Arvid Ågren
@arvidagren
Evolutionary biologist. Assistant Professor CCLCM/CWRU. The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution(OUP 2021) and The Paradox of the Organism (HUP 2025). www.arvidagren.com
In 1982, the final year exam in zoology at Oxford contained the following question: ”Assess the contribution of E.B. Ford to genetics.” Afterwards, Ford was asked for his own view on the question. This was his answer:
Elton was as quite critical of Animal Dispersions though, calling it Messianic. Here’s the conclusion www.nature.com/articles/197...
Just remembered this from the LRB review of the recent Penrose biography www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Janet Browne’s majestic two-part biography of Darwin is now available in a slim (608 pages) single volume.
This interview with Marjorie Green is a hoot! www.thebeliever.net/an-interview...
And then it was the question of what kind of doctorate one should have. Bernard Kettlewell (of peppered moth fame) had an MD -- i.e. "not really a doctor".
Spotted at #evol2026 @ellenclarke.bsky.social’s beautiful (and fun!) The Units of Life.
Wonderful Gould Award talk from Neil Shubin (who was a TA for SJG) to kick off #evol2026.
As always, great to work with this joy of a group of organisers. Keep eye out for more activities, in person and online here internalconflictsstn.wordpress.com
Shoutout to The Paradox of the Organism in the new 50th anniversary epilogue of The Selfish Gene.
THURSDAY TRIVIA Who did Peter Medawar describe as “in some ways the cleverest and in some ways the silliest man I have ever known”?
Some great discussion generated by @philipcball.bsky.social’s review of The Paradox of the Organism. If it piqued your interest, why not get your own copy! Available on Amazon and all good bookstores a.co/d/0hu8sHay You should also be able to get a (digital) copy from your university library.
"Unlike my good friends Dobzhansky and Simpson, I did not think that the only role I could take in a society was that of president." Ernst Mayr on why he became the first editor of Evolution.
With perfect timing, a hard copy of @rowhoop.bsky.social’s nice essay arrived today too! www.newscientist.com/article/2525...
To me, the gene’s-eye view is one of the best thinking tools we have. But like with all tools, you will get the most out of it if you know what it was designed to do. aeon.co/essays/why-t...
Many big names in ecology and evolutionary biology lacked a doctorate. Examples include Charles Elton, EB Ford, and John Maynard Smith. Peter Medawar wrote the thesis but never bothered taking the degree
Evolutionary medicine in cahoots with the health insurance industry is a take. Lieberman and Eldredge. 2024. Macroevolutionaries. Columbia University Press, p. 177
Speaking of blind biologists, Lamarck spent the last decade of his life without vision. (Riskin 2026, p. 249)
Today, Lamarck is closely associated with giraffes. Yet, he never saw a living one. Great little detail in Jessica Riskin’s new Lamarck book The Power of Life (Riverhead 2026, p. 205)
A remarkable fact about 'Niche Construction: How Life Contributes to Its Own Evolution' (MIT Press, 2024) is that John Odling-Smee wrote it after losing 100% of his vision.