Bicycles Don't Evolve

You may have heard reporters and others talk about the "Evolution of the Bicycle" or some other machine or event and yet such usage of the term evolution is a greatly inaccurate use of the term. Bicycles and other machines don't engage in sex, at least not yet and as such can not evolve. They of course can change as new developments in their construction and design change.

At the heart of evolution is the concept of genetics. When two organisms exchange genetic material, there is the potential for evolutionary change. Typical body cells (somatic cells) divide and replace cells that are dying on a constant basis. When body cells divide abnormally it can be the formation of a cancer. There are many forms of genetic diseases and typically evolution in biological terms was a method of change of an organism over great lengths of time often with a guiding principle of "selection of the fittest", but many studies have shown selection can favor and promote other aspects of an organism.

Recently a biologist, studying birds, discovered that changing the wing color of a male bird can enhance the males access to females of the species and in addition even change the hormonal balance in the male bird, leading to a lighter weight, which of course could potentially be healthier for the bird.

Schools have often debated the teaching of evolution in the classroom and any use of the term "evolution" directed toward non-biological events can significantly confuse the issue. We are gaining a significant amount of new information about the genetic structure of plants and animals and projects that have already mapped the human genetic structure will give us great new understanding of the role that genetics plays in the process of evolution.

The sex cells of the body undergo a special type of reproduction called Meiosis in which the chromosomal number is reduced by one half. One half of the chromosomes for the new offspring will then come from each parent. With each new mix of chromosomal material the possible new arrangements has the possibility of creating a new individual better adapted to the present environment and/or conditions. Gradually some new characteristics find their way into the population and some move out of the population.

At present, individuals with red hair, is a declining characteristic. As a recessive trait, it takes a male and a female with the recessive trait to pass on the genetic trait even though the offspring may not display the trait in that generation. Only when the recessive trait from the mother and the father are passed on to a particular offspring does the trait have the ability of expression.

It would be better to discourage the use of "evolution" of machines in our terminology, perhaps using something like: "technochange" or "socialchange". It doesn't help in our debates over the validity of "evolution" as a subject in the classroom, when we use the term in an inaccurate setting. As we gain more scientific knowledge of genetic structure it is unlikely to quell the debate, but perhaps it can help it focus discussion.