(no subject)

[impossiblewizardry]

Frances Arnold:

Let me start with a question: “Why did Newton’s apple fall to the ground?”

First the answer from the physicist: “There is a force called gravity that exists between any two objects, with a magnitude proportional to the product of the objects’ masses, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the centers of the masses. The apple is therefore propelled by this force towards the center of the earth when it leaves the tree.”

Now we will move to the answer from the evolutionary biologist: “Once upon a time, apples used to go in all directions, up, down, sideways – the world was full of ricocheting apples. However, only those apples that fell to the ground were able to germinate and grow new trees. Over millions of years, the forces of evolution selected for those apples which fell to the ground. Which is why apples now fall to the ground.”