The Circle of Life, or why Hamilton's rule is wrong.

[adriaanb]

Darwin's theory of evolution provides an elegant explanation for the diversity of life we see around us. The genes that code for every living organism sometimes encounter a mutation that proves viable and creates a slightly changed living organism. The accumulation of mutations and occasional speciation causes organisms to evolve and diverge in time, and this creates the great complexity and variety of life we see around us.

But gene mutations are rare events compared to the lifespan of a single organism. Genes use very effective mechanisms to prevent and correct errors in the copying of the genome (1). Life seems to get on just fine in the time it spends in between mutations. So while the theory of the evolution of life may explain the great diversity of life, it does not explain life itself. The theory of the evolution of life relies on the mutations of the gene. A theory of life should rely only on the gene, and this is a crucial difference.

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Work in progress. I will put the rest here later. just trying to hear some initial reactions.
Hamilton's rule tries to explain phenomena in life with the mechanism of evolution, which is a mistake.
Please read the full story here: http://adriaanb.blogspot.com/

[alextemplet]

I'm not quite sure I follow you. Evolutionary theory states that living organisms can only evolve when natural selection favors one trait over another, and organisms remain the same when there is no selective pressure; a concept called punctuated equilibrium.

[mith]

Your argument is vague, define life then.