Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Evolution has both random and deterministic mechanisms - the most important of the latter is natural selection. However, while natural selection is a non-random process, it often behaves and can even be modelled as if it were a completely random variable. In fact, doing so allows us to explain several major patterns in nature, such as Lewontin's paradox and cryptic species.
#evolution #education
Sources
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1209652
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2307107121
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00737158
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02982779
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2020.0416
journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1011623
Evolution has both random and deterministic mechanisms - the most important of the latter is natural selection. However, while natural selection is a non-random process, it often behaves and can even be modelled as if it were a completely random variable. In fact, doing so allows us to explain several major patterns in nature, such as Lewontin's paradox and cryptic species.
#evolution #education
Sources
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1209652
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2307107121
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00737158
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02982779
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2020.0416
journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1011623
