A Small History of Big Evolutionary Ideas - Robin May

Gresham College

23 Oct 202360:35

EducationalLearning

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TLDRIn this lecture, professor Robin May explores key thinkers and ideas in the history of evolutionary biology. Beginning with Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, he discusses how Victorian innovations primed society to accept evolutionary concepts. Other influential scientists covered include Francis Galton, who coined 'eugenics'; Ronald Fisher, originator of P values; and William Hamilton, formulator of Hamilton's rule for altruism. Throughout, May relates core principles like genetic inheritance, adaptation, and inclusive fitness to everyday phenomena, from mobile phone evolution to moving house, elucidating why evolutionary perspectives remain profoundly relevant.

Takeaways

😀 Darwin's theory of evolution was influenced not just by finches, but also by pigeons and other domesticated animals
😮 Inheritance patterns in humans follow a regression to the mean, with extreme traits being rare
😠 Galton took evolutionary ideas too far with damaging eugenics proposals
🤓 Mendel's experiments on peas demonstrated particulate inheritance
😇 Hamilton showed how costly behaviors can evolve if they benefit genetic relatives
👍 Dawkins popularized the idea that evolution acts on genes as 'selfish' units
😊 Beatrice Potter made early contributions linking evolutionary ideas to everyday life
🤔 Epigenetic effects can allow some Lamarckian-style inheritance across generations
💡 Evolutionary thinking can help understand technology adoption and development
🙂 Genuine human altruism improves reproductive success by enabling better partnerships

Q & A

What was Darwin's approach to studying biodiversity during his voyage on the HMS Beagle?
-Darwin's approach was to shoot the animals he encountered, since photography had not been invented yet. He would then take the dead specimens back home for further study.
How did the ideas of evolution gain more acceptance during Darwin's lifetime?
-Two key reasons are: 1) Darwin's calm and thoughtful arguing of his case, and 2) the fast pace of innovation during the Industrial Revolution, which made people more open to big ideas about change over time.
How did Francis Galton's work on inheritance patterns pave the way for modern genetics?
-By gathering data on human traits like height across generations, Galton realized there was a "regression to the mean", rather than direct inheritance. This revealed the particulate nature of inheritance, later found to be genes.
What is William Hamilton's theory of inclusive fitness, and why is it important?
-Hamilton realized altruistic behaviors can evolve if the cost to the altruist is less than the benefit to relatives, weighted by their genetic relatedness. This explains self-sacrifice in social insects and other behaviors.
How did Ronald Fisher resolve the conflict between blending inheritance and particulate inheritance?
-Fisher realized that many discrete genetic variants, when combined in an organism's full genome, produce continuous phenotypic variation due to the interplay of genes.
What evidence shows humans may have an instinct to care for big-eyed babies?
-Experiments show people feel more inclined to care for big-eyed figures. Disney animators exploit this by giving cute characters big eyes. It triggers an innate care response, evolved to make us nurture our big-eyed infants.
What is epigenetics and how has it resurrected some ideas of Lamarck?
-Epigenetics involves chemical tags on DNA that regulate gene activity. Some epigenetic states induced by environment get passed to offspring, supporting a modern form of Lamarckism.
How does Gresham relate evolution to technology development and business innovation?
-He notes how applications like mobile phones undergo selection and diversification much like an evolving species. Business leaders can apply evolutionary thinking about variation, selection and gradual optimization.
Why do bees sacrifice themselves to defend their hive?
-Due to their haplodiploid genetics, worker bees are more related to their sisters than their offspring. So saving their colony preserves more copies of their genes than having their own young.
How does being genuinely altruistic actually benefit an organism's evolutionary success?
-Truly altruistic individuals have greater long-term reproductive success because altruism helps win high-quality mating partners, even if it doesn't help win one-night stands.

Outlines

00:00

🤓 Introducing the lecturer and overview of lecture content

The lecturer Professor Robin May introduces himself and gives an overview of the lecture content. He talks about why evolutionary biology is still relevant today, how it can provide solutions to modern human problems, and key thinkers and ideas that shaped the field.

05:02

🐦 Darwin's thinking shaped by domesticated pigeons; ideas fit innovative Victorian mindset

Darwin's evolutionary thinking was influenced not just by Galapagos finches but also by domesticated pigeons bred by fanciers to have different traits. The acceptance of Darwin's ideas in Victorian times was likely aided by rapid innovation happening then - people were open to big, transformative ideas.

10:03

🌳 Basic principle of evolution: Inheritable variation and environmental selection

The basic principles of evolution rely on organisms overproducing offspring with inherent variations, and the environment selecting which variations survive to reproduce further. This results in a "tree" of increasing diversity over generations.

15:07

😞 Darwin's cousin Galton pioneered statistics but promoted disturbing eugenics ideas

Darwin's cousin Francis Galton pioneered statistical techniques but disturbingly also coined the term "eugenics" - the idea that the human race could be improved by selective breeding, which influenced crimes against humanity in the 20th century.

20:07

🍀 Mendel's experiments on peas demonstrated inheritable genetic "particles"

Gregor Mendel's famous breeding experiments on peas demonstrated that discrete genetic "particles" governing traits are passed intact between generations, foreshadowing the later discovery of genes and DNA.

25:10

📈 Ronald Fisher reconciled genetics with continuous trait variation

Ronald Fisher reconciled Gregor Mendel's genetics with continuous trait variation by showing that blending many discrete genetic variants together in an organism results in normally distributed traits like height.

30:11

🦚 Fisher explained extravagant traits evolving via sexual selection

Ronald Fisher coined the term "Fisherian runaway" to explain how extravagant traits like a peacock's tail, which are detrimental for survival, can still evolve if they give an advantage in securing mates.

35:17

😍 Hamilton showed how genetic relatedness drives altruistic behaviors

W.D. Hamilton developed a mathematical model showing how costly altruistic behaviors can still evolve if they sufficiently benefit genetic relatives - explaining phenomena like workers sacrificing for their colonies.

40:19

👪 Genetic relatedness unconsciously affects our helpfulness and generosity

Hamilton's theory manifests unconsciously in everyday life - we are more willing to help relatives move house or donate money/organs to them in proportion to our genetic relatedness.

45:21

😀 Evolutionary thinking has modern relevance including for businesses and technology

In conclusion, evolutionary thinking has modern relevance beyond biology - businesses can apply it when launching innovations, and it can aid developing AI algorithms through iterative testing.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Natural Selection

Natural selection is the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more. It was Darwin and Wallace's key insight that explained evolution. The video illustrates natural selection through examples like Galapagos finches adapting their beaks to the food sources on different islands.

💡Variation

Variation refers to the differences between individuals of a species. Along with overproduction of offspring, it provides the raw material for natural selection. The video emphasizes how inevitable variation during reproduction allows selective pressures to shape future generations.

💡Altruism

Altruistic behaviors seem contrary to natural selection, yet Hamilton's rule explains how they can evolve if they benefit genetic relatives. The video explores research on altruism and generosity declining predictably with genetic distance.

💡Genetics

Darwin lacked genetics to explain the mechanism of inheritance underlying natural selection. Mendel showed that discrete units (genes) explain blending of characteristics. Fisher then illustrated how many genes create observable variation.

💡Evolutionary Behavior

While early research focused more on physical traits, scientists in the 1950s began investigating if behaviors also evolve adaptively. Hamilton formalized ideas around altruism, cooperation and selfish genes.

💡Artificial Selection

Darwin realized breeders could dramatically change domesticated species in short periods by picking traits they favored. This human-driven evolution helped inspire his theory of natural selection.

💡Social Insects

Explaining altruistic behaviors in social insects like bees requires understanding their genetics. Since males come from unfertilized eggs, workers are more related to sister workers than potential offspring.

💡Molecular Biology

By linking abstract inheritance patterns to DNA sequences, molecular biology strengthened natural selection as the underlying explanation for diverse adaptations.

💡Gradual Change

While new species or features seem to require large jumps, the video emphasizes how most evolution progresses slowly through successive incremental changes over time.

💡Pseudoscience

The video cautions how even brilliant biologists like Fisher falsely rejected smoking's link to cancer, warning against misapplying evolutionary theory to justify biases.

Highlights

Darwin's thinking was influenced by pigeons & livestock breeding showing measurable change is possible within a human lifetime.

Darwin's quiet & tolerant personality may have contributed to the relatively smooth acceptance of his revolutionary evolutionary ideas.

Evolutionary thinking aligned with the innovation mindset of the Victorian industrial revolution, making big ideas like species change seem more plausible.

Mobile phone evolution demonstrates natural selection principles of variation and environmental selection pressures applied by human choices.

Genetics provides the mechanism to explain Darwin's observation of natural selection.

Fisher showed that sexual selection drives evolution of traits like peacock tails, even if disadvantageous, an idea called Fisherian Runaway.

Hamilton formalized the idea that costly behaviors can evolve if the benefit to related organisms outweighs the cost, known as Hamilton's rule.

Dawkins built on Hamilton's rule in explaining evolution acts on genes as replicators, not individual organisms - the core idea of the 'selfish gene'.

Requesting moving help correlates to the genetic relatedness of potential helpers, showing Hamilton's rule in action.

People donate more money to relatives matching genetic relatedness, but overestimate lifesaving altruism until faced with real costs.

Genuine, non-relative altruists have higher lifetime reproductive success by achieving better partnerships.

Epigenetic evidence shows some Lamarckian acquisition of traits is possible, resurrecting ideas of within-lifetime adaptation.

Human supremacy over animals is scientifically wrong - we occupy one small branch among diverse evolving species.

Like any discovery, evolutionary ideas risk misuse but have greater positive potential through thoughtful application.

AI algorithms mimic Darwinian evolution via iterative survivial of the fittest, so evolutionary theory may optimize development.

Transcripts

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