Friday, February 20, 2009

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck


May I introduce you to Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (well his real name was: Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck!) whose name, to us Parisians, is pretty familiar because of a Metro station called Lamarck-Caulincourt! I investigated a little more about this guy because of today's photo that I took in Le jardin des plantes - a botanical garden - and I found out that he is believed to be the one who actually came up with the evolution theory first, before Darwin. But that might only be the French being Jealous of the Brits! Anyway, if you want to see for yourself, just check Wikipedia. BTW this statue was made by Léon Fagel at the beginning of the 20th century.

54 comments:

  1. Cool photo Eric and what a coincidence Eric! Here at Insead, the professor talked about Lamark yesterday. Darwin was about natural selection and Lamark about organisms changing according to their environment. The lecture was about how companies should learn to do this better. See! Even in Singapore they follow PDP (7hrs ahead)!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oops! LamarCk not Lamark!
    Hey, it looks beau in Paris! But I bet it's still cold!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Really? I can't believe Lamarck is famous in Singapore really!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes it was very beau in Paris today but it won't last: cold and rain are expected to be back soon...

    ReplyDelete
  5. You meant to say, "I can't believe PDP is famous in Singapore"

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the perspective of this photo.
    Lamarck is really the father of evolutionary theory. When *my* father - an evolutionary biologist - and my mother - also a biologist - came to visit last March we spent the better part of an afternoon photographing them in front of the statues in the gardens. It's true that Lamarck's not as famous as Darwin (who figured out the natural selection part), but he certainly deserves more credit, and my father is always sure to talk about him at length in the courses he teaches!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Before Darwin?????????? Sacre bleu!
    Non, non non non. Surement pas!
    Or...is that just the Brit jealously guarding her heritage? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I bow to your father's superior knowledge CraftyRachel! I was only kidding......:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. No worries Lynn. It seems you've evolved quite nicely...

    ReplyDelete
  10. lol..Michael... you old flatterer you. Blush.........! giggle.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

    Too bad about the people who come in second, really! History abounds with them. How about the Vikings discovering America first,Mr. Columbus ?

    Will try to remember Lamarck, especially if I ever wind up on JEOPARDY.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Je pense, alors j'évolue?

    Well, you have Descartes, after all, so don't feel bad.

    I note the aircraft contrails framing M. Lamarck. It adds visual fun. Let's see, in what directions are those planes flying--to what far away destinations? Hmm, it started out with fabric wings and bi-planes, then EVOLVED into Airbus!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey Michael GF! Yay - what's on your crown? Fish? Apes? A four-legged homosapian? or....the nicely evolved moi, dare I suggest, dangling attractively from your head? Gosh, the mere thought; I think I need a lie down now... ;)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Way to go, globetrotter Michael!

    I didn't know about Lamarck and its great to learn, once again on PDP.

    Michael, Lynn, and PHX, you're all making me laugh today. Merci! : )

    ReplyDelete
  15. Do the French shorten the name Caroline at all??!! I am now officially obsessed with this!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I don't know. Do they shorten Lynn? LOL. I seem to remember my name being pronounced Leen by the French, whereas it is pronounced Linn in English. I don't mind anything though; to be pronounced in French is good enough for me!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lynn - you are quite the rhymer aujourd'hui - hee hee.

    Lamarck is also the name of the "bad guy" in the Ocean's 13 movie. I like to hear Catherine Zeta-Jones say "Lamarck" with her Welsh accent - it sounds very sophisticated. I bet you can do a good one, too - Duchess Leen.

    Hey Carrie - wouldn't they call you "Car-o-leen" en francais? Or remember Carrie Bradshaw in the episode of Sex & the City where she went to Paris? They pronounced it "Carrie" as in Cherie ;)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I agree Pont Girl, my full name is pronounced "Caro-leen" en francais, but I wonder if its common for the French themselves to shorten their name Caroline (as opposed to someone coming in and saying her name were Carrie) and if so, to what. I'm guessing it would be spelled Cari, but they might have a completely different diminutive - say, Roli!!???!!.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I also thought immediately of the Ocean's 13 Lamarck!! Fun. : )

    ReplyDelete
  20. lol Pont Girl I suspect my pronunciation of Lamarck would be quite boringly 'BBC' for you! Not nearly as interesting as Ms. Jones. lol.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I keep turning back to the same thought - I'm immensely relieved to have a president who "gets" what science is, after long last. Your Lamarck is much to be admired for thinking beyond the boundaries of superstition, much like Galileo.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Talking of evolution in a girly way, I'm off to bed before I turn into a pumpkin. x

    ReplyDelete
  23. I guess a monkey swinging from the crown would be appropriate...

    Caroline, your name is shortened to "Caro" in French. Not to be confused with Karo syrup, but I'm sure just as sweet...

    ReplyDelete
  24. He looks as if he is sitting and thinking. Too bad I believe he thought the wrong way 'round! But a beautiful blue sky today, Eric!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I just wish we all still wore those lovely cloaks. I think his outfit is splendid. How un-scientific of me.

    ReplyDelete
  26. France

    First in evolution
    First in revolution

    First in fashion
    First in passion

    First in great cuisine
    First in well-filled jeans

    Eric (and Nicolas) and his countrymen have some things to be proud of.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Gary, I must confess: I have quite a number of those photos from around Paris. It's sort of a hobby. Ohh, well, forgive me for I have sinned.

    ReplyDelete
  28. what a long name? i thought only latin girls like myself had long names.....maria de jesus gomez de lizardo (my official name).

    ReplyDelete
  29. one more thing...i wonder if he is thinking? should i call her carrie or caroline...hmmmmm

    ReplyDelete
  30. I believe the natural selection part of Darwin's theory real hit it big, or maybe it was ensured that it hits big :)

    But I did learn about Lamarck in my evolution course in school and college.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Lamarck-Caulaincourt was my old metro stop....

    ReplyDelete
  32. Maria - funny! I was thinking that he looked like he couldn't figure out how to get down off of the plinth - but now I like your explanation better!

    Michael - thanks! The obsession is cooled. Here in Spanish-speaking SoCal, I am often called Carolina, which gets shortened to Cari, and sometimes to Lina (which I'm fond of) but now I can rest easy that I won't be called Roli when next I come to Paris!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  33. PS - that was sweet of you to say, too....

    : ) (a smilingly slightly pinker than usual Caro).

    ReplyDelete
  34. Eric, to me, this guy looks like he's trying to remember something! & his expression is even more obvious when I enlarged the photo, at least to me anyway.
    Congratulations Michael! If your crown has a monkey swinging from it, I can't imagine what mine looked like yesterday!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hey everybody ! glad to read comments that show the complementarity between Lamarck and Darwin instead of the vain "who's the first" ! Vive l'Entente cordiale !

    ReplyDelete
  36. Composition intéressante : Lamarck décalé, posé, en hauteur ; une belle part de ciel lumineux et aérien l'entoure dans ses pensées. Evidemment, c'est un grand humaniste ; la matière est complexe.
    Sans transition : Rachel, les instants de vie que vous publiez sur votre site sont énergisants :)
    Avec les parents que vous avez, ce n'est pas étonnant!!
    Pardon pour mon Français, ici... Je vais essayer d'évoluer un peu jusqu'à la langue anglaise ;)

    ReplyDelete
  37. He's still deep in thought I see.

    ReplyDelete
  38. That's just fascinating! I'll have to look him up too:)

    ReplyDelete
  39. Carrie, Pont Girl, Lynn,
    In French, Caroline is more Caro-Lynn (eh eh!), than Caro-Leen. And the shorten version is usually Caro!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Oups!
    Didn't realize Micheal already mentioned Caro...

    ReplyDelete
  41. Thib - Merci pour la pronunciation plus exact de mon nom.

    The seemingly-multiplutitudinous-neverendingly-subtlish variations of vocalic nuancing in the French language keep ever frustrating and similarly enticing this consonantaly focused American in her quest to 'get it right'!!!! But, I'll always get this one right (and I'll think of my PDP pals) when I think of it as the combination of Lynn's and my name!

    : )

    ReplyDelete
  42. French Wikipedia tells me that the other half of the name comes from Armand de Caulaincourt, who was a general and ambassador in Russia between 1807 and 1811, but not why his name and Lamarck's should be paired. (Using the Ocean's 13 theory, it would be because they are one and the same person!)

    Can anyone tell Caro?! : )

    ReplyDelete
  43. Carrie : Very simple ! they both have their street near this Métro station : "rue Lamarck" and "rue Caulaincourt". So the name of this station makes it clear that it stands at the crossroad of them.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Ahhh! - Thanks NastyGG. I hadn't thought of that. Just like so many relationships in life, these two are joined forever by circumstances beyond their control!!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Hmmm, but not the 13th. As a Santa Monican (lots of us Californians here on pdp it seems) who keeps a small pied á terre across the street on rue Buffon, me thinks it is still the 5th (until St. Marcel).

    ReplyDelete
  46. Peter,
    You're right, the Jardin des Plantes, where Eric took this picture, is in the 5th arrondissement.
    But the métro station "Lamarck-Caulaincourt", on line 12, is in the 18th, north of Paris.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Well well well… I guess I have new friends… that are wonderful!!!
    By the way where is the link of the pic nic you had?? I like to see it…
    Did someone else speak Spanish too? Muy bien entonces nos reuniremos a hacer un dia de campo en Paris.

    What a name… thanks God I just have 1 name and 2 last names… jajajajajajaja

    ReplyDelete
  48. Laury, you can see photos of us if you go to yesterday's 19 FÉVRIER 2009 post. At the bottom of what Eric wrote in his caption you can see "LA PDP party photos." Click on that. Or this. We hope to see you in other photos in the future. Maybe you will be eating an ice cream!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Laury: the links to the picnic video and photo montage are on the 09 Mai 2008 post--see the links under the photo. The same video also is linked on the 21 Mai post.

    Hey, bonne weekend tout le monde. I have to go home and study for my Italian class tomorrow. Yes, since I am such an expert in French (LOL!!!) I decided to try to learn the basics for my trip to Italy in May, which will end in Paris, of course.

    (Let's see, comme si dice ...

    "Buongiorno, signora, lei e bella..."

    ReplyDelete
  50. Oh, Laury, you were talking about the picnic, here. The video can be seen here, and this is fun. Who's who here.

    Maybe you have already found all this thanks to Jeff.

    ReplyDelete