2007-04-22 07:59:14 · 8 answers · asked by caesar 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
In my Opinion, Perfection is a Subjective Term, I Prefer to Say: "Perfect In Imperfection".
2007-04-22 13:04:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you read Darwin (see source), the answer is related to the following joke:
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Two men are walking in the jungle when they turn a corner and find a tiger waiting in the path. One guy opens his backpack, takes out a pair of running shoes, and starts putting them on.
The other guy says, "Are you crazy? You can't run faster than a tiger."
The guy putting on the shoes says, "I don't have to. I just have to run faster than you."
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Natural selection is based on competition (specifically between members of the *same species*). A creature doesn't have to be "absolutely perfect" ... just better than the others it is competing with.
Example: a gazelle doesn't have to be "absolutely perfect" as far as running ... it doesn't even have to be faster than a cheetah ... in order to pass on its genes, a gazelle just has to be faster than the other gazelles. Natural selection, as a process, can't make the gazelle any faster (any more "perfect") ... once it can outrun its species-mates, there is no advantage (as far as propagating its genes in greater percentages) to running any faster.
Always remember that: A gazelle is not competing with cheetahs. It is only competing with other gazelles.
This is a subtle point, but if you can understand that, then you are well on your way to understanding natural selection. Now read that joke again, and you'll have a way to remember it.
2007-04-22 10:53:35 · answer #2 · answered by secretsauce 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Perfection does not exist. Natural selection is the process of specialization of a species to accommodate changes in its environment that are necessary for survival.
2007-04-26 07:46:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi. Because the factors which effect natural selection are constantly changing. Some creatures come close, such as the shark. But it is always a "best" fit, not a "perfect" fit.
2007-04-22 08:07:09 · answer #4 · answered by Cirric 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Imagine for a moment that you have the perfect rabbit: it runs fast, can evade wolves, can adapt to any kind of food, and thus can reproduce like crazy.
Then what will happen?
Those rabbits will take over the whole planet, eat everything and then starve.
Replace rabbits with wolves, or with sharks, or whatever else you can think of, and the outcome is the same: complete sucess will overcome the capability of the planet to sustain them.
This is about what the human race is doing to the planet, by the way: no predator, we do as we want, we alter the planet to suit us; if we don't clean out our act, we may destroy ourselves.
2007-04-22 08:07:49 · answer #5 · answered by Vincent G 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Since the animal that is best suited to its environment will survive, there is no such thing as absolute perfection. A change in the environment will frequently change which animal is best adapted to it.
2007-04-22 08:02:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's simply down to the predator-prey relationship. Perfection would imply that there will one day arise a creature that, as well as being functionally immortal, would never fall prey to another animal. However, since predators are moving along lines of evolution, too, they will always keep up with prey animals, and thus, we have eternal stalemate.
2007-04-22 08:01:30 · answer #7 · answered by dorothea_swann 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Survival of the *fittest*, *not* the most perfect! The first perfect "creature" was Adam (if you discount the fact that he had no navel); the last perfect "creature" was Jesus Christ!
2007-04-22 08:16:34 · answer #8 · answered by trebor namyl hcaeb 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋