iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Replies

Leonie Moyle @speciationlab.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

In celebration of #DarwinDay, here are his decidedly mixed first impressions after landing on the Galápagos (17 Sept 1835; from 'the Voyage' Chap X): "Nothing could be less inviting..."

"Nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance. A broken field of black basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves, and crossed by great fissures, is everywhere covered by stunted, sun-burnt brushwood, which shows little signs of life. The dry and parched surface, being heated by the noon-day sun, gave to the air a close and sultry feeling, like that from a stove: we fancied even that the bushes smelt unpleasantly. Although I diligently tried to collect as many plants as possible, I succeeded in getting very few; and such wretched-looking little weeds would have better become an arctic than an equatorial Flora."

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Christopher Witt @msbbirds.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

“close and sultry”… “bushes smelt unpleasantly” — can’t help but think this writer has been on a ship for a while😅

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Greg Bright @indybiomonitor.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

This falls in the "I'm glad he took another look the next day" category.

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Kyle T David @kylethedavid.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

“The black Lava rocks on the beach are frequented by large (2-3 ft), disgusting clumsy Lizards. They are as black as the porous rocks over which they crawl & seek their prey from the Sea. I call them ‘imps of darkness’. They assuredly well become the land they inhabit.”

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Leonie Moyle @speciationlab.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

his appreciation evolved over time, apparently

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FrontRangeWildflowers @frwildflowers.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Fascinating he didn’t appreciate a speciation factory at first blush. 🤗

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