THE TALE OF
JAMES HUTTON
THE FATHER OF MODERN GEOLOGY

OR, A REALLY GOOD CASE FOR
TELLING A GOOD
STORY ABOUT DATA

J

ames Hutton was a naturalist from Scotland living in the 1700s.

James Hutton was a naturalist from Scotland living in the 1700s.

H

e loved long walks, rocks, and unfortunately, really long and
confounding passages of writing.

He loved long walks, rocks, and unfortunately, really long and confounding passages of writing.

This last point is particularly important. Hutton is now seen as the founder of modern geology, developing and laying the foundations for some of the most key concepts through which we understand the world:

ONE

The world is really, really old

TWO

The earth's surface is formed
by heat and pressure below

THREE

The earth's surface is
constantly changing

FOUR

Natural selection

U

nfortunately because very few were able to get through his convoluted writing, his discoveries were almost lost
to humanity.

Unfortunately because very few were able to get through his convoluted writing, his discoveries were almost lost to humanity.

We can thank John Playfair, Hutton's good friend, for the fact that we don't still believe that volcanoes are caused by angry gods or that the world is just a few thousand years old.

He was able to rewrite his friend's discoveries into language that was understood by the general public, and thus Hutton's genius and contributions were finally appreciated.

Sadly, by the time this happened, Hutton was already dead. He didn't live to see the impact his discoveries had on our understanding of the world.

Just imagine all the brilliant ideas that have been lost to humanity due to bad communication!

THERE'S A MORAL TO THIS STORY:

DON'T BE LIKE JAMES HUTTON!

*Or at least, let us be the Playfair to your Hutton.
(Minus the death, please.)

MAKE FACTS SEXY AGAIN.
DON'T LET THEM GET LOST.

Inspired by Bill Bryson's writing on James Hutton's contributions in A short History of Nearly Everything.
Excerpts from James Hutton's book A Theory of the Earth with Proofs and Illustrations, published in 1795.

You can find out more about James Hutton at:

https://famousscientists.org/ https://www.edinburghgeolsoc.org/ https://digital.nls.uk/

Back to Top