1840 Indian Rebirth

Chapter 202 [Boarding School for Young Gentlemen]

Like many of his contemporaries, Darwin was deeply influenced by religion and even studied theology at Cambridge University as a young man.

However, as his research on biology continued to deepen, his belief in religion gradually faded.

But Darwin did not become a clear-cut atheist, he ended up maintaining something like agnosticism for a long time.

He does not particularly reject religious activities, at least so far, he still continues the living habits he has cultivated since he was a child, and is willing to attend worship activities.

"How about a more subtle name?" Darwin hesitated.

Horse whistle: "Of course, you have the right, but I don't think there is a more suitable name than "Origin of Species"."

"As for the church, no matter what, they are no longer the church that can judge Galileo, and this is not Spain, which is still holding on to the Inquisition. If you are still worried, just give some high-sounding explanations. They can put you how is it?"

The horse sentry said again: "Besides, the best way to avoid conflicts with the church is to make this book anonymous. I think you don't want to see this kind of result, don't you?"

Darwin thought for a while, and finally nodded: "Okay, you're right, that's the name."

He added: "However, I also think that it should be more specific, such as... "On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection That Preserves Superior Races in the Struggle for Existence", what do you think?"

This is the full name of "Origin of Species" in history, but almost no one remembers it.

Horse Whistle doesn't remember either: "Mr. Darwin, with all due respect, I think this name can achieve two effects at the same time - making the church unhappy, and not being seen by anyone."

Eventually, "Origin of Species" became the full title.

The two discussed a little more about religion.

"...When I inspected creatures in various places, I found many natural phenomena that do not conform to the teachings, such as parasites. If nature is really designed by God with good intentions, I don't understand why He created parasites. This kind of dirty thing is not the same as Kindness really has nothing to do with it." Darwin talked about his own experience, and then asked, "How do you see your own gods?"

Ma Shao: "We have many tribes with different beliefs, but generally speaking, our religious system is relatively primitive, and has not evolved to be as complicated as Christianity, and even personal gods are rare."

"Evolution?" Darwin's expression changed, "Do you think religion also has a process of evolution?"

Ma Shao nodded: "Of course, primitive religions are always vague and strange, until monotheism. Monotheism has eliminated most religions like the human ancestors eliminated other creatures. Many religions have bad traits such as not good at expansion, and the main god is not centralized enough. , and eventually became the dry bones in this evolution.”

Darwin: "I'm curious, as a chief, have you ever tried to promote ideas like atheism in your own tribe?"

"Yes, but I failed." Ma Shao sighed, "Now they regard me as a god."

Darwin: "So, a godslayer, but finally pushed to the altar?"

"It seems so." Ma Shao nodded helplessly.

"That sounds really interesting." Darwin smiled. "But seriously, I probably wouldn't be surprised if you suddenly had a light up on your head, told me you were God incarnate, and then demonstrated the evolution of species yourself."

After a day with Darwin.

The horse post was packed, and the next day he took a few followers and ran to Lincolnshire.

"Boarding School for Young Gentlemen..."

Ma Shao read the name on the plaque, and then looked at the school in front of him.

Although it is a school, its architectural style looks more like a hotel - a small building made of red bricks, with two floors and a low wall around it.

"Welcome, Mr. Horse Whistle." George Bull walked out of the school in a hurry. He looked tired and had a lot of chalk dust on his shirt. He should have just attended class.

"Who is this?" Ma Shuo looked at Bull's side, a girl in a long skirt who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old.

"She... she is my student." Bull was inexplicably embarrassed.

The way the girl looks at Boolean is also a bit unusual. The relationship between the two is probably not as simple as a teacher and a student.

"Nice to meet you, dear Mr. Horse Whistle, I am Mary Everest." The girl introduced herself with a smile.

Ma Shao was startled when he heard the words: "Mount Everest?"

The English name of Mount Everest is "Mount Everest".

When everyone heard this, they were all inexplicable.

Mary Everest said: "You know my uncle? As far as I know, he often deals with mountains and has measured the Himalayas, but it seems that there is no mountain named after him."

"I've heard it a little bit." Ma Whistle was a little embarrassed, so he could only say this.

He didn't understand this period of history, but from the girl's description, the English name of Mount Everest, Mount Everest, most likely originated from her uncle.

Indeed, the British named Everest Mount Everest in memory of Mary's uncle.

Mary herself is not well-known in history, but there are many celebrities in her family, her uncle on Mount Everest is one, and besides her future daughter-Vurney, the author of "The Gadfly" Qi, and then there will be Turing Award winner Jeffrey Hinton, as well as Han Ding and Han Chun who have deep ties to China.

Of course, there is something more important, her future husband, her current teacher George Boole, one of the greatest mathematicians of the [-]th century and the founder of mathematical logic.

However, this mathematician, who has gone down in history, has not achieved outstanding achievements at this time. If you look at it from a secular perspective, it can even be said to be a failure.

Boole is in his thirties, but still has no family. He toils to run a shabby school, both teaching and running, and wants to study mathematics.

His current situation seems to be particularly embarrassing.

The horse whistle looked at his tired expression: "Boolean, you don't seem to be in a good condition?"

Bull sighed slightly: "I'm sorry to greet you with this image. My father has been seriously ill recently, which has made my work and life a bit messy."

"I may have told you that my father was a shoemaker, but he was very eager to learn. He taught himself a lot of mathematics and then taught me. Although my mathematics has already surpassed him, without his company and encouragement, I still Feeling lost, just like when I was a kid..."

Horse Whistle can guess that Bull is currently struggling. To some extent, it can be said that he came at the right time.

So after a short conversation, he said, "Do you remember what I said before?"

"I remember." Bull hesitated, "But you also saw my school, it is indeed very simple, and there are not enough people..."

Ma Shao: "A sage in the East once said that no house would be humble if a noble soul lived there. I am sure that even if this school is ten times simpler, it will still be respected by people because of you."

Hearing this sentence, George Boole was quite moved.

Apart from the horse whistle, the only person who can give him such a high evaluation is probably only his student and admirer, that is, the little girl beside him, Mary Everest.

Compared with Mary Everest, the praise from the father of thermodynamics is obviously much more valuable.

Ma Shao: "The key to the school lies in the teachers, and the facilities are a very secondary thing. And if you want, the problem of the facilities can also be solved."

Bull: "What do you mean?"

Ma Shao said slowly: "I happen to have a little money on hand. If you don't mind, I can invest in or buy your school—at a decent price and improve its facilities. Of course, there are some conditions."

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Ps:

Bull and her wife should have met a year later, which is a little earlier here.

There is a documentary called "The Genius of George Boole", you can watch it.

(End of this chapter)