[CLIP]
> > (Punctuated equilibrium is the observation that many species do not under
> > go gradual evolution but instead, they will remain stable for many millions
> > of years (-- remain in equilibrium) before suddenly making many drastic
> > changes ( -- punctuated by "bouts" of mutations)).
>
> Very odd! Any idea why?
Ordinary Differential Equations. Seriously.
I once posted a sketch of a calculation detailing the effects of a very
weak selective pressure on the human larynx, showing that a meme could
cause a drastic phenotypic change [Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon] in less
than 2000 or 3000 years. A literal blink of an eye, on typically assumed
geological time scales.
Punctuated equilibria falls out of the same calculations that generate
Natural Selection from Ordinary Differential Equations at "large"
populations.
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/ Towards the conversion of data into information....
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/ Kenneth Boyd
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