A Darwinian puzzle is a trait that appears to reduce the fitness of individuals that possess it. Such traits attract the attention of evolutionary biologists. The phrase "Darwinian puzzle" itself is rare and of unclear origin; it appears most often, but not always, in the context of animal behavior.
A peacock shows this example of a trait that may reduce its fitness. The bigger the tail, the easier it is seen by predators and it also may hinder the movement of the peacock. Darwin said in fact that this goes into sexual selection and the bigger tail attracts more females allowing its fitness to improve. {http://bcrc.bio.umass.edu/courses/fall2009/biol/biol312section1/node/1230}
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Famous quotes containing the words darwinian and/or puzzle:
“It is disturbing to discover in oneself these curious revelations of the validity of the Darwinian theory. If it is true that we have sprung from the ape, there are occasions when my own spring appears not to have been very far.”
—Cornelia Otis Skinner (1901–1979)
“Waiting for the race to become official, he began to feel as if he had as much effect on the final outcome of the operation as a single piece of a jumbo jigsaw puzzle has to its predetermined final design. Only the addition of the missing fragments of the puzzle would reveal if the picture was as he guessed it would be.”
—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)