Module 4.2: Reflection Prompt

  My biggest breakthrough so far has been the realization that science does not have answers for everything but what makes it so fun, is working towards attempting to answer these questions. An example would be scientists working on formulating a standard way to quantify fitness to this day. Going back to the blog post I defined evolution, I would rephrase my claim that evolution depends (in all cases) on natural selection to occur. Natural selection may not lead to evolution. According to The Princeton Guide to Evolution, Losos claims, Natural selection can occur without leading to evolution if differences among individuals are not genetically based. For natural selection to cause evolutionary change, trait variants must be transmitted from parent to offspring; if that is the case, then offspring will resemble their parents and the trait variants possessed by the parents that produce the most offspring will increase in frequency in the next generation.  What I am still struggling to understand is the difference between two predictions Darwin’s idea of descent with modification make; lineages split and diverge, and species are not independent, but are connected by descent from common ancestors. I am excited to continue examining the principles behind biological evolution and finding ways to apply these principles in code.  

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