Chapter 3 (Kwasi Obeng-Dankwa)

In chapter 3, we are introduced to the word catastrophist, coined by William Whewell. We are then quickly introduced to Charles Lyell who is described to be a uniformitarian. This sets the stage for differing ideas between catastrophism and uniformitarianism. Lyell wrote multiple books and one of his readers was Charles Darwin. Darwin thoroughly enjoyed the work of Lyell and as stated in the book, "The more Darwin explored the world, the more Lyellian it seemed to him to be(52)." However, while Darwin developed the theory of evolution and believed in it, Lyell disagreed with the theory and thought that the world was changing in minute ways. Darwin believed that all animals were in competition with each other for survival and as a result, other species went extinct because other species became superior. This also explained how new species came about, as they would now be the superior animals and more adept at surviving. We are then introduced to the great auk and the ways in which it became extinct are discussed. The great auks were described to be "fantastic swimmers... and spent most of their lives at sea(58)." However, as more human contact was made with them, their population started to diminish quickly. They were used as fish baits, a source of feathers, and fuel by early Europeans and Native American tribesmen. Once again, at the end of the chapter, we are shown the gruesome effects of an invasive species, humans, which led to the extinction of the great auks.

Reflecting back on the chapter, Kolbert seemed to be appreciative of Darwin's theory of natural selection and the theory of evolution yet criticizes him for not seeing humans as a bigger threat. This can be seen when the author writes "... nor does Darwin allude to the bird... But Darwin had to be aware of human-caused extinction." In this quote, it seems as if the author is forcing Darwin to have come to a realization that may have not originally been there. This is further expanded upon when she states " But human-caused extinction is of course troubling for many reasons... and its puzzling that a writer as shrewd and self-critical as Darwin shouldn't have noticed this." Once again, Darwin is heavily criticized by the author for not coming to this realization when it may not have been as obvious as she makes it seem. The chapter connected the most with: Natural systems change over time. This is because of the discussion of evolution by Charles Darwin. The theory of evolution is first talked about in this chapter and is one of the few ways at that time that tries to explain the changing of natural systems over time. As stated in the book, " Darwin's theory... doubled as a theory of how they vanished. Extinction and evolution were to each other the warm and weft of life's fabric, or if you prefer, two sides of the same coin." This is related to the theme of natural systems changing over time as it explains that as other organisms evolved and became more adept at surviving, other organisms were unable to compete with them and as a result, would die out. This would then lead to the new organisms becoming the alpha males, striving until another organism even more adept at surviving would come along and wipe them out.