Week 6

“On the Origin of Species: The Preservation of Favoured Traces” is a digital humanities project by Ben Fry that I found really appealing. You can find it here: http://benfry.com/traces/.

The project works to illustrate the unfolding of Darwin’s theory of evolution — to show that it was not a solid, unrelenting theory as expected of science but rather a realistic, developing one. It virtually contrasts the ideas and developments that Darwin underwent in his lifetime of work, and how his language reflects that growth. Fry writes more about his project here:http://benfry.com/writing/archives/529.

I’ve always been interested in mapping literature, whether it’s following the content or language or a text, because so much of the writing process can be hidden in either. Fry elaborates a little about the nuanced practice of editing: “The second edition, for instance, adds a notable ‘by the Creator’ to the closing paragraph, giving greater attribution to a higher power. In another example, the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ — usually considered central to the theory and often attributed to Darwin — instead came from British philosopher Herbert Spencer, and didn’t appear until the fifth edition of the text.” So much of what we understand and assume about Darwin’s theory of evolution, maybe even the most notable things associated with it, weren’t all there in the first draft of the publication. Being able to visualize the differences helps us understand more about the piece and the context within which it was written (and rewritten.)

I’m also not sure that a traditional humanities could do the same thing as Fry in tracking the edits of Darwin’s Origin of Species, or at least not in such a concise manner. Fry’s project is definitely visually appealing and accessible, whereas I imagine a traditional version of the project would use either a great deal of bookmarks or span all the physical editions of the book. Both options would be very physically clunky, very difficult to organize, very difficult to maintain. Is it achievable? Perhaps. Would it be as efficient or effective as this digital version? Not at all.