I was listening to a very interesting programme the other day about how Darwin worked once he got back home.  Interestingly, he seems to have been a hundred and fifty years ahead of his time, in that he was a voracious networker.  He claims to have written around 6 letters a day (by hand!) and used these to correspond with scientists all over the world to share ideas and data to develop his thinking.  He would send out questionnaires to friends who had children to gather data about their early development.

Apparently he was very clever in guiding his correspondents towards projects that would not only help them develop their reputations but also further his own research at the same time.  He used praise and guidance to get the best from this vast network for people who looked to him as a thought leader.

They say there is nothing new under the sun, but it is interesting to see such ‘modern’ behaviours in the 19th century

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”  Charles Darwin