Question:
Both Darwin and Wallace developed the same theory to account for their interpretations of the data they had observed. How can you account for Wallace’s view that his putting forth the theory of evolution would have been seen as simply an “ingenious speculation” rather than the revolutionary effect of Darwin’s Origin of Species?
Answer:
When a thought or practice, or a process or a theory, or an event is been referred to as ingenious speculation, this means such thing is been characterized by cleverness or originality of invention and construction.
Wallace thought his theory of evolution would only be seen as ingenious speculation because as at that time Charles Darwin had not only written lots of books which earned him respect, he had been studied the thought longer, he had more readily available information from this past research than Alfred Wallace.
Because of this, Wallace courteously acknowledged Darwin as the originator of the idea even though he should have received credit for his work too.