Darwinandevelution3

Living things reproduce with variation. This is an inherent trait, as no two individuals barring twins are genetically identical. So naturally, some members of a species will be better able, and therefore more likely, to reproduce than others. Genetic information that helps living things reproduce, therefore, copies itself much more often than genetic information that inhibits survival or reproduction. Forces in nature, like competition for food, climate, predators, etc. affect which traits will be helpful and which will be malignant. Imagine a very large set of random numbers between 1 and 100. If smaller numbers are more likely to be deleted, and larger numbers are more likely to copy themselves, sometimes with variation 50 could produce a 49, 50 or a 51, the average value of the entire set will gradually increase, until most numbers are 100's and 99's. In nature there is seldom a cap like in this example of 100, but economy demands limits. If larger numbers, say, take more energy to reproduce, then there will naturally be some stable number, where there is some compromise that maximizes the likelihood of reproduction. The average of the population will then fall around this number.