John Maynard Smith

It is an occupational risk of biologists to claim, towards the end of their careers, that the problems which they have not…

— John Maynard Smith

As an evolutionary biologist, I have learned over the years that most people do not want to see themselves as lumbering robots…

— John Maynard Smith

It is in the nature of science that once a position becomes orthodox it should be suggested to criticism.... It does not…

— John Maynard Smith

Scientific theories tell us what is possible; myths tell us what is desirable. Both are needed to guide proper action.

— John Maynard Smith

I can't go around believing in a God that believes suffering is good for me.

— John Maynard Smith

Evolutionary game theory is a way of thinking about evolution at the phenotypic level when the fitnesses of particular phenotypes depend on…

— John Maynard Smith

Paradoxically, it has turned out that game theory is more readily applied to biology than to the field of economic behavior for…

— John Maynard Smith

Language changes very fast.

— John Maynard Smith

This argument [that life is too improbable to have arisen by chance] comes up repeatedly: its latest manifestation is Hoyle's discussion of…

— John Maynard Smith

So far, we have been able to study only one evolving system and we cannot wait for interstellar flight to provide us…

— John Maynard Smith

The evolution of sex is the hardest problem in evolutionary biology.

— John Maynard Smith

Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is the only workable explanation that has ever been proposed for the remarkable fact of…

— John Maynard Smith

Mathematics without natural history is sterile, but natural history without mathematics is muddled.

— John Maynard Smith

“Thus three conclusions emerge from the eye story: (1) it is easier to inherit a ‘vision acquisition device’ than a full-blown hard-wired…

— John Maynard Smith

Information imposes certain criteria on how it can be stored.

— John Maynard Smith

Societies depend on agreed rules.

— John Maynard Smith

Mathematics is so much easier than words mathematics makes things clear that words merely muddle and confuse and mess up.

— John Maynard Smith

Genetics is about how information is stored and transmitted between generations.

— John Maynard Smith

You couldn't have human society without language.

— John Maynard Smith