The Evolution of Evolvability

[swestrup]

Some scientists recently 'discovered' that evolvability can evolve. I use the quotes not because I believe it, but due to sheer amazement that this was something that needed discovery. Evolution is just as much a law of physics as many others, and the laws of physics apply everywhere. Thus, you have to assume that whenever speed of adaptation is selected for, then it will evolve. How long will it take them to figure out that the evolution of evolvability can evolve as well???

Comments

[sps.livejournal.com]

I wrote a paper about this as an undergrad, of course. Homeobox was the clinching piece of empirical evidence for me, but of course it's staring you in the eye in the mathematics, you can't miss it fi you think about it. Then about five years ago I got interested in medium-term conservatism switches. Those have show up, too; fruit flies, at least, turn out to have a panic adaptation mode.

The thing that makes me so very, very angry is that evolutionary scientists are just like creationists: they believe things but they don't bloody think.