We do not lift a finger without three kinds of information:… - Jonathan Weiner

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We do not lift a finger without three kinds of information: the information we are getting from our senses at that moment; the information we have gotten from our senses in the past; and the information our ancestors have acquired since life began on Earth—that is, the information that is represented by genes themselves. Evolution is learning. Species store learning in chromosomes the way individuals store learning in their brains and societies store learning in books.

Jonathan Weiner

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About Jonathan Weiner

Jonathan Weiner (born 26th November 1953 in New York) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of non-fiction books on his biology observations, in particular evolution in the Galápagos Islands, genetics, and the environment.

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Stephen Jay Gould Matt Ridley Michael Crichton Edward O. Wilson Richard Dawkins

Additional quotes by Jonathan Weiner

Evolution discloses a meaning in death, although the meaning is like some of the berries that Darwin tasted in the Galapagos, “acid & Austere.” There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. Even Drought bears fruit. Even death is a seed.

Whether or not we choose to watch, evolution is shaping us all.

Taken together, these new studies suggest that Darwin did not know the strength of his own theory. He vastly underestimated the power of natural selection. Its action is neither rare nor slow. It leads to evolution daily and hourly, all around us, and we can watch.

We do not lift a finger without three kinds of information: the information we are getting from our senses at that moment; the information we have go… - Jonathan Weiner

About Jonathan Weiner

Additional quotes by Jonathan Weiner