Questions tagged [evolution]
For questions about the development of evolution, including evolution before Darwin, Darwinian evolution through natural selection and Neo-Darwinism.
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1answer
77 views
What was considered Evolutionary Science or Biology proper in 1880-1890 in the US?
I have a question that is more related to the history of evolutionary biology rather than the science itself, namely I am interested in knowing what might have been considered the 'orthodoxy' of the ...
-1
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1answer
147 views
Did Einstein oppose evolution? [closed]
According to the laws of nature progression is always downward. One of these laws is the Second Law of Thermodynamics which says that isolated systems cannot increase in complexity. For example, a ...
3
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1answer
104 views
Did Darwin say that the human menstrual cycle length was influenced by the tides?
According to this article from the BBC's Science Focus
Charles Darwin thought that the 28-day human menstrual cycle was
evidence that our ancestors lived on the seashore and needed to
...
3
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1answer
64 views
When and why was the symbol w introduced for biological fitness
$w$ the visually similar $\omega$ are often used to represent biological fitness in population genetics models. (Sometimes $W$ is used for absolute fitness, and $w$ for relative fitness.)
These ...
3
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1answer
195 views
Popper on Marx, Freud and Darwin
I've encountered the following claim: If we, as Popper apparantly did, view Marx and Freud's body of work as non-scientific because core tenets are not falsifiable and we apply the same rubic to ...
6
votes
1answer
161 views
How was Mendel's work rediscovered after being forgotten for 45 years?
According to Melanie Mitchell's book, Complexity: A Guided Tour [PDF], Mendel's model
[...] was published in a rather obscure journal and was not appreciated as being of great importance until 1900, ...
7
votes
1answer
404 views
Who first suggested, contra the central dogma, that “junk” DNA may perform epigenetic functions?
There were in last several years papers in Science regarding DNA that does not code for any protein ("junk" DNA) as having epigenetic aspects, namely, switching on and off other genes and thus ...
5
votes
2answers
699 views
How important was the prediction of Neptune in 1846 for the Oxford evolution debate?
The short story is that based on Kepler's and Newton's physics, in 1846 Le Verrier mathematically predicted the existence and current location of Neptune within a single angular degree, and it was ...
10
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1answer
617 views
How did 19th century scientists estimate the age of the Earth
Let me briefly recall the "Age of the Earth controversy". Based on the hypothesis that Earth was originally hot and cools down ever since, and using the data on the gradient of temperature currently ...
2
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2answers
132 views
Who first developed the idea of conservation of information in physics?
I've recently come across the idea of the "conservation of information" in the so called Black Hole Information Paradox. Yet this article claims that:
Conservation of information is a term with a ...
1
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1answer
2k views
Darwin's theory of evolution quote?
A typical quote used to explain the theory of evolution by natural selection is:
"Variation is a feature of natural populations and every population produces more progeny than its environment can ...
7
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2answers
4k views
Did Darwin ever express his views on eugenics?
Although Darwin died a year before the term "eugenics" was coined by his cousin, Francis Galton, Galton had already been working on the idea of using selective breeding to improve humans genetically ...
2
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1answer
74 views
Was there a flaw with scientific thinking that theories such as geocentrism were widely accepted in the past?
Ideas such as Geocentrism were widely accepted in historic times. Models and theories were set out by some of the most prolific scientists and/or philosophers of the time. Those with opposing ideas ...
12
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1answer
140 views
How was the resemblance between apes and humans explained in pre-Darwinian biology?
How was the resemblance between apes and humans explained in pre-Darwinian biology? Who was the first biologist to note the resemblance?
9
votes
1answer
199 views
Theories on the beginning of photosynthesis, prior to Lynn Margulis work on symbiogenesis
Prior to the theory of symbiogenesis (heralded especially by Lynn Margulis in the late 60s), how did people explained the presence of chlorophyll in various, separate groups such as cyanobacteria, ...
29
votes
7answers
1k views
Was evolution ever discussed (perhaps using different terms) prior to Darwin?
It's common knowledge that Darwin is considered the father of evolution, but even humans have been breeding animals (and probably themselves) selectively for specific traits for thousands of years. ...
11
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1answer
93 views
How did Sedgwick explain the succession of species?
Adam Sedgwick was a master structural geologist and was one of the primary participants in the early days of stratigraphy - working out how rocks could be distinguished, extrapolated, etc.
Although ...
