In retrospect, the modern synthesis (natural selection + Mendelian genetics) could have been worked out in principal by *any* armchair thinker, at almost any time in history:
Natural Selection in a nutshell:
1. Offspring tend to resemble their parents...
2. ...but with some variation
3. Inherited characters can increase or decrease an organism's chance of surviving or reproducing
4. Therefore 1+3 => successive generations become better adapted to survive and reproduce
5. Therefore 2+3=>new species
1+2+3 were all so obvious for most of human history, that nobody thought about them or the consequences. Everybody knew it though.
Additionally, perhaps nobody thought about them, because of Plato's archetypes idea was so well accepted as to lead people away from thinking about variations, but instead idealized forms?
4+5. Logically follows and becomes important, if you allow enough time - a very old Earth.
Lastly you have evidence from anatomy that species are related, for example, mammals sharing bone structures. There's no reason why this couldn't have been studied much earlier.
What about Mendelian genetics? Could that have been figured out centuries earlier?
I think so, could an ancient Greek, Roman, or a Middle Ages monk have bred peas like Mendel? Surely they could have.
Furthermore, Mendelian genetics is observely true in a basic form, to an armchair thinker, even without doing experiments: Prior to Mendel, the main genetic theory was blending (like mixing paints) - but think about it, when your mum and dad produced you, your gender wasn't a blend - it was taken wholly from mater or pater! If a child's gender is clearly a binary choice, it's not impossible to imagine some early armchair thinker could argue that other characteristics might be too.
So here's my thought, maybe a starting point for a WI:
- We need a less influential Plato
- We need an old Earth widely accepted centuries earlier - study of rock strata with sedimentary rock miles thick, maybe could be the trigger
- We need somebody (how about Francis Bacon?) to do some experiment using peas, and identify dominant and recessive characteristics. Maybe his work gets put to one side
- We need somebody to put together an evolutionary theory based on natural selection, and Baconian (not Mendelian) genetics. I think Isaac Newton - instead of wasting a lot of time on magic and alchemy, could be the guy!
What are the consequences, of discovering the basics of evolution/genetics centuries earlier?
Is it possible that crude genetic engineering they could even play a part in the Industrial revolution? Or will that have to wait until computers and X-ray crystallography, etc.,
Natural Selection in a nutshell:
1. Offspring tend to resemble their parents...
2. ...but with some variation
3. Inherited characters can increase or decrease an organism's chance of surviving or reproducing
4. Therefore 1+3 => successive generations become better adapted to survive and reproduce
5. Therefore 2+3=>new species
1+2+3 were all so obvious for most of human history, that nobody thought about them or the consequences. Everybody knew it though.
Additionally, perhaps nobody thought about them, because of Plato's archetypes idea was so well accepted as to lead people away from thinking about variations, but instead idealized forms?
4+5. Logically follows and becomes important, if you allow enough time - a very old Earth.
Lastly you have evidence from anatomy that species are related, for example, mammals sharing bone structures. There's no reason why this couldn't have been studied much earlier.
What about Mendelian genetics? Could that have been figured out centuries earlier?
I think so, could an ancient Greek, Roman, or a Middle Ages monk have bred peas like Mendel? Surely they could have.
Furthermore, Mendelian genetics is observely true in a basic form, to an armchair thinker, even without doing experiments: Prior to Mendel, the main genetic theory was blending (like mixing paints) - but think about it, when your mum and dad produced you, your gender wasn't a blend - it was taken wholly from mater or pater! If a child's gender is clearly a binary choice, it's not impossible to imagine some early armchair thinker could argue that other characteristics might be too.
So here's my thought, maybe a starting point for a WI:
- We need a less influential Plato
- We need an old Earth widely accepted centuries earlier - study of rock strata with sedimentary rock miles thick, maybe could be the trigger
- We need somebody (how about Francis Bacon?) to do some experiment using peas, and identify dominant and recessive characteristics. Maybe his work gets put to one side
- We need somebody to put together an evolutionary theory based on natural selection, and Baconian (not Mendelian) genetics. I think Isaac Newton - instead of wasting a lot of time on magic and alchemy, could be the guy!
What are the consequences, of discovering the basics of evolution/genetics centuries earlier?
Is it possible that crude genetic engineering they could even play a part in the Industrial revolution? Or will that have to wait until computers and X-ray crystallography, etc.,