". . . although I still read Pliny and Buffon with delight, authors, in my estimation, of nearly equal interest and utility." (24)
Buffon, aka Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist and mathematician. Known for "Buffon's needle", he introduced calculus and probability to the world. Although he may not have been named as a biologist, he brought many new ideas to this field. Buffon greatly influenced Percy Shelley. Percy alluded to Buffon's theory of "human race" in a letter to a life long friend. "Human race" was also included in the last letter to Mary Shelley's History of a Six Week's Tour.
"Buffon biography." MacTutor History of Mathematics. Web. 07 Sept. 2009. http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Buffon.html.
http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/knarf/Buffon/buffon.html
Buffon, aka Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist and mathematician. Known for "Buffon's needle", he introduced calculus and probability to the world. Although he may not have been named as a biologist, he brought many new ideas to this field. Buffon greatly influenced Percy Shelley. Percy alluded to Buffon's theory of "human race" in a letter to a life long friend. "Human race" was also included in the last letter to Mary Shelley's History of a Six Week's Tour.
"Buffon biography." MacTutor History of Mathematics. Web. 07 Sept. 2009. http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Buffon.html.
http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/knarf/Buffon/buffon.html
But why include him? Thing bigger picture. Why would Shelley include this moment?
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