Contrary to many people quoted in the article,1 I don’t think any formal revolution to evolutionary theory is necessary. If we say that the Modern Synthesis was finished by the end of World War II, then it is obvious that evolutionary theory has undergone immense change over the past 65 years. Some notable instances include the development of ideas about inclusive fitness, the neutral theory of molecular evolution, and punctuated equilibrium in paleontology. And those are just ideas from the 1960s.
Andrew Brower
Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, Tenn.
abrower@mtsu.edu
The Modern Synthesis has been accommodating genetic advances for 60 years, with no problem. As for the examples listed in the article, in the case of the house finch beaks, I fail to see how the findings are so outside the mainstream that they constitute a paradigm shift that would require “rethinking” the Synthesis. The principles of “evodevo” account quite ...
