Darwinism and Lamarckism: Understanding Evolution
Darwinism, which was proposed by Charles Darwin, is all about natural selection. This means that in nature, the strongest and best-suited creatures tend to survive and reproduce.
A classic example of this is the peppered moth.
In industrial England, there were two types of these moths: light-colored and dark-colored. Because of pollution, the tree bark became darker. As a result, the dark moths were harder for birds to see. This gave them a better chance to survive.
Between 1848 and 1896, the number of dark moths in cities increased a lot, from just 1% to 98%.
On the other hand, we have Lamarckism, which was introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. This idea suggests that creatures can pass on traits they learned during their life to their children.
A famous example is the giraffe. Lamarck thought that long ago, giraffes stretched their necks to reach higher leaves in trees. According to him, this longer neck was then passed down to their offspring.
However, this idea doesn't have strong evidence to back it up.
Today, modern genetics supports Darwin’s ideas. Studies show that 99.9% of all human DNA is the same from person to person. This supports the idea that we all share common ancestors and that natural selection plays a big role in evolution.
In summary, Darwinism is the base of modern studies about evolution. While Lamarckism is interesting from history, it is not widely accepted anymore.
Darwinism and Lamarckism: Understanding Evolution
Darwinism, which was proposed by Charles Darwin, is all about natural selection. This means that in nature, the strongest and best-suited creatures tend to survive and reproduce.
A classic example of this is the peppered moth.
In industrial England, there were two types of these moths: light-colored and dark-colored. Because of pollution, the tree bark became darker. As a result, the dark moths were harder for birds to see. This gave them a better chance to survive.
Between 1848 and 1896, the number of dark moths in cities increased a lot, from just 1% to 98%.
On the other hand, we have Lamarckism, which was introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. This idea suggests that creatures can pass on traits they learned during their life to their children.
A famous example is the giraffe. Lamarck thought that long ago, giraffes stretched their necks to reach higher leaves in trees. According to him, this longer neck was then passed down to their offspring.
However, this idea doesn't have strong evidence to back it up.
Today, modern genetics supports Darwin’s ideas. Studies show that 99.9% of all human DNA is the same from person to person. This supports the idea that we all share common ancestors and that natural selection plays a big role in evolution.
In summary, Darwinism is the base of modern studies about evolution. While Lamarckism is interesting from history, it is not widely accepted anymore.