IT'S EASY SHOWING WHY THE LAST DARWINIST THEORY YOU BOUGHT INTO IS WRONG...:

Kin selection is dead, says E.O. Wilson (Andrew Letten, 8/26/10, Cosmos Online)

Eminent evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson is trying to bring about the demise of the theory of kin selection, which has formed the foundation of the study of sociobiology since the 1960s. [...]

[A]ccording to the new study, "the theory of inclusive fitness rests on fragile assumptions, which rarely hold in nature… and is not needed to explain eusociality."

Instead, based on precise mathematical models they outline an allegedly simpler and superior approach involving three distinct steps by which species can bypass the evolutionary costs of eusociality.

Initially, species must form groups within a population, such as when parents and offspring remain together. Next, the species must accumulate traits arising through natural selection that favour the switch to eusociality, including most importantly the construction of a defensible nest.

Finally, in order to cross the eusociality threshold, individuals must develop genes that quell an individual's urge to disperse to start its own nest.

....just impossible to come up with a new one that works.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 25, 2010 5:53 PM