Man of Ideas

There was this good PBS show on today about a man who has dedicated his life towards the study of Social Biology. His findings were met early with skepticism and sometimes anger. But now years later with new technology and the study of genes, his vision and original ideas are really beginning to take off.

How do you take the measure of a man who has achieved as much as E.O. Wilson has in his 50-year-plus career? A man who has distinguished himself as scientist, conservationist, writer, artist, teacher, and speaker? A thinker who has launched not just careers but entire scientific disciplines? Like the biodiversity he champions, the depth and breadth of Wilson's accomplishments stagger the mind. One way to sum up his achievements is through his books (two of which have won Pulitzer Prizes). Here, briefly learn about some of the Harvard emeritus professor's most significant contributions, as documented in a dozen of his books.—Peter Tyson

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/eowilson/ideas.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociobiology

And one of his greatest works

http://www.eol.org/

What is EOL?

Welcome to the first release of the Encyclopedia of Life portal. This is the very beginning of our exciting journey to document all species of life on Earth.

Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about all life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. Our goals are to:

* Create a constantly evolving encyclopedia that lives on the Internet, with contributions from scientists and amateurs alike.
* Transform the science of biology, and inspire a new generation of scientists, by aggregating virtually all known data about every living species.
* Engage a wide audience of schoolchildren, educators, citizen scientists, academics and those who are just curious about Earth's species.
* Increase our collective understanding of life on Earth, and safeguard the richest possible spectrum of biodiversity.