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Evolution Quotes

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Evolution Quotes

“The vigorous branching of life's tree, and not the accumulating valor of mythical marches to progress, lies behind the persistence and expansion of organic diversity in our tough and constantly stressful world. And if we do not grasp the fundamental nature of branching as the key to life's passage across the geological stage, we will never understand evolution aright.”

Source: I Have Landed: Splashes and Reflections in Natural History

“Once evolution gets a good basic design, it tends to throw away the variants and concentrate on the near-infinite diversity within that design.”

Design Evolution Diversity Infinite

Book:Rise of Endymion

Source: Rise of Endymion

“Creationists argue that natural selection is only a negative process, and therefore cannot create anything. Chopra argues that skepticism is only a negative process, and therefore does not lead to knowledge. Both are wrong for the same reasons. They ignore the generation of diversity and new ideas upon which natural selection and skepticism acts. Weeding out the unfit is critical to both - natural selection allows evolution to proceed, and skepticism allows science to advance.”

Doe Ideas Reason Religion Process Natural Generations Atheism Evolution Diversity Negative Critical Arguing Weed Skepticism New Ideas Selection Natural Selection

Author:Steven Novella

“The main goal is to increase diversity. The one thing that is bad for society is low diversity. This is true for culture or evolution, for species and also for whole societies. If you become a monoculture, you are at great risk of perishing.”

Ifs Whole Culture Goal Risk One Thing Evolution Diversity Lows Increase Species Great Risk Perishing Monoculture

Author:George M. Church

“The daily grinding of evolution, as accelerated by technology, churns out more and more complex organisms, with higher rates of energy use, and with increasing specialization. Minds are the ideal way to express complexity, energy density, increasing specialization, expanding diversity -- all in one system. Mindedness is what evolution produces. Mindedness is what technology wants, too.”

Way Want Mind Use Energy Technology Produce Evolution Higher Diversity Ideals Complexes Rate Complexity Organisms Expanding Density Specialization Energy Use

Author:Kevin Kelly

“If we want to sum up the theory of evolution by natural selection in two words, which have great relevance for all societies and businesses, we should simply remember: diversity works.”

Ifs Want Should Two Remember Natural Theory Evolution Diversity Selection Relevance Natural Selection Theory Of Evolution

Book:The 80/20 Principle and 92 Other Powerful Laws of Nature: The Science of Success

Source: The 80/20 Principle and 92 Other Powerful Laws of Nature: The Science of Success

“Darwin's theory of evolution is a framework by which we understand the diversity of life on Earth. But there is no equation sitting there in Darwin's 'Origin of Species' that you apply and say, 'What is this species going to look like in 100 years or 1,000 years?' Biology isn't there yet with that kind of predictive precision.”

Years Looks Kind Earth Theory Evolution Diversity Sitting Species Biology Equations Framework Precision Theory Of Evolution Origin Of Species Diversity Of Life

Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson

“Life shows no trend to complexity in the usual sense-only an asymmetrical expansion of diversity around a starting point constrained to be simple.”

Life Shows Simple Evolution Diversity Starting Complexity Trends Usual Expansion Starting Point

Book:Eight little piggies: reflections in natural history

Source: Eight little piggies: reflections in natural history

“Biology is a science of three dimensions. The first is the study of each species across all levels of biological organization, molecule to cell to organism to population to ecosystem. The second dimension is the diversity of all species in the biosphere. The third dimension is the history of each species in turn, comprising both its genetic evolution and the environmental change that drove the evolution. Biology, by growing in all three dimensions, is progressing toward unification and will continue to do so.”

“Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends.”

Different Ends Might Science Taken Seeing Groups Evolution Diversity Bird Originals Structure Species Related Fancy

Book:On the Origin of Species

Source: On the Origin of Species

“Unity of plan everywhere lies hidden under the mask: of diversity of structure-the complex is everywhere evolved out of the simple.”

Science Lying Simple Plans Evolution Diversity Structure Unity Complexes Mask

Book:Lay Sermons, Addresses, and Reviews

Source: Lay Sermons, Addresses, and Reviews

“The rich diversity of the world's cultures reflects a corresponding diversity in the wilds that gave them birth.”

World Culture Rich Evolution Birth Diversity Corresponding

Book:Aldo Leopold: A Sand County Almanac & Other Writings on Conservation and Ecology: (Library of America #238)

Source: Aldo Leopold: A Sand County Almanac & Other Writings on Conservation and Ecology: (Library of America #238)

“The evolution of culture is ultimately determined by the amount of love, understanding and freedom experienced by its children... Every abandonment, every betrayal, every hateful act towards children returns tenfold a few decades later upon the historical stage, while every empathic act that helps a child become what he or she wants to become, every expression of love toward children heals society and moves it in unexpected, wondrous new directions.”