Charles Darwin: Theory of Natural Selection

In 1859, Charles Darwin book "The Origin of Species" started a scientific revolution that still continues today. In this book, Darwin shows a visiopn of life that can be divided into 3 different points:

• Variation: Inside a certain species, there is always some variation, that is, no two living organisms are totally the same.
• Natural Selection: It is the mechanism that picks the characteristics that give an adaptive advantage to the individuals that have them, allowing their reproduction and their transmission to the next generation.
• Gradualism:With the pass of time, the individuals with the characteristics will become the majority of the species, making the species evolve and change gradually over time.

The impact of Darwin's theory on the rest of the world was enormous, and because of it there are various important consequences:

• Similar organisms are related (if we go back in time, we will get to the point where all living organisms come from the same place, called the LUCA, or the Last Universal Common Ancestor).
• Variation is totally random, and natural selection is a filter over characteristics that are adaptative to one certain place. this means that one characteristic can be better for one place and worse for a different place.
• It puts mankind in nature as another of many species. this was the most polemic consequence.