Evolution Thus Is Merely Contingent On Certain

Scientific Progress Consists In The Development Of New Concepts.

The Reduced Variability Of Small Populations Is Not Always Due To Accidental Gene Loss, But Sometimes To The Fact That The Entire Population Was Started By A Single Pair Or By A Single Fertilized Female. These 'founders' Of The Population Carried With Them Only A Very Small Proportion Of The Variability Of The Parent Population. This 'founder' Principle Sometimes Explains Even The Uniformity Of Rather Large Populations, Particularly If They Are Well Isolated And Near The Borders Of The Range Of The Species.

All Interpretations Made By A Scientist Are Hypotheses, And All Hypotheses Are Tentative. They Must Forever Be Tested And They Must Be Revised If Found To Be Unsatisfactory. Hence, A Change Of Mind In A Scientist, And Particularly In A Great Scientist, Is Not Only Not A Sign Of Weakness But Rather Evidence For Continuing Attention To The Respective Problem And An Ability To Test The Hypothesis Again And Again.

The Major Novelty Of My Theory Was Its Claim That The Most Rapid Evolutionary Change Does Not Occur In Widespread, Populous Species, As Claimed By Most Geneticists, But In Small Founder Populations.

Anyone Who Writes About "darwin's Theory Of Evolutionin The Singular, Without Segregating The Theories Of Gradual Evolution, Common Descent, Speciation, And The Mechanism Of Natural Selection, Will Be Quite Unable To Discuss The Subject Competently.