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Evolutionary biologists invert the scientific principle | blogjou

Daniel S. Milo

Good Enough - The Tolerance for Mediocrity in Nature and Society

p. 12
01 Oct 2023

Evolutionary biologists invert the scientific principle


In science, methodological neutrality is expreses by the null hyptothesis, namely that every relationship between phenomena is, by default, the fruit of chance. The burden of refutation weighs on the researcher. You don’t have to prove innocence of justify chance.

Evolutionary biologists invert the principle: being selected is the default state, and a chance result is the outlier. There is a presumption of selection in nature, so a biologist is exempt from proving it. Instead, the burden of the proof lies on whoever claaims that a trait or a size was not selected. The time is ripe for biologists to embrace the ways of their fellow scientists and accept the null hypothesis: chance, which is to day, neutrality. Doing so does not imply rejection of natural selection, an indefensible stance. What it does imply is the rejection of natural selection as the default state in nature.