Inspiration in the harness of daily labor. Darwin, botany, and the triumph of evolution, 1859-1868

Charles Darwin hoped that a large body of working naturalists would embrace evolution after the Origin of Species appeared in late 1859. He was disappointed. His evolutionary ideas at first made painfully little progress in the scientific community. But by 1863 the tide had turned dramatically, and within five years evolution became scientific orthodoxy in Britain. The Origin's reception followed this peculiar trajectory because Darwin had not initially tied its theory to productive original scientific investigation, which left him vulnerable to charges of reckless speculation. The debate changed with his successful application of evolution to original problems, most notably orchid fertilization, the subject of a well-received book in 1862. Most of Darwin's colleagues found the argument of the Origin convincing when they realized that it functioned productively in the day-to-day work of science-and not before. The conceptual force of the Origin, however outwardly persuasive, acquired full scientific legitimacy only when placed "in the harness of daily labour".     

The genius of Erasmus Darwin. The International Conference and Commemoration of the Bicentenary of the Death of Erasmus Darwin was held in Lichfield,Staffordshire from 19-22 April 2002

In a concluding session, David Knight (University of Durham) took the title '"One great slaughter-house the warring world"--living in revolutionary times'. He pointed out that Darwinian thought had to contend with three revolutions. First, the political revolutions of 1776 and 1789, leading to the terror of the 1790s that washed over the English Midlands leaving Priesley's house burnt and Priestley himself exiled to America. Second, the scientific revolution, which valued exact knowledge and specialism rather than wide syntheses. Third, the Romantic revolution which emphasized the tragic rather than the cheerful optimism of Darwin's heroic couplets. For all these reasons Darwin's influence waned. However, Knight finished on an optimistic note that echoed King-Hele's opening address, saying that in our own times, as suspicion of experts grows, and some, at least, see science as a liberating force, Darwin's fame may recover. Negotiations are in process for the publication of the proceedings under the title 'The genius of Erasmus Darwin: proceedings of a bicentennial conference', and a website has been constructed that contains details of all speakers (http://www.bham.ac.uk/erasmusdarwin/).     

基于突变-融合视角的颠覆性技术主题演化研究

颠覆性技术已成为推动新一轮技术变革浪潮的强力引擎,识别和追踪颠覆性技术演化发展的特征和趋势,对国家和企业识别颠覆性技术优先领域、合理配置科技资源具有重要的理论和现实意义。为此,本文以颠覆性技术为研究对象,从颠覆性技术的四个特征入手,在运用Leiden社区发现算法识别技术主题的基础上,引入主题-时序分析和专利引文网络分析,提出了基于突变-融合视角的颠覆性技术主题演化分析模型。最后,为证实该模型的可行性和有效性,本文选取增材制造技术领域开展实证研究,分析结果对该领域技术演化路径识别与预测提供了依据。本文模型相比于前人研究,充分结合了颠覆性技术的特征,得到的技术主题演化分析结论指导性更强,有助于更准确地把握颠覆性技术主题演化路径及未来发展方向。     

抗日战争后期美国对华政策的演变

从太平洋战争到二战结束时期的美国对华政策,是中国抗日战争以来美国对华政策的延续。但在短短的几年中,美国对华政策却经历了两个阶段的转变。本文就抗战后期(1941.12—1945.8)美国对华政策的转变历及其原因进行论述,从而对正确处理当今中美关系提供借鉴。     

Theory of the halftone process. II. The diffraction theory-calculation of the light distribution

An approximate method of calculating the light distribution in the dots formed behind a halftone screen from the Fresnel diffraction theory is described, and in a typical case, the distribution is found to check closely with that determined experimentally, being very different from that calculated from geometrical optics.