In the thread Does Evolution Require Spreading the Word? http://
EvC Forum: Does Evolution Require Spreading The Word? -->
EvC Forum: Does Evolution Require Spreading The Word? Randman makes the assertion:
The simple truth is evolutionary theory was accepted, based on false evidence, long before legitimate scientific publication in journals (by today's standards)
Putting aside the fact that this is completely untrue, it started me thinking of the ”top 10’ most important works that contributed to the theory as we understand it today. Modulous had the same idea, and I think it is a good one.
I have listed below what I believe to be the 10 most important books and articles that contributed to my understanding of the ToE. I am sure I left out some important ones while including some which some of you might disagree as to their importance. I would like to discuss the following works, and give opportunity for criticism by those who have read them. Also, it would be interesting to hear some additions, maybe create an annotated bibliography of the important works in the ToE.
The list:
Darwin, Charles (1859) On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Murray, London.
IMO everyone owes it to themselves to read this book. It is one of the most important books ever written. Darwin’s meticulous writing style can be difficult at times to wade through, but worth the effort.
Darwin, Charles (1871) The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Murray, London.
Another amazing book. I still find gems when I read through this. It seems like every concept in the ToE since Darwin can be found in embryonic form in this book.
Fisher, Ronald A. (1930) The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection. Oxford, Clarendon.
This plus the two abovementioned Darwin works are arguably the foundations of all of the ToE. Fisher ties together natural and sexual selection with genetics. I have an old one but the book was reprinted again in 2000.
Wright, Sewell (1931) Evolution in Mendelian Populations. Genetics 16: 97-159.
I think that shifting balance hypothesis is one of the most important concepts in evolution. I believe that in time its implications will continue unfolding. As you may be able to tell I am a Wright fanatic and think he was so far ahead of his time we are just starting to get the framework in which to really understand him.
Maynard Smith, John (1982) Evolution and the Theory of Games, Cambridge University Press.
Maynard Smith was one of the pioneers who recognized the importance of Nash equilibrium and economics in biology. This is where the term evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) comes from. ESS is the standard by which novel behaviors and traits must be judged. This is a really good one.
MacArthur, R. H. and Wilson, E. O. 1967. The Theory of Island Biogeography Princeton University Press
This book ties population genetics to speciation, ecology, extinction, etc. The concepts from MacArthur and Wilson are still being batted around today and you will see this cited in nearly every paper on patch ecology, larval dispersal, etc.
Platt, John (1964) Strong Inference. Science. 146:347-353
Not about the ToE directly, this is the paper that sets the standard for how evolution and all biological research should be approached. When designing experiments or research plans I always re-read this one.
Trivers, Robert (1971) The evolution of reciprocal altruism. Quarterly Review of Biology. 46: 35-57.
Arguing against both group selection theory and the premise that natural selection always leads to selfish behavior, Trivers shows how cooperation can be an ESS.
Trivers, Robert (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man, 1871-1971 (pp. 136-179). Chicago, IL: Aldine.
PI or parental investment theory is one of those wonderful little theories that has been tested over and over and has been found to hold true. This predicts (among other things) that the degree or strength of sexual selection can be predicted by the degree of imbalance in how much energy is allocated by each sex. That is, if one sex puts twice as much effort into offspring protection, then that sex is the 'choosy' sex and sexual selection will be important and apparent in the behavior or morphology of that species.
Gould, Stephen J. and Lewontin, R. (1979) The spandrels of San Marco and the panglossian paradigm. Proceedings of the Royal Society 205: 591-98.
And lastly, Gould and Lewontin. I am not a Gould fan in general but this is a great paper. This is required reading for all of my students.
I don't know where this should be posted. Since I want to discuss the science in the ToE based upon these pubs, maybe Is It Science?
Doctor Bashir: "Of all the stories you told me, which were true and which weren't?"
Elim Garak: "My dear Doctor, they're all true"
Doctor Bashir: "Even the lies?"
Elim Garak: "Especially the lies"
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