Secular Assembly – The evolution of the Darwin-Wallace story: from history to pop science mythology

28 February 2026 by

Date
28/02/2026

Time
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Location
Harmony in Diversity Gallery (HDG) seminar room
Ministry of National Development (MND) Building Annexe B, 7 Maxwell Road, #04-05/06
Singapore


Secular Assembly – Darwin Day 2026

Humanists celebrate Darwin Day to honour curiosity, evidence, and the scientific spirit that helps us better understand our world. We’re excited to welcome Dr John back as he revisits Darwin with a fascinating talk that separates myth from historical reality. In an age of fake news and AI-generated content, learning how stories are shaped, distorted, and believed has never been more important—for all of us.

The Secular Assembly by Humanist Society Singapore is a community of humanists and other like-minded people inspiring and helping each other find our purposes and meanings in life through music, personal stories, and mindfulness practices based on reason, evidence, and compassion.
This month’s Secular Assembly is held in collaboration with Harmony in Diversity Gallery (HDG). Before the Assembly, there will be a optional 45mins tour of HDG.
Registration is required, please do so at eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/humanistsg-the-darwin-wallace-story-from-history-to-pop-science-mythology-tickets-1980802752354

Featured talk – The evolution of the Darwin-Wallace story: from history to pop science mythology

Speaker: Dr John van Wyhe (Historian of Science, Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore, and Director of Darwin Online https://darwin-online.org.uk/)

The story of Darwin and Wallace is one of the most important in the history of science. The version familiar today is: Despite coming up with ‘the same theory’, Wallace lost out compared to the wealthy and well-connected Darwin who got all the fame for the theory of evolution. It is a great injustice that Wallace has become mysteriously forgotten. We could have had ‘Wallaceism’ instead of ‘Darwinism’. And so on.

Yet, this version of the story dates back only to the 1960s-1980s when every aspect of it was created by cranks and conspiracy theorists. But the modern story seems self-evidently true! Darwin is so famous and Wallace is not.

The first clue is the fact that the original Darwin-Wallace story told for one hundred years was very different. And, recent research reveals, the original version was historically accurate and the modern version is not. Indeed it is pop science stuff not reputable history of science. Wallace was not a victim in any way. No one lied, cheated or broke the rules even though we have always heard that they did.

But the deeper lesson here goes beyond exposing the modern story as illegitimate. Historical stories have changed into this format many times since the 1960s. These modern stories sound like this: ‘A privileged insider got all the credit while a disadvantaged person was unfairly treated and swept under the carpet of history.’ Nothing pulls at our heart strings quite like such stories and nothing interests publishers and film makers more. And yet time and again we are being told stories which are not true. This shows us something more profound than one particular story being wrong – we get a glimpse at how histories change to suit the preferences of different generations and how we can be utterly unaware of this happening all around us.

You may learn more about Dr John and his publications at: http://darwin-online.org.uk/people/van_wyhe.html

Schedule of Assembly on 28 Feb 2026 (Sat)

  • 2pm-2:45pm: optional HDG gallery tour. Please arrive 10mins early to find your way to the gallery, instructions below.
  • 2:30-3:00pm: we invite participants not attending the HDG gallery tour to bring their books to our open library / book exchange outside the seminar room and mingle.
  • 3:00pm – 4:30pm: Assembly session. Please arrive early for registration and check-in.
  • 4:30pm onwards: End of event, optional mingle in small groups at Lau Pa Sat. Follow our Telegram channel to see what we sit.

Assembly session brief

There will be: short sing alongs, a talk/sharing, community sharing of personal stories and experiences, moments for reflection and gratitude, and more.

Assembly participants singing and dancing to Singalongs, Sep 2024

Assembly background

The Sunday Assembly movement was started in London, UK by comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans in 2013. They had both been churchgoers in their youth, stopped going and then realised they missed something; not the religious part, but rather the community, the stimulation, the singing, the being with others, the tea and cake afterwards. So they set up Sunday Assembly to see if a ‘church-like thing without religion’ could be done. And it could!

A typical Assembly program consists of (in no particular order) and lasts about 1 hour:

  • Songs – pop songs, or even songs of religious origin if they are lovely to listen and sing to
  • Speakers– on science, history, or current affairs to get you thinking and discussions going
  • Reading – This could be a poem or other short piece, related to the talk or not
  • Doing Your Best – Someone shares a personal story about something going on in their life. It could be something they have been grappling with, striving at, succeeded with, failed but learned from, or are involved with that’s worth sharing. It’s about reminding each other that we’re all trying the best we can.
  • Moment of Reflection – Invite the group to do a short reflection e.g. 2 minutes.
  • Life Happens – Invite the group to share highs and lows in their life.
  • Gratitude – Invite the group to express gratitude to their loved ones and others in life
  • Announcements

Collaboration with Harmony in Diversity Gallery (HDG)

The Harmony in Diversity Gallery (HDG) was developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in collaboration with community partners and organisations like the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO). The Gallery aims to promote an appreciation of Singapore’s rich religious diversity. It hopes this will foster a spirit of give and take, mutual respect and understanding, necessary to nurture and strengthen the religious peace and harmony we enjoy today [in Singapore].

Photo of Assembly participants taking part in the HDG gallery tour, Sep 2024


Seminar Room Layout

HDG Seminar Room


Pie Chart of various Faiths

HDG gallery

Directions to HDG

HDG is located at MND Building Annex B, Maxwell Road. It is on the 4th level above Amoy Street Food Centre. You can:-

(i) take MRT to Tanjong Pagar MRT Station (Exit G )and 5 minute walk towards Amoy Street Food Centre, access HDG at the 4th floor via lift A or B on the ground floor of Amoy Street Food Centre

(ii) take MRT to Maxwell MRT Station (Exit 2) and 10 minute walk along Maxwell Road towards Singapore City Gallery towards Amoy Street Food Centre and access HDG via lift A or B on the ground floor of Amoy Street Food Centre

(iii) take MRT to Telok Ayer MRT Station, (Exit A) and 10 minute walk towards Amoy Street Food Centre, access HDG at the 4th floor via lift C at the other end on the ground floor of the Amoy Street Food Centre where the AXS/ATM machines are located

(iv) self-drive and public parking is available at URA Centre East Wing via Kadayanallur Street or MND Complex Annex A car park. MND’s car park can be accessed from Maxwell Road and is located on the same level as HDG

(v) alight at Amoy Food Centre (proceed to lift A and B or lift C ) or at MND Carpark if they are arriving by taxi/Grab

Registration

Participants must register at eventbrite linked above to attend the event.