When reading the article What is Evolution?, I found myself being a little uninterested. I realized that evolution is the genetic changes that take place within a species over generations, having taken a biology class that taught me that several years ago. I did find one part a bit interesting and worth writing about however, however small it may be. I really liked how the author explains that when a species evolves, that does not mean that it becomes more advanced or better than what it was before the change. The author brings that point up frequently, almost to the point of irritation to the reader, but the point really is an important one. Although it may seem obvious and simple when thinking about it, as Moran went through several “incorrect” definitions of evolution extracted from several different dictionaries, a few even being dictionaries of science, it was made clear this was a crucial piece of the definition to clarify. Evolution is what happens when populations need to adapt to their environment. Those specific adaptations may be completely successful at one point, and completely unsuccessful at another, making the idea that the more species evolve, the better and more specialized they become very inaccurate. Chris Colby I feel explained this much clearer in his Introduction to Evolutionary Biology when he stated, “Evolution is not progress.” Although I am a firm believer that the definition of evolution is not yet perfect, since it has been constantly revised over several years, I do believe this is a large and significant part that must not be overlooked.
WhitneyS
