A short visit To the Natural History Museum of London: meeting with the spirits of Wallace and Darwin.

During a family day trip in London, we managed to squeeze a short visit (not even 2 hours) to the Natural History Museum : http://www.nhm.ac.uk

2 hours were ridiculously not enough to visit this gigantic place but what we saw- exhibtions on volcanoes and earthquakes, fossils and minerals- was amazing enough. I will sure return there to spend a whole day. But this might turn out to be too short a time as well! :-)

It was with some emotion that I passed besides a beautiful painting and a statue of two of my childhood heroes: Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin.

I remember very well as a kid having read the tales of Wallace feats, his well known contribution to the theory evolution of course, but also his obsession with South-East Asia. As a very young entomologist, I remember, for instance, how he had a soft spot for Asian Cerambycids ('Long-horn beetles'). Arguably, he had an influence to me as boy. It helped me, at times, when I felt a bit strange compared to some of the other boys (but I guess it happened too to you, readers of this blog? ^^)

My feelings toward Darwin are a bit different. While I felt an odd proximity to Wallace, Darwin was more of a totem to me. And, after I read how his collaboration with Wallace happened, my inclination  for Wallace reinforced.  Anyway, along with many other figures, these two scientists contribute to shape me as man. Therefore, a fellow student among millions of others, I felt happy yesterday to be able to salute, in my own humble way, these two great men. It is not everyday, that a casual visit turns into a moment of pleasant introspection.