... it seems that it would take less than half a million years to evolve a good camera eye ... It's no wonder 'the' eye has evolved at least 40 times independently around the animal kingdom ... It is a geological blink.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The evolution of complex structures like the eye happens relatively quickly in geological time, explaining why it appears independently in many species.
- In plain terms
- Complex eyes evolved many times because the process is fast on Earth's timeline.
- What can you take from it?
- Evolutionary changes can occur much faster than people assume.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How fast can complex traits evolve?
- What defines a geological blink?
Another view
It assumes specific rates of mutation and selection that vary by organism.
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