ATTACGAAACTCTGAAGATTTCAAACGGGAACGTCTGAATCCT
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Influences on Darwin
I would say that Thomas Malthus had the most
influence over Darwin’s development of his theory of Natural Selection in a
positive way. Malthus wrote “An Essay on the Principle of Population” that
inspired Charles Darwin to further his discoveries.
Thomas Malthus wrote “Essay on the Principle of Population” which proposed that populations grow at an exponential rate, far quicker then food supplies and other resources. This made it difficult for populations to survive without being regulated. He proposed many forms of population control, specifically in humans, so that the resources would not be completely depleted. After reading Malthus' essay, Darwin was able to conclude that the population imbalance would eventually lead to competition between offspring. This would mostly be seen in biology instead of humans as Malthus discussed. Since certain offspring would be better fit to survive, they would ultimately be the ones to thrive and reproduce while the others died off.
The first point most directly affected by Malthus’ work is “All organisms have the potential of reproducing exponentially”. This was Malthus’ main point in his literature, “Essay on the Principle of Population”. He argued that there is a tendency for populations to increase in size exponentially while resources remain relatively the same. The second point that affected by Malthus was “Resources are limited”. He states that resources do not increase as quickly as population, therefore creating a shortage for organisms. Essentially, the size of a population is kept in check with the amount of resources available. Both of these points lead to Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
Darwin was on the right track to developing his theory of natural selection, however it was not until he read Thomas Malthus’ essay that he was able to put the pieces together. After reading the essay, he realized there would always be a “struggle for existence” between species. He called this natural selection.
The church did not accept scientific theories of evolution during the time of Darwin’s discovery. Many were afraid the Church would be destroyed if these theories were accepted. This caused Darwin to be very hesitant about publishing his work. Darwin eventually published his book because he realized if he didn’t, Wallace would and he would lose credit for all of the work he had accomplished.
Sources: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/malthus.html
Thomas Malthus wrote “Essay on the Principle of Population” which proposed that populations grow at an exponential rate, far quicker then food supplies and other resources. This made it difficult for populations to survive without being regulated. He proposed many forms of population control, specifically in humans, so that the resources would not be completely depleted. After reading Malthus' essay, Darwin was able to conclude that the population imbalance would eventually lead to competition between offspring. This would mostly be seen in biology instead of humans as Malthus discussed. Since certain offspring would be better fit to survive, they would ultimately be the ones to thrive and reproduce while the others died off.
The first point most directly affected by Malthus’ work is “All organisms have the potential of reproducing exponentially”. This was Malthus’ main point in his literature, “Essay on the Principle of Population”. He argued that there is a tendency for populations to increase in size exponentially while resources remain relatively the same. The second point that affected by Malthus was “Resources are limited”. He states that resources do not increase as quickly as population, therefore creating a shortage for organisms. Essentially, the size of a population is kept in check with the amount of resources available. Both of these points lead to Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
Darwin was on the right track to developing his theory of natural selection, however it was not until he read Thomas Malthus’ essay that he was able to put the pieces together. After reading the essay, he realized there would always be a “struggle for existence” between species. He called this natural selection.
The church did not accept scientific theories of evolution during the time of Darwin’s discovery. Many were afraid the Church would be destroyed if these theories were accepted. This caused Darwin to be very hesitant about publishing his work. Darwin eventually published his book because he realized if he didn’t, Wallace would and he would lose credit for all of the work he had accomplished.
Sources: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/malthus.html
Monday, April 6, 2015
Stranded on an Island
If I were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring two things, they would be items essential to my survival. Since I am guessing there is no service on the island, my cell phone is out. I would most likely end up bringing a small pot for boiling water and a flint to start a fire. Hopefully that would be enough to keep me going until I could be rescued!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)