The giraffe is an extraordinary animal.
With its long neck and geometric spots, the
camelopardalis
(leopard camel) has not only captivated storytellers and artists, it has also aroused the curiosity of scientists.
In the 19th century, it was the subject of a famous dispute between two schools of thought.
The first, called transformist, with the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck at the forefront, explained that if the giraffe's neck was disproportionately long, it was because it had lengthened over time, due to the fact that its -she stretches her neck to catch the leaves of the trees.
This theory was undermined by Darwin and his principle of natural selection: if giraffes had such long necks, it was because those with slightly longer necks survived better and reproduced more.
Today we laugh at Lamarck in biology textbooks, but if he was wrong, it is not certain that Darwin was right.
Tolerance for mediocrity
There are two theories in Darwin: that…
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