Darwin's Blind Spot: The Role of Living Interactions in Evolution - Frank Ryan  ## Metadata - Author: **Frank Ryan** - Full Title: Darwin's Blind Spot: The Role of Living Interactions in Evolution - Category: #books ## Highlights - *Our universe is a sorry little affair unless it has in it something for every age to investigate … Nature does not reveal her mysteries once and for all.* SENECA ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jnd3py19jx26bkzamv7ce1cd)) - The great Louis Pasteur once made a perceptive statement about the role of serendipity in scientific discovery: ‘Chance,’ he declared, ‘favours only the prepared mind.’ ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jnd40v3cgdtx7v7bn321c849)) - From the very beginning, evolutionary theory has been applied to many fields of human affairs, such as sociology, psychology and even politics. Such interpretations, viewed from a Darwinian perspective alone, lead to an excessive emphasis on competition and struggle. Most damaging of all, the social Darwinism of the first half of the twentieth century led directly to the horrors of eugenics. The rise, once more, of social Darwinism is therefore a source of worry to many scientists, philosophers, and sociologists. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jnd580pz95cvnm070gfjcp4p)) ## New highlights added March 3, 2025 at 8:51 PM - One species of hermit crab carries a large pink anemone on top of its shell. Fish and octopuses like to feed on hermit crabs, but when they approach this species, the anemone shoots out its brilliantly coloured tentacles, with their microscopic batteries of poisoned darts, and sting the potential predator, encouraging it to look elsewhere for its meal. This is a perfect example of living co-operation, since the anemone in turn feeds on the droppings and leftovers from the crab’s meals. The crab and the anemone appear to recognise each other[1](private://read/01jnabn59cg1w3ekegcwhggh6z/#sn_6) as partners by tuning in to individual chemical signals – the equivalent of a bloodhound’s fine-tuned sense of smell. The relationship is so firmly established that when the growing crab has to find a bigger shell, it delicately detaches the anemone from the old one and transports it to their new home. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jnfpsnvfkh1fbx4426t61e24))