The first chapter of Evolutionary Genetics: Concepts & Case Studies gives a quick sketch of the arc of the field that the book covers via exposition of topical and current issues. Michael R. Dietrich focuses on the series of controversies which serve as "hinges of history." I have addressed the controversy between the biometricians & Mendelians before, below are the "highlights" over a longer period based on the outline constructed by Dietrich in his chapter, From Mendel to molecules: A brief history of evolutionary genetics. 1860sGenesis
Charles Darwin brings forth an evolutionary theory predicated on natural selection. He emphasizes heritable continuous variation within populations assuming a blending model of inheritance. Darwin's ideas are greeted with fury and adulation, and he becomes the world's most famous biologist. Gregor Mendel performs his experiments and formulates his discrete model of inheritance, elucidating the laws of independent assortment and segregation. Unlike Darwin Mendel's work ...
