Natural selection has produced some incredible stuff, like the beautiful wood nymph moth, whose main defense mechanism is looking like bird poop. It’s easy to view nature as a carefully designed masterpiece. Giraffes are kind of a mess under the hood. Humans are the most successful predators on Earth, despite being far from the strongest or the fastest. No species better exemplifies this than human beings. Other traits, like cooperation, can be just as important to a population’s success. We now know the specimens that are most likely to reproduce aren’t always the ones that would do best in a one-on-one fight. This is why many modern biologists prefer the phrase “ reproduction of the fittest” over “survival of the fittest.” Still, this version can be problematic depending on how you interpret the word “fit.” Spencer’s phrase brings to mind animals that are stronger, bigger, and faster than their competitors. A fish that’s fast enough to evade predators won’t have much impact on the gene pool if sharks gobble up all of its eggs. Surviving to sexual maturity is one half of the natural selection equation, and the other is reproducing successfully. Spencer’s wording implies that surviving alone is enough for a specimen to propagate the next generation. Natural selection is the process that weeds out disadvantageous traits from a population and allows advantageous traits to flourish. Misconception: Natural selection always means “survival of the fittest.”Ĭharles Darwin may have co-signed the phrase, but “survival of the fittest” is not an entirely accurate representation of natural selection.
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