Mutation and evolution

Month: November 2014

  • Conceptual frameworks and the problem of variation

    Conceptual frameworks guide our thinking Our efforts to understand the world depend on conceptual frameworks and are guided by metaphors.  We have lots of them.  I suspect that most are applied without awareness.  If I am approaching a messy problem for the first time, I might begin with the idea that there are various “factors”…

  • Randomness in Evolution (Bonner)

    John Tyler Bonner’s Randomness in Evolution (2013; Princeton University Press) is a small and lightweight book— 123 pages, plus a bibliography with a mere 43 references.  So, I won’t feel too bad for giving it a rather small and lightweight review, based on a superficial reading.   Last year, I was tasked…