Chapter 512 - 244: Countermove (Good luck to tomorrow’s college entrance exam candidates!!!!!)_3

Darwin shook his head, pointing to a book on the table, and replied:

"To be honest, the Theory of Evolution is still just a temporary conjecture of mine, it hasn’t taken shape yet. Right now, my main focus is still on geological changes."

"Look, this book is about professional geology content."

Xu Yun glanced at him, not exposing his lie.

What a joke.

If it were merely a temporary conjecture, would you have the urge to study body structure right after meeting me, an Eastern person?

Would you still compile and publish the entire Theory of Evolution just four years after your daughter Annie’s death?

The statement that the main focus is geology might not be wrong, but Darwin’s understanding of the Theory of Evolution at this time was clearly more than just a conjecture.

At the very least, he should already have half a theory in his mind.

It’s just that Darwin hasn’t yet experienced the pain of losing a daughter, so he is somewhat wary of creationism, not daring to speak the truth.

Speaking of daughters, Xu Yun suddenly recalled something and said to Darwin:

"Mr. Darwin, I remember the Natural Research Institute of Britain is in Manchester, so why are you in..."

"In London, is it?"

Darwin smiled nonchalantly, as he was already used to this question, and then explained:

"My wife and I moved to Darwin’s House on the outskirts of London eight years ago, mainly responsible for book publishing, so I only need to go to Manchester once a month."

"Plus, with my eldest daughter’s health not being great lately, I go even less, at most occasionally visiting the University of Cambridge library to check information or see friends."

Xu Yun was startled, and asked urgently:

"Not in good health?"

Darwin and his wife Emma were cousins, essentially a close kin marriage, so their offspring generally had very poor health.

Three of their ten children died young, and among the remaining seven, three were infertile.

The death of their eldest daughter Annie pushed Darwin to an extreme:

During Annie’s illness, Darwin almost transformed into the most devout believer, praying and repenting day and night, but ultimately couldn’t save Annie’s precious life.

This is one of the reasons for the extreme emotions in ’Origin of Species’.

Much like the famous ’little cutie, return the money’ protagonists, who, in support of the national team, even painted their faces—definitely not fake fans.

The bigger the hope, the greater the disappointment.

The national team unexpectedly lost, and one by one they turned sour, spouting golden quotes, creating a viral phenomenon.

Xu Yun had no intention of overly evaluating beliefs, for having a spiritual anchor is not a bad thing.

But from the perspective of scientific history’s development, Darwin’s turn to extremes was clearly not a good thing.

It led to many problems that could have been explained, even at this time, remaining unresolved, causing numerous logical gaps in the Theory of Evolution beyond belief, significantly impacting the development of modern evolutionary theory.

So for both emotion and logic, Xu Yun hoped to find a way to save this little girl.

After all, she was only ten when she died.

As for the cause of Annie’s death, perhaps due to the medical situation at the time, it remains a mystery to this day.

Later medical experts could only analyze Darwin’s diary, deducing three possibilities.

They are:

Tuberculosis, scarlet fever, and coronary heart disease.

It was already late 1850, just a month and a half before Christmas.

According to historical trajectory.

Annie would die in 1851—I can’t exactly remember the specific month, but considering the characteristics of the above diseases, the likelihood of it occurring in spring or summer is high.

At this thought.

Xu Yun pondered for a moment, feigning curiosity, and asked Darwin:

"Mr. Darwin, may I boldly ask, what are the symptoms when your daughter falls ill?"

"To be honest with you, the East has some special medicines that might help."

Darwin was slightly taken aback.

The East has always been a mysterious synonym in Europe, not to mention historically famous figures like Fat Fish, so Darwin didn’t really question Xu Yun’s statement.

He recalled for a moment and said:

"Annie’s symptoms come in two forms: one is chest tightness, and sometimes the heart has sharp pains, weakness all over, with weakened breathing."

"The other is fatigue, night sweats, feverishness, and occasionally mild low fevers..."

Hearing this, Xu Yun clenched his fists a bit tighter.

The symptoms Darwin described in the first form are clearly related to angina, but the latter...

Why does it feel like characteristics of the latent phase of tuberculosis?

Bear in mind.

In 2022, while tuberculosis isn’t a terminal illness, its treatment process isn’t simple.

Even though the industrial productivity of this time period in the dungeon has already reached nearly the 1900s, treating tuberculosis remains a challenge.

At this thought.

Xu Yun reached into his pocket and took out a small bottle.

Previously, from Hamilton’s book, he had learned that while nitroglycerin tablets have been found to treat coronary diseases, producing them is still very difficult.

Even at the Royal Society’s medical laboratory, they could only initially produce tablet presses.

Not to mention Darwin.

Even William Whewell, the president of Trinity College, would find it difficult to access such things.

It means people have recognized nitroglycerin’s cardiac effects and can initially prepare some semi-finished products. Technically it’s feasible, but the precise balancing process still requires experimentation.