Nature's Mistakes: The Limits and Imperfection of Natural Selection

Throughout evolution, species perfectly adapt to the conditions of their environment, don't they? Well, sometimes it's not so. But think about this: elephants do not grow a seventh set of teeth, although after the sixth set wears down, they are doomed to die of starvation; birds, into whose nests the cuckoo lays its eggs, cannot distinguish the overgrown monster in the nest from their own chick; and although whales became fully aquatic mammals millions of years ago, they still have not learned to breathe underwater.

This book is about evolution, but not about its greatest achievements. On the contrary, it examines all sorts of evolutionary solutions that could be called suicidal, unsuccessful, uneconomical, or downright strange — and explains why natural selection favors all of this. In the grand struggle for survival, some astonishing patterns emerge: animals are always a bit behind changes in their environment; inefficiency tends to increase over time; predators usually lose while parasites win. Skillfully combining humor and scientific insight, Andy Dobson in his book reveals the limits of evolutionary possibilities and the price that must be paid for it.