...Reflection on Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne The textbook Why Evolution is True was an extremely easy read with lots of whimsical thoughts thrown in to keep you attentive. My decision to take an evolution class as an elective was one that I had to truly take some thought and time to finally enroll. While my religious ties are very deep, I needed to open my mind to the possibility of different explanations into the creation of the creatures that inhabit the earth. My fears and tension were calmed when I read the preface to the book Mr. Coyne stated it so well and to the point: Accepting evolution needn’t turn you into a despairing nihilist or rob your life of purpose and meaning. It won’t make you immoral or give you the sentiments of a Stalin or Hitler. Nor need it promote atheism, for enlightened religion has always found a way to accommodate the advances of science. In fact, understanding evolution should surely deepen and enrich our appreciation of the living world and our place in it. (Coyne, 2009, p. xx) With this introduction to the text and Mr. Coyne’s calming of my fears that I would not burn in hell or be betraying my religion by opening my mind and heart to the information that is being provided. Why not open my mind to the possibility that the Theory of Evolution has some truth that is proven by scientific facts, I believe in medicine and that is based on scientific facts and research. The journey through each of the chapters covered in, Is Evolution True? Your...
Words: 3122 - Pages: 13
...increasing need to synthesize known facts about the developmental phenomena into mechanistic descriptions of complex systems. This ambition demands the need to understand the underlying determinants of evolvable developmental systems. I aim to review the dynamics of two systems-level phenomena: modularity and robustness and their evolutionary implications. Despite a plethora of literature, these terms have remained very ambiguous. Modularity reduces interdependence of components and confers robustness. Robustness, which is broadly understood, as the insensitivity of a biological systems functionalities to perturbations is another design principle in itself. Such robustness could enhance the potential for future evolutionary innovations. Both these properties therefore affect evolvability of a lineage. In this essay I aim to articulate my way through this hierarchy of modularity, robustness and evolvability, elucidating mechanisms that reveal their interplay to maximize functionality. I further discuss whether evolution of evolvability itself is possible. 1 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to sincerely thank my supervisor, Professor Armand Leroi for his guidance and support...
Words: 8370 - Pages: 34
...Natural Selection is the scientific theory first proposed by English Naturalist, Charles Darwin as an explanation for evolution. Darwin first became aware of the capability of this theory when he studied variation in plants and animals during a five-year voyage around the world in the 19th century. He noticed whilst in the Galapagos Islands that the habitat of certain finches on the island changed their physical characteristics. Darwin mainly focused on the shape of the finches beak according to their habitat, concluding that even though the finch had a common ancestor, their beak shaped evolved according the foods that they ate in their habitat. He continued the development of this theory by studying hundreds more plants and animals than on...
Words: 1779 - Pages: 8
...Foundations of Psychology When people hear the word psychology they may not always perceive it as a science. The science of psychology is based on the mental processes and behavior of human beings, and in some cases, animals. The foundations of psychology rely heavily upon four individual schools of thought. This includes the following perspectives: psychodynamic, behaviorist, cognitive, and evolutionary (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Although the biopsychological approach is not considered as one of the four major schools of thought within psychology, it plays an important role in the foundations of psychology. These perspectives focus on a unique viewpoint or approach toward the field of psychology and each brings new ideas and theories to the table. The Psychodynamic Perspective It can be said that Sigmund Freud was the father of the psychodynamic perspective of psychology. Freud developed this perspective based upon the idea that the unconscious self is responsible for certain “underlying wishes, fears, and patterns of thought from an individual’s conscious, verbalized thought, and behavior” (Kowalski & Westen, 2009, p. 13). Essentially, the psychodynamic perspective suggests that people’s actions and thoughts are influenced by unconscious factors that they may not be aware of. The goal of psychodynamic psychologists was to discover how these unconscious factors influence the behavior and mental processes of human beings. Due to the nature of this perspective psychologists...
Words: 1316 - Pages: 6
...similarities and differences between the three different Psychology Perspectives or specific theories of early Psychology. One theory used will be Structuralism. Another theory used in this paper will be the Functionalism. And lastly the Evolutionary theory will be used. This paper will explain three to four differences between each of the three theories listed and reviewed facts and see how one of these theories is superior to the others or that all three are comparable or equal. The thesis for this essay is “No matter how careful evolution, structuralism, and functionalism are examined, there is no evidence that these will not change in the future” Psychology Perspectives Structuralism, Functionalism, and Evolutionary theories each have similarities and differences among them. Both Structuralism and functionalism reflect the fact that consciousness is the subject matter, but both differ in how each should be studied. Evolutionary theory has potential to integrate conceptual approaches to study behavioral development for human adaption in both humans and animals which Structuralism and Functionalism stem form. Structuralism has many mental processes that are broken down into basic components. Functionalism forms a reaction to Structuralism which focuses on the purpose of both consciousness and behavior and emphasizes individual differences. Influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary theory, William James, John Dewey, James Rowland Angell, and Harvey A. Carr, all led a movement to determine...
Words: 948 - Pages: 4
...populations to the environment. Anthropology – The study of human culture and evolutionary aspects of human biology that includes: cultural, archeology and physical or biological anthropology. Applied anthropology – the practical application of anthropological and archeological theories and techniques. Artifacts – Objects or materials made or modified for use by modern humans and their ancestors. Biocultural evolution – The mutual interactive evolution of human biology and culture. The concept that biology makes culture further influences the direction of biological evolution. Bipedally – on two feet walking habitually on 2 legs. Culture – behavioral aspects of adaptation including technology, traditions, language religion, marriage. Data – Facts from which conclusions can be drawn scientific information. Empirical – relying on experiment or observation. Ethnographies – Detailed descriptive studies of human societies – ugsaatnii zui Ethnocentrism – Viewing other cultures from the inherently biased perspective of one’s own culture – undestnii deerengui uzel Evolution – A change in the genetic structure of a population. The term is also frequently used to refer to the appearance of a new species. Forensic anthropology – An applied anthropological approach that deals with legal matters. Forensic anthropologists work with coroners, police and others in identifying and analyzing human remains. Genetics – the study of gene structure and action and the patterns of inheritance...
Words: 1620 - Pages: 7
...Abstract Social Darwinism is a political theory that emphasizes struggle and competition, and claims that human racial stock improves by allowing ruthless and unrestrained competition in the economic realm. Social Darwinism apples the concepts of biological evolution to social and moral development by stating that it is social evolution through the "survival of the fittest" in a struggle for an existence in which the strong prevail and the weak are defeated. Currently, we use the terms of Darwinism, natural selection, and evolution interchangeably and use them to describe a process which uses random variations, and mutations are preserved through a process of natural competition that favors beneficial changes. A History and Understanding of Social Darwinism The term Darwinism may cause confusion in some people because they confuse Darwinism, the scientific theory, with Social Darwinism, the ethical theory. In truth, except for the name and a few basic principles, the two ideas do not have much in common and has very little to do with Charles Darwin, the English naturalist who famously suggested the scientific theory which states that a branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process he called natural selection. Social Darwinism is a term that started near the end of the nineteenth century and describes a set of social policies and theories designed to reduce the power of government with theories that attempt to explain the biological cause of human behavior. For the...
Words: 3138 - Pages: 13
...This article was downloaded by: [92.98.159.160] On: 14 March 2013, At: 21:43 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Journal of Wine Research Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjwr20 Winemakers and Wineries in the Evolution of the Italian Wine Industry: 1997–2006 Raffaele Corrado & Vincenza Odorici a a a Department of Management, University of Bologna, Via Capo di Lucca, 34, 40126, Bologna, Italy E-mail: Version of record first published: 30 Sep 2009. To cite this article: Raffaele Corrado & Vincenza Odorici (2009): Winemakers and Wineries in the Evolution of the Italian Wine Industry: 1997–2006, Journal of Wine Research, 20:2, 111-124 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09571260903169472 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-andconditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae...
Words: 7357 - Pages: 30
...Lecturer, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh bikasbd@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Nowadays it is very important to maintain a high level security to ensure safe and trusted communication of information between various organizations. But secured data communication over internet and any other network is always under threat of intrusions and misuses. So Intrusion Detection Systems have become a needful component in terms of computer and network security. There are various approaches being utilized in intrusion detections, but unfortunately any of the systems so far is not completely flawless. So, the quest of betterment continues. In this progression, here we present an Intrusion Detection System (IDS), by applying genetic algorithm (GA) to efficiently detect various types of network intrusions. Parameters and evolution processes for GA are discussed in details and implemented. This approach uses evolution theory to information evolution in order to filter the traffic data and thus reduce the complexity. To implement and measure the performance of our system we used the KDD99 benchmark dataset and obtained reasonable detection rate. KEYWORDS Computer & Network Security, Intrusion Detection, Intrusion Detection System, Genetic Algorithm, KDD Cup 1999 Dataset. 1. INTRODUCTION In 1987 Dorothy E. Denning proposed intrusion detection as is an...
Words: 4796 - Pages: 20
...categories: i. Forces holding the society together(social statics) ii. Those driving social change(social dynamics) Comte wrote so many books which contains the outline of his thought such as: i. Positive philosophy(1830 -42) ii. System of positive policy(1851 -54) iii. Religion of humanity (1958) Comte gave birth not only to a specific methodology of studying knowledge and also analyzed the evolution of human thinking and its various stages. He developed a unilinear theory of evolution. According to Comte, individual mind and human society pass through successive stages of historical evolution leading to some final stage of perfection. The principle developed by Comte in the study of human thinking presumes gradual evolution and development in human thinking and it is known as the law of three stages of thinking. Comte’s law of three stages represents that there are three intellectual stages through which the world has gone through this process but groups, societies, individual science and even minds go through three stages. As there has been an evolution in the human thinking so that each succeeding stage is superior to and more evolved than the preceding stages. Moreover, these three stages namely: i. Theological or Fictious Stage ii. Metaphysical or Abstract Stage iii....
Words: 5536 - Pages: 23
...protein coat of virus, viral genome packaging * envelope: lipid bilayer that contains proteins * enveloped viruses: genomes contain genes for synthesis of envelope proteins * viral genomes= virus-specific enzymes (nucleic acid replication) * non-living organism/not “alive” - lack that properties of life (no independent reproduction, no metabolic system= no energy, dependent on host cells 2. Why viral infections are usually difficult to treat with drugs, and exceptions to this general principle. * viruses= hidden in host cells, use host cell machinery to replicate (no obvious viral product to be targeted by drugs/antibiotics - not like bacteria) * symptoms can only be relieved not treated - natural immune function treats — some viruses deadly symptoms= prevention w/ vaccinations (e.g. measles, polio) * Viruses using own polymerases (e.g. RNA viruses - influenza)= more obvious targets - antiviral drugs to treat 3. Whether viruses are always pathogenic. * not all viruses= pathogenic - some benefit hosts e.g. some non-pathogenic viruses protect humans from pathogenic viruses * “protective” viruses - interfere with replication/functions of pathogenic viruses * some viruses defend host cells (e.g. bacteriophages/phages control bacteria growth) * viruses= vital to ecosystems (may be dominant...
Words: 4973 - Pages: 20
...Bio 156 – Midterm Study Guide Lesson One I. Characteristics of Life • List four main characteristics of all living things II. Diversity and Organizing Life • Describe three ways of classifying, or ordering, life on earth. • Given a random ordering of the levels of organization of life, rearrange them into the proper sequence. • Describe the concept "an organism is more than the sum of its parts." • List the six kingdoms of life. • By definition, distinguish between a population, a community, and an ecosystem. • Distinguish between a producer, a consumer and a decomposer. III. Origins of Diversity- Evolution of Life • Define the term "biodiversity. • Define the term "evolution." • Describe how diversity of life can arise by the operation of natural selection. IV. The Nature of Biological Inquiry – Scientific Method • Distinguish between a hypothesis and a prediction • Distinguish between inductive and deductive logic • What is meant by the phrase "potentially falsifiable hypothesis"? • Define the term "control group" and tell the value of a control group in an experiment • Define the term "theory" and tell at what point in a study a hypothesis becomes a theory • Design an experiment to test a given hypothesis, using the procedure and terminology of the scientific method. Try the problem:...
Words: 3446 - Pages: 14
...COLLECTED VIEWS ON COMPLEXITY IN SYSTEMS JOSEPH M. SUSSMAN JR East Professor Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts April 30, 2002 The term “complexity” is used in many different ways in the systems domain. The different uses of this term may depend upon the kind of system being characterized, or perhaps the disciplinary perspective being brought to bear. The purpose of this paper is to gather and organize different views of complexity, as espoused by different authors. The purpose of the paper is not to make judgments among various complexity definitions, but rather to draw together the richness of various intellectual perspectives about this concept, in order to understand better how complexity relates to the concept of engineering systems. I have either quoted directly or done my best to properly paraphrase these ideas, apologizing for when I have done so incorrectly or in a misleading fashion. I hope that this paper will be useful as we begin to think through the field of engineering systems. The paper concludes with some “short takes” -- pungent observations on complexity by various scholars -- and some overarching questions for subsequent discussion. AUTHOR A THEORY OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS Edward O. Wilson Herbert Simon SOURCE Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge “The Architecture of Complexity”, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 106, No. 6, December...
Words: 7863 - Pages: 32
...Eugenics Intro The Theory of Eugenics was a widely embraced during the early 20th century. Canada and Germany both have their roots tied to misapplication of Darwinism that emerged from Britain. The term Eugenics first appeared in England and was coined by Francis Galton in 1869. Galton and supporters of eugenics promoted Social Darwinism, which applied the concept of biological evolution to societies. This embraces the notion that human societies can evolve into “superior” forms. These Governments targeted marginalized groups and applied the principles of racial hygiene using forced sterilization, and genocide. Even though Canada and Germany used different over arching strategies, but their main objective was to determine who is fit to be apart of the nation. Similarities During the 1930’s eugenics benign form promoted healthy living and “social purity”. However in its tyrannical form, the program-sought ways to ensure “fit” members of society that portrayed undesirable elements were bred out of the population. In most countries where eugenics beliefs were enshrined in legislation, efforts were made to limit reproduction among “unfit” groups through public education, institutionalization and forced sterilization. While Nazi Germany, eugenics beliefs woven into nationalism led to the forced sterilization thousands. They created concentration camps for Jewish and the “Lebensborn” program in which young German women with classic Nordic features forced to mate with members...
Words: 1439 - Pages: 6
...Syllabus Vs Curriculum Outline Difference between a syllabus and a curriculum. An account of the salient factors we have to consider for constructing a syllabus. 1. Introduction. 2. Syllabus and curriculum A. Definition of syllabus B. Definition of curriculum C. Difference between syllabus and curriculum a. Basic difference b. Differences in detail approaches 3. Factors to construct a syllabus A. Type A: What is to be learn B. Type B. How is to be learn C. Van EK’s necessary component D. Selection of the content E. Organization of the content F. Components to design a syllabus a. Set A b. Set B c. Set C d. Set D G. McDonough about syllabus design H. Criteria for selection and grading a. Structural b. Topic c. Functional 4. The need for a syllabus A. Should a syllabus be explicit, and if so, to whom? B. Basic organizing principles 5. Creating and reinterpreting a syllabus 6. Conclusion Introduction: Throughout the 1970s while language teaching theorists and practititioners excited themselves with course design for Specific Purpose language teaching, and while needs of adult migrants and private sectors or industrial language learners were extensively examined, the majority of learners of English continued to struggle with large classes, limited text books, few contact hours, and years of unintensive study. The work of many teachers had either been...
Words: 4040 - Pages: 17
