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====The excerpt from James A. Secord’s Victorian Sensation provokes some interesting thoughts on the nature of the relationship between science and the public. Secord’s book is about an anonymous scientific publication called Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. The book, published in 1844, lucidly and intelligently argues for the theory of evolution 15 years before Darwin would with his Origin of Species. Secord explores the ramifications of an anonymous publication with this high a level of reasoning and intelligence, but I would like to take a moment to examine the situation from an anthropologist’s standpoint instead of a historian’s. What Vestiges gives us a chance to study is the reaction of the Victorian era public to a pure scientific document circulated without reference to the academic institutions and community of the day and with very little apparent respect for any of the authorities.==== ====Of course, those who cling to the status quo felt threatened by and criticized the work for both its mysterious and rebellious nature. Much of the established scientific community can be expected to cast aside the theories as irrelevant and insignificant, but by rewarding Vestiges with attention they’ve disproved their point. Irrelevant and insignificant books do not threaten the scientific community. At the time, Vestiges was significant and this has been proven by history with the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species and the effect evolutionism has had on culture and science.====

====The response of the middle and lower classes is somewhat difficult to gauge, but not an utter mystery if one looks in the right places. By the principles of capitalism, we can deduce that if there was a budget edition of this work there was a segment of less wealthy people who would buy it. And the appearance of Vestiges’ principles and theories in popular works of literature implies that it was enough of a cultural standard to be parodied and referenced.====

====One could call Vestiges an early model of modern counter culture; the more critiques and rebuttals it received the popularity it gained. This is easily credited to the books anonymity, but it shouldn’t be overlooked that evolutionism was not an accepted theory, especially by the church.====

====The anonymity of Vestiges implies that there was some danger for the author, that the ideas he was putting forth were revolutionary and risky. What could excite the public more? With this in mind, I would put forth that science has experienced its greatest advances when it was necessary and when it was unwanted.====