Selection - The Mechanism of Evolution (Paperback, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1997)

Thisbookhasbeenwritten tomake a pointand tofulfill a need. Thepoint is that the importance and the distinctiveness of the process of selection have been undervalued by most biologists. There is, consequently, the need for a book that describes the principles of selection in a simple but reasonably comprehensive way. Selection Is a Distinct Kind ofProcess Although we are now well into the second century of Darwinism, the theorythatDarwinand Wallaceannouncedin 1858hasnotyetmademuch progress beyond a small coterie of professional biologists. The reason is thatit isjarringlyunfamiliar toournormalexperienceofhow things come to be. Few ofus would be able to design a light bulb or a lathe, still fewer the computerand itsattendant softwarewithwhich this sentence is being written. But we all have a clear idea of what is meant by "design", and we readily, too readily, transfer this notion to the natural world. A light bulb or a lathe are prefigured in the mind, and constructed according to a plan. It is entirely reasonable to assume that beetles and daisies must be constructed after the same fashion, especially because they are much morecomplicatedthananythingthathumaningenuityhassofarmanaged to devise. There is, however, a second route to complex organization, throughtheselectionofrandomvariantsthatpropagatenearlyexactcopies ofthemselves. Itisofverylittleconsequenceinourdailylives,becauseifis somuchmorelaboriousandexpensivethandeliberatedesign. However,it isanotherwayofconstructingthings. Indeed, sofarasIknow, itistheonly other way of constructing things that we have ever been able to imagine.

General

Imprint:	Springer-Verlag New York
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	March 2013
First published:	1997
Authors:	Graham Bell
Dimensions:	235 x 155 x 36mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	699
Edition:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1997
ISBN-13:	978-1-4613-7739-9
Categories:	Books > Medicine > Pre-clinical medicine: basic sciences > Medical genetics Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Life sciences: general issues > Evolution Promotions
LSN:	1-4613-7739-0
Barcode:	9781461377399

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