--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only a minority of biologists today hold…" description: "\"“Only a minority of biologists today hold that the variation of evolution cannot be random. In this point the minority are on more solid ground than th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/lee-spetner-31842_biology_only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold_2007106.jpg" --- # Only a minority of biologists today hold that the… ![“Only a minority of biologists today hold that the variation of evolution cannot be random. In this point the minority are on more solid ground than the majority. If we want to gain a true insight into evolution, we must look to nonrandom variation.” quote by Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/lee-spetner-31842_biology_only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold_2007106.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/lee-spetner-31842_biology_only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold_2007106.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/lee-spetner-31842_biology_only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold_2007106.jpg) > ““Only a minority of biologists today hold that the variation of evolution cannot be random. In this point the minority are on more solid ground than the majority. If we want to gain a true insight into evolution, we must look to nonrandom variation.”” [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A minority view that evolutionary variation is non‑random may be more accurate than the majority’s random‑variation stance. **In simple terms:** Non‑random variation could drive evolution more than chance. Key Takeaway Consider non‑random mechanisms. Themes evolution biology science Mood analytical inquisitive Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research - education - policy making Key Concepts variation randomness minority perspective Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports non‑random variation? - How does this change evolutionary theory? A Different Perspective Random models dominate despite minority evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) ## Related quotes > [But in fact, when you try to model that on a computer you find that because of the very structure of matter and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/but-in-fact-when-you-try-to-model-that-on-a-computer-you-find-that/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Evolution... is the most powerful and the most comprehensive idea that has ever arisen on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/evolution-is-the-most-powerful-and-the-most-comprehensive-idea-that/) [Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/) > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/) Tom Atlee > [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [“A note of caution: epigenetics is also on the verge of transforming into a dangerous idea. Epigenetic modifications of genes can potentially superpose historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/a-note-of-caution-epigenetics-is-also-on-the-verge-of-transforming/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/) Hideaki Sena > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) ## More by Lee Spetner > [“There is another kind of variation that does not involve the genome at all, and is therefore not heritable. Yet it can produce what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/there-is-another-kind-of-variation-that-does-not-involve-the-genome/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“The bradys must hold that, on the average, cumulative selection has to add a little information to the genome at each step. But of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/the-bradys-must-hold-that-on-the-average-cumulative-selection-has-to/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“To understand Darwin's work, you have to distinguish between his theory of descent and his theory of natural selection. THe full name of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/to-understand-darwin-s-work-you-have-to-distinguish-between-his/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“Life is so diversified that to any statement I could make about living organisms there are exceptions. Because of the many exceptions, I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/life-is-so-diversified-that-to-any-statement-i-could-make-about/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“Verbal arguments should always be suspect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/verbal-arguments-should-always-be-suspect/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“Information and complexity go hand in hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/information-and-complexity-go-hand-in-hand/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“There are many examples where species share common plastic traits. What appears to be convergence may just be the plastic response of the organism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/there-are-many-examples-where-species-share-common-plastic-traits/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“A mutation that reverses the effect of a previous one (called a back mutation) could at one stroke revive a complex function that had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/a-mutation-that-reverses-the-effect-of-a-previous-one-called-a-back/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“Rather than say that the bacterium gained resistance to the antibiotic, we would be more correct to say that it lost its sensitivity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/rather-than-say-that-the-bacterium-gained-resistance-to-the/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“Common sense says that the amazing complexity of life cannot arise out of a random process. The neo-Darwinians use clever arguments to show why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/common-sense-says-that-the-amazing-complexity-of-life-cannot-arise/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“Neo-Darwinians do cite some examples of evolution they claim the NDT explains. Natural selection can indeed account for the replacement of light-colored moths with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/neo-darwinians-do-cite-some-examples-of-evolution-they-claim-the-ndt/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“Dawkins talked about chance, but he didn’t calculate the chance of anything. Nor did he cite anyone who did. He just assumed that cumulative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/dawkins-talked-about-chance-but-he-didn-t-calculate-the-chance-of/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“Dawkins mentioned two mechanisms: the theory of the ‘primeval soup’ and the Cairns-Smith theory. He discussed the latter in some detail. Since no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/dawkins-mentioned-two-mechanisms-the-theory-of-the-primeval-soup-and/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“Dawkins’s advice shows that he didn’t understand probability. . . . Dawkins said that a creature the lives millions of years would have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/dawkins-s-advice-shows-that-he-didn-t-understand-probability-dawkins/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) > [“I am suggesting here that organisms have a built-I capability of adapting to their environment. I am suggesting that to the extent that evolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/i-am-suggesting-here-that-organisms-have-a-built-i-capability-of/) [Lee Spetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) [Explore all 16 Lee Spetner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/) ## More Biology quotes > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/) Hideaki Sena > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [“A note of caution: epigenetics is also on the verge of transforming into a dangerous idea. Epigenetic modifications of genes can potentially superpose historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/a-note-of-caution-epigenetics-is-also-on-the-verge-of-transforming/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/) Tom Atlee > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Evolution... is the most powerful and the most comprehensive idea that has ever arisen on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/evolution-is-the-most-powerful-and-the-most-comprehensive-idea-that/) [Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Browse all 3,034 Biology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Only a minority of biologists today hold that the variation of evolution cannot be random. In this point the minority are on more solid ground than the majority. If we want to gain a true insight into evolution, we must look to nonrandom variation.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lee Spetner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold-that-the-variation-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Biology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold-that-the-variation-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/lee-spetner-31842_biology_only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold_2007106.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/lee-spetner-31842_biology_only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold_2007106.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/lee-spetner-31842_biology_only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold_2007106.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only a minority of biologists today hold that the variation of evolution cannot be random. In this point the…” — Lee Spetner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lee Spetner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-spetner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Only a minority of biologists today...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold-that-the-variation-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-spetner/only-a-minority-of-biologists-today-hold-that-the-variation-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```