Selection game

We talk about selection games , one of the simplest and most common kind of game: where one party a person, cat, computer program is attempting to select from a set of options what shampoo to buy, which prey to hunt, whether a transaction is fraudulent or not.

We also offer a more slowly digestible primer of selection games below:. Imagine that John is selecting among rocks to build a wall. It is unable to change itself or its appearance in any way to increase or decrease its chances of selection, even if it were aware of, and interested in, the selection process. There is only a static, one-way perceptual relationship between John and the rock:.

Another similar example: John is building a wooden fence. The trees he selects from have some perceptual awareness of whether they have been selected via being chopped down , and they have an obvious interest in not being selected for fence-building. But the relationship stays simple because a given tree cannot adaptively alter its appearance to John in order to pre-emptively alter his selection choice.

If John is searching for maple trees, his objects of selection cannot feign being oak trees. However, though an individual maple tree lacks the intelligence and bodily agency to adaptively alter its appearance, maple trees in general are governed by evolutionary dynamics which in the long-term simulate intelligent response.

Maple trees that have irregular leaf shapes will out-survive maple trees with regular leaf shapes, and over sufficient generations, John will be faced with a forest of maples which has functionally countered his selection criteria, none of which possess the marker he used to identify the best trees for his fence.

At that point, the relationship can be diagrammed as…. John, as the selecting party, is broadly always interested in discerning the pragmatic truth about his object of selection. He wishes to identify all trees that will work well with his fence-building project, and to avoid wasting time chopping down trees that will work poorly.

His interest lies in clarity of vision. We can see this more clearly when we get to full-bodied inter-agent selection games, where the object of selection simultaneously 1 has a stake in being selected, and 2 is able to alter its probability of being selected. Very high Books — nonfiction, single or multiple authors, with editor s and references e. They consist of dry interpretations of information that has been gathered from primary sources.

High Books — nonfiction, single author, no references e. They generally do not contain data or references. They are not OK to cite when writing a scientific paper. Highly variable Evidence-based science reporting e. They are useful for learning about the latest science news without having to navigate through primary sources i. High Sensationalized science reporting e.

Low General news e. However, many also contain well-interpreted and well-presented evidence-based science. Highly variable. Table 3.

List of 15 misconceptions about evolution and accompanying reality. Scientific Conception. Because evolution is just a theory, it is not well supported.

Evolution is a well-supported, testable, repeatable, and predictable explanation of how species have changed over time. Evolution is a theory about the origin of life. Evolutionary biology deals with how life changed after its origin, regardless of how life originated. Humans came from monkeys. We share a common ancestor with other primates i. Evolution and natural selection are goal-oriented. Natural selection is the result of variation, reproductive success or failure , and heredity.

It has no goal and is not striving toward a specific end product. Evolution is random. Mutations are random, as are the trait that they result in. Whether or not a trait is beneficial in its environment is not random. In other words, the variation of traits in a population is random, but selection acts on whichever traits are favorable at that time and place. You cannot see evolution happening.

We can see examples of species with short generation times changing evolving over time e. Individual organisms can evolve within their life span. Populations are the smallest unit of life that can evolve. Individuals cannot evolve. However, an individual can experience a mutation in its gametes i. Natural selection is the only mechanism by which organisms evolve. Evolution can occur through natural selection, artificial selection, mutation, migration, and genetic drift.

Species will always evolve what they need to survive. Species that cannot adapt fast enough to changes in the environment will die off. Species do not always get what they need. Natural selection produces organisms perfectly suited for their environment.

Adaptations do not have to be perfect — just good enough to allow an organism to pass its genes to offspring. Humans are no longer evolving. Humans still face challenges to survival and reproduction and experience change over time e.

Natural selection involves organisms trying to adapt. Natural selection leads to adaptation over time but does not involve effort. Evolutionary theory is not in crisis. Evolution always leads to more complex organisms.

Evolution leads to change in species over time, but it may or may not increase the complexity of anatomy or physiology. Achieve Inc. Alters, B. Antolin, M. Perspective: evolution's struggle for existence in America's public schools. Batholomew, R. Bishop, B. Brodie, E. Parallel arms races between garter snakes and newts involving tetrodotoxin as the phenotypic interface of coevolution. Cook, L. The peppered moth and industrial melanism: evolution of a natural selection case study.

Crawford, B. Confronting prospective teachers' ideas of evolution and scientific inquiry using technology and inquiry-based tasks. Demastes, S. Students' conceptions of natural selection and its role in evolution: cases of replication and comparison. Fitzgerald, M. Misinformation on the Internet: applying evaluation skills to online information. Friedrichsen, P. Funk, C. Grant, P. Adaptive radiation of Darwin's finches: recent data help explain how this famous group of Galapagos birds evolved, although gaps in our understanding remain.

Understanding and implementing team-based learning in large-lecture courses: summary of a workshop from the ESA Annual Meeting. Grooms, J. Coordinating scientific argumentation and the Next Generation Science Standards through argument driven inquiry. Hoekstra, H. Ecological genetics of adaptive color polymorphism in pocket mice: geographic variation in selected and neutral genes. A single amino acid mutation contributes to adaptive beach mouse color pattern.

Jones, M. Adaptive introgression underlies polymorphic seasonal camouflage in snowshoe hares. Kane, E. Lamichhaney, S. A beak size locus in Darwin's finches facilitated character displacement during a drought. Lauren, H. Integrating the dimensions of NGSS within a collaborative board game about honey bees.

Lawson, A. Learn at Home: Grades View Collection. Natural Selection. Reproduction Buddies. View Interactive. View Article. Adaptation and Survival. View leveled Article. Educational Resources in Your Inbox. Educational Resources in Your Inbox Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.

We will lead, set our eyes on new horizons, and pursue them relentlessly. Born out of the belief in a better way. Continued in the ever-evolving pursuit of excellence.