Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
Charles DarwinRead
I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Natural selection explains how useful variations in species are preserved over generations.
This quote by Charles Darwin encapsulates the idea of natural selection, a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology. It suggests that in nature, the variations among individuals that are advantageous for survival and reproduction are retained and passed on to future generations, leading to gradual adaptation and evolution of species over time.
Themes
Natural SelectionEvolutionAdaptationSpeciesVariation
In practice
Example use cases
In a biology class while discussing the principles of evolution.
More from Charles Darwin
All quotes βThe highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.
Charles DarwinRead
I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science....It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many flaw[s] & holes as sound parts.
Charles DarwinRead
We cannot fathom the marvelous complexity of an organic being; but on the hypothesis here advanced this complexity is much increased. Each living creature must be looked at as a microcosm--a little universe, formed of a host of self-propagating organisms, inconceivably minute and as numerous as the stars in heaven.
Charles DarwinRead
we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps
Charles DarwinRead
I am not the least afraid to die
Charles DarwinRead
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I learnt to distrust all physical concepts as the basis for a theory. Instead one should put one's trust in a mathematical scheme, even if the scheme does not appear at first sight to be connected with physics. One should concentrate on getting interesting mathematics.
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I assert that the cosmic religious experience is the strongest and the noblest driving force behind scientific research.
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