Price Equation

The Price equation (also known as Price's equation or Price's theorem) is a covariance equation which is a mathematical description of evolution and natural selection. The Price equation was derived by George R. Price, working in London to re-derive W.D. Hamilton's work on kin selection. The Price equation also has applications in economics.

Price's equation is a theorem; it is a statement of mathematical fact between certain variables, and its value lies in the insight gained by assigning certain values encountered in evolutionary genetics to the variables. It provides us a way to understand the effects that gene transmission and natural selection have on the proportion of genes within each new generation of a population.

Read more about Price Equation:  Statement, Proof of The Price Equation, Simple Price Equation, Full Price Equation, Criticism On The Use of The Price Equation, Cultural References

Famous quotes containing the words price and/or equation:

    A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left.
    Marcel Proust (1871–1922)

    Jail sentences have many functions, but one is surely to send a message about what our society abhors and what it values. This week, the equation was twofold: female infidelity twice as bad as male abuse, the life of a woman half as valuable as that of a man. The killing of the woman taken in adultery has a long history and survives today in many cultures. One of those is our own.
    Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)