to　take　the　most　exacting　pains　to　avoid　accidental　cross…fertilization　and　to　note　every　slight　variation　in　the　growth　and　appearance　of　seeds；　pods；leaves；　stems；　and　flowers。　mendel　knew　what　he　was　doing。
he　never　used　the　word　gene　—it　wasn’t　coined　until　1913；　in　an　english　medicaldictionary—though　he　did　invent　the　terms　dominant　and　recessive。　what　he　established　wasthat　every　seed　contained　two　“factors”　or　“elemente；”　as　he　called　them—a　dominant　oneand　a　recessive　one—and　these　factors；　when　bined；　produced　predictable　patterns　ofinheritance。
the　results　he　converted　into　precise　mathematical　formulae。　altogether　mendel　spenteight　years　on　the　experiments；　then　confirmed　his　results　with　similar　experiments　onflowers；　corn；　and　other　plants。　if　anything；　mendel　was　too　scientific　in　his　approach；　forwhen　he　presented　his　findings　at　the　february　and　march　meetings　of　the　natural　historysociety　of　brno　in　1865；　the　audience　of　about　forty　listened　politely　but　was　conspicuouslyunmoved；　even　though　the　breeding　of　plants　was　a　matter　of　great　practical　interest　to　manyof　the　members。
when　mendel’s　report　was　published；　he　eagerly　sent　a　copy　to　the　great　swiss　botanistkarl…wilhelm　von　n？geli；　whose　support　was　more　or　less　vital　for　the　theory’s　prospects。
unfortunately；　n？geli　failed　to　perceive　the　importance　of　what　mendel　had　found。　hesuggested　that　mendel　try　breeding　hawkweed。　mendel　obediently　did　as　n？geli　suggested；but　quickly　realized　that　hawkweed　had　none　of　the　requisite　features　for　studying　heritability。
it　was　evident　to　him　that　n？geli　had　not　read　the　paper　closely；　or　possibly　at　all。　frustrated；mendel　retired　from　investigating　heritability　and　spent　the　rest　of　his　life　growingoutstanding　vegetables　and　studying　bees；　mice；　and　sunspots；　among　much　else。　eventuallyhe　was　made　abbot。
mendel’s　findings　weren’t　quite　as　widely　ignored　as　is　sometimes　suggested。　his　studyreceived　a　glowing　entry　in　the　encyclopaedia　britannica　—then　a　more　leading　record　ofscientific　thought　than　now—and　was　cited　repeatedly　in　an　important　paper　by　the　germanwilhelm　olbers　focke。　indeed；　it　was　because　mendel’s　ideas　never　entirely　sank　below　thewaterline　of　scientific　thought　that　they　were　so　easily　recovered　when　the　world　was　readyfor　them。
together；　without　realizing　it；　darwin　and　mendel　laid　the　groundwork　for　all　of　lifesciences　in　the　twentieth　century。　darwin　saw　that　all　living　things　are　connected；　thatultimately　they　“trace　their　ancestry　to　a　single；　mon　source；”　while　mendel’s　workprovided　the　mechanism　to　explain　how　that　could　happen。　the　two　men　could　easily　havehelped　each　other。　mendel　owned　a　german　edition　of　the　origin　of　species；　which　he　isknown　to　have　read；　so　he　must　have　realized　the　applicability　of　his　work　to　darwin’s；　yet　heappears　to　have　made　no　effort　to　get　in　touch。　and　darwin　for　his　part　is　known　to　havestudied　focke’s　influential　paper　with　its　repeated　references　to　mendel’s　work；　but　didn’tconnect　them　to　his　own　studies。
the　one　thing　everyone　thinks　featured　in　darwin’s　argument；　that　humans　are　descendedfrom　apes；　didn’t　feature　at　all　except　as　one　passing　allusion。　even　so；　it　took　no　great　leap　ofimagination　to　see　the　implications　for　human　development　in　darwin’s　theories；　and　itbecame　an　immediate　talking　point。