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:
“When rich villains have need of poor ones, poor ones may make what price they will.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“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)