What Darwin did

[slimjim]

If Darwin was the first to propose evolution and natural selection, how come we've long known how to improve animals like dogs and horses through selective breeding? Why did nobody realise what this meant much earlier than Darwin?

[rekstout]

Perhaps because selective breeding is an artifical process as opposed to Darwins natrual selection/"survival of the fittest" hypothesis.
Besides, in his time humans were not seen as complex animals but a creation of God so nobody would have made the connection.
Darwin probably wasn;t the first to have this idea - just the most prominent - I could imagine many scientists of the day coming to similar conclusions but not voicing them through fear of ridicule.
A large proportion of US citizens even today believe that the work is less the 4000 years old and that Creationism is the way to go.

[simon_says]

Darwin certainly wasn't he first to have this idea. He was sent a letter detailing evolution, the origin of species, the survival of the fittest, etc,( from whom I can't recall at this moment, though i'm sure the answerbankers won't fail me!! ) and this lead him to write his theory - which was widely ridiculed at he time.

[wildwood]

The gentleman Simon may be refering to could be Alfred Russell Wallace. Darwin received a letter from Wallace postulating the very same theories on evolution as he had formed over the last 20 years. This forced him to get his A. into G. and in 1858 officially published the theory as a joined affort with Wallace. The next year he published his 'origin of the species' for which he became famous.

[Azimov]

Darwin didn't postulate the theory, he extended it, described it fully and then proved it!