1858: Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace jointly publish On the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural selection [39] [41]

Art Piece: Wisdom Triumphing over Death, Evil, and Vice, Bernart Prooijs, 1594 [14]

Paper: The origin and early evolution of mitochondria [66]

In terms of paradigm shifts, this publication is probably one of the largest paradigm shifts on this entire timeline. After receiving a letter from A.R. Wallace wherein Wallace essentially wrote [39] Darwin’s ideas to him after coming up with very similar theories himself, Darwin decided to co-publish with Wallace their independently discovered theory in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society. This put Darwin and Wallace’s theories regarding evolution and natural selection out into the world, a historic moment for science and society as a whole. The independent discovery and elucidation of the theories of evolution and natural selection by both Darwin and Wallace — two very different [102] people who did field work in very different locations — shows another type of paradigm shift as well: the shift(s) in society which allowed Darwin and Wallace to make their discoveries in the first place. Notably, high-hanging fruit — the theory of evolution and natural selection — was able to become low-hanging fruit due to overall scientific advances. Moreover, things like British imperialism [70], which allowed for scientific specimens from across the world to be collected and accumulated in Great Britain, as well as overall advances in scientific processes, allowed Darwin and Wallace to formulate their iconic theory. The artwork above [14], entitled “Wisdom Triumphing over Death, Evil, and Vice” can represent this significant moment in science, this paradigm shift. Notably, the wisdom of Darwin and Wallace allowed them to triumph over others, and more specifically, they were able to triumph over death since their legacy still holds today and they are remembered for their work, over the evils of competition and comparison, over the vices of procrastination and publication apathy. This artwork is dramatic, fitting for such a dramatic paradigm shift. Moreover, the above scientific paper also [66] shows what has been made possible thanks to Darwin and Wallace — the paper discusses the origin and early evolution of mitochondria and its relationship with other organelles, research which would not have been possible if not for the significant work of Darwin and Wallace, a huge paradigm shift.