Darwin's children drew all over the “On the Origin of Species” manuscript (2014)

Darwin’s mindset and marriage calculus

• Commenters highlight Darwin’s pros/cons list on marriage, quoting his fear of a life “like a neuter bee” and his view of children as “better than a dog anyhow” but a “terrible loss of time.”
• Some see this as ruthless but rational decision-making, even likened to “calculus”; others note it makes him feel more relatable and human.
• Discussion over whether he was really constrained financially despite his relative wealth, given his notes about needing to “work for money” if he married.

Cousin marriage and historical kin networks

• Several comments note how common cousin marriage was historically due to limited travel and large extended families.
• Royal inbreeding is cited as a well-known example, with speculation about its role in mental instability.
• One genealogical anecdote observes family trees stop “fanning out” once people move from small communities to cities.

Children, economics, and social policy

• Long debate over whether children were once an economic asset (farm labor, old-age support) but are now a “sucker’s bet” because costs are privatized and benefits (e.g., social security) are socialized.
• Arguments that tax, regulatory, and childcare structures place heavy burdens on parents while non-parents still draw retirement benefits funded by the next generation.
• Others push back: pointing to cultural variation in obligations to parents, existing filial-responsibility laws in some countries, and questioning the claim that tax systems truly favor the childless.
• A subthread disputes how Social Security “should” work and whether benefits ought to depend on one’s investment in raising children.

Continuity of childhood behavior

• The Darwin manuscript doodles are linked to other preserved children’s drawings (like Onfim’s birch-bark homework), reinforcing the idea that kids have always played, fantasized, and scribbled similarly.
• Commenters argue that a baby from tens of thousands of years ago could likely grow up normally today; differences lie in culture and knowledge, not basic humanity.

Ancient intelligence and interpreting the past

• Multiple comments stress that earlier humans were likely as intelligent as we are; they simply knew less.
• Some criticize over-mystifying ancient achievements, preferring explanations based on large, organized labor and ordinary human error rather than exotic spiritual or “stupidity” narratives.
• There’s brief debate over the Flynn effect and whether it reflects real cognitive change versus better nutrition, test familiarity, or education.

Evolution and “flaws” in Darwin’s theory

• One commenter asks about “alternative theories” to Darwin, claiming major flaws Darwin recognized himself.
• Responses emphasize that while Darwin lacked genetics and worried about incomplete transitional fossils, natural selection has been repeatedly confirmed experimentally and fossil gaps are understood as record imperfections.

Diaries, marginalia, and technology

• Emma Darwin’s and Samuel Pepys’s earthy diary details are noted as both amusing and “too much information.”
• Shakespeare’s First Folio and a medieval fencing manual are mentioned as other texts bearing informal notes or children’s coloring.
• A side comment traces Darwin’s move from drawings to photography as camera technology improved.

Modern child-friendliness

• Several participants argue that historically, serious work and messy children coexisted; today’s intolerance of kids in professional settings is seen as new and unhealthy.
• Examples include parents bringing children to offices and public figures keeping kids visibly present, framed as a welcome challenge to child-unfriendly norms.