I have filched the name of this poem from one of my favourite books. Written by Prof. Steve Jones, a scholar I have had the pleasure of debating with, this book attempts, with appropriate verve and humility, to update Charles Darwin’s ‘Origin Of Species’. Surprisingly, Prof Jones rises to the occasion, er, almost like a whale, while reminding us that evolution depends in essence on mistakes made in reproduction and the retention of those ‘mistakes’ that favour any individual’s survival and reproductive opportunities.

‘In North America, the black bear was seen by Hearne swimming for hours with widely open mouth, thus catching, almost like a whale, insects in the water...’ — Charles Darwin ‘Origin of Species’ (1859) quoted in ‘Almost Like A Whale’ by Steve Jones (Doubleday 1999).