thanks for your valuable input i hate to say it but you are right the level of detail in both the lead and the main article are too much if history of biology can fit into k history of evolutionary thought should fit into less than k i will try and break out detail into child articles i can already see evolutioanry ideas of the enlightenment and eclipse of darwinism or perhaps just alternatives to natural slection coming i also see a bunch of detail moving to transmutation of species and there is probably too much overlap with modern evolutionary synthesis now as well you have given me quite a bit to chew on