1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 237 Gene mutation! Bruce's theory of evolution! One step into the realm of top biologists!
When Li Qiwei said he wanted to improve the theory of evolution, the whole audience was excited.

Countless people were quietly waiting for his next words.

Pavlo, who had been extremely confident just now, was now panicking.

He knew that with Li Qiwei's status, it was impossible for him to brag in public.

Under his uneasy gaze, Li Qiwei said calmly and forcefully:

“The core theoretical flaw in the theory of evolution is the problem of natural selection.”

"Pavlo and many people in the academic community believe that where do the different traits that can be selected by nature come from? This is something that evolution cannot explain."

"But what I want to say today is that the basis of natural selection is genetic mutation!"

boom!
The venue immediately became chaotic.

"Gene mutation? What are genes?"

"Is this the strength of Bruce Lee? I don't understand what he says as soon as he opens his mouth."

"Wow, this is a real scientist, so professional."

"It's ridiculous. Bruce thought he was explaining it in plain language, but to me, it still sounded like incomprehensible."

Ordinary audiences may not understand it, but it is different for those who have knowledge of life sciences or are in the industry.

Pavlo, in particular, looked extremely pale.

He muttered to himself, "Wasn't the term gene just coined last year?"

"Don't tell me Bruce even understands such new knowledge."

"It's just that I've never heard of the term genetic mutation."

Faced with everyone's doubts, Li Qiwei took his time, which was also within his expectations.

After all, he had just come up with this idea not long ago.

So, next, Li Qiwei started from Mendel's pea experiment and mentioned genetic factors.

He infinitely elevated Mendel's status.

The people present only learned from him that there was such a great biologist who lived in the same era as Darwin.

It’s a pity that the other party has been ignored by the scientific community for more than 30 years!
What a pity this is.

Then, Ridgway explained how Danish geneticist Johnson officially changed the name of genetic factors to genes.

At this time, everyone in the field understood what genes are.

At the same time, everyone feels extremely familiar with this term.

It seems as if it is inherently hidden in the human brain.

However, more people were shocked by Li Qiwei's eloquence.

With his explanation, even people who have no exposure to life sciences can understand this highly professional term.

This shows how profound the other party's attainments are.

He is obviously a physicist, but he has such a deep understanding of biology.

As he talked about the pea experiment, everyone could only feel that it was unfathomable.

Even though Bateson, Morgan and others in the VIP seats knew the result in advance, they still sighed when they listened to Ridgway talk about the history of genetic theory.

If we talk about teaching ability, Li Qiwei might make them even more desperate.

No wonder the other party taught in his own country for several years.

This ability to unravel and impart knowledge is simply unmatched.

Several big names in the field of life sciences listened with great interest and did not feel it was boring at all.

The concept of genes was almost explained. At this time, Li Qiwei continued:

“What is the relationship between gene mutation and natural selection?”

"Let's take the example of organisms growing teeth."

"One day, two mollusks went out together to look for food. Unexpectedly, one of their genes suddenly mutated."

"One of them actually had a small stone growing out of it somewhere on its head."

"And the other one had a hair growing out somewhere on its tail."

"The molluscs that have grown stones can use these small stones to crush their food better, and their feeding efficiency is greatly improved."

"The mollusk that grew the hair found that the hair was of no use, so it just left it alone."

"Originally, this is nothing. Although there are stones to help, the mollusks without stones are still alive and well."

"But things don't always go as planned. An accident caused a sharp drop in food in the area where the soft-bodied creatures lived, and famine broke out."

"Soon, all the food they had was eaten up, and now they could only wait to starve to death."

"The hairy mollusk is no exception, and its hair cannot be eaten."

"But the mollusk with the stone suddenly discovered that another thing could also be its food."

“And only by rubbing against the stone can this food be eaten.”

"So, it survived tenaciously and continued to reproduce, with more and more of its offspring growing stones."

“Some even grew more than one stone.”

"After millions of years of evolution, the original molluscs have finally become a completely new species with sharp teeth."

"In the above story, the two new traits of growing teeth and growing hair are both caused by gene mutations."

"The probability of them happening is the same. No one knows where the mollusk will mutate and what new things it will mutate into."

"Therefore, there is no difference between these two traits in the early stage."

"But natural selection, or famine, selected the variant that had teeth to survive."

"The teeth of living things play a vital role."

“If the famine had turned into severe cold, perhaps the mollusk that grew hair would have survived.”

"Because hair can better retain heat and protect against severe cold."

“That’s what natural selection really means.”

"Thousands of years ago, in our East, there was an ancient saying that expressed a similar meaning: Heaven and earth are not benevolent, and treat all things as straw dogs."

"And genetic mutations are the basis of natural selection."

“Darwin’s theory of evolution, plus Mendel’s theory of genetics, plus my hypothesis of gene mutation, form the perfect theory of evolution.”

After Li Qiwei finished telling the story about the teeth.

There was an eerie silence in the venue.

Everyone was immersed in the story told by Li Qiwei.

They never thought that someone could make knowledge so easy to understand.

I'm afraid even a child of a few years old can understand Li Qiwei's theory.

This ability is truly terrifying.

People couldn't imagine how much Li Qiwei had studied the theory of evolution to be able to explain it in such a simple and easy-to-understand way.

Pavlo was dumbfounded by what he heard.

He didn't expect that someone could explain the theory of evolution from such a perspective.

This genius idea is as dazzling as the sun in the sky.

He couldn't imagine how Ridgway connected evolution and genetics.

You know, he himself is a professor of life sciences and knows both the theory of evolution and the theory of genetics.

But Pavlo never thought of combining the two.

Not to mention that we need to innovate on this basis and propose the so-called gene mutation, which is a stroke of genius.

Pavlo thought that he would never be able to figure it out even if he lived several lifetimes.

He couldn't help but sigh, is this the gap between gods and mortals?
If Li Qiwei knew what he was thinking, he would definitely comfort him: Brother, don't underestimate yourself.

Even Mendel, the founder of genetic theory, did not think of linking it with the theory of evolution.

Mendel had a deep understanding of the theory of evolution.

So, there are too many unexpected things in the history of science. At this moment, Pavlo has completely given up.

He lost the courage to debate.

Ridgway's modified version of the theory of evolution had completely convinced him.

After all, Pavlo is a professor, so he certainly wouldn't act like someone in a street quarrel and make a fuss.

Faced with such an impeccable theory, it would be a bit ridiculous to force doubts on it.

However, he did not become dejected, but became full of energy again.

Ridgway's theory made him see the infinite possibilities of evolution.

For scientists, is there anything more worthy of joy and celebration than making a further improvement in a theory?

So he said loudly: "Professor Bruce, what a wonderful speech."

"Your wild imagination has conquered me."

"You win."

"I thought you were already a top-notch biologist."

"I have benefited a lot from today's debate. Thank you!"

boom!
With Pavlo's admission of defeat, the atmosphere in the venue was instantly ignited.

There was even whistle from the audience.

"Oh my God, Bruce is so awesome. He is a physicist, but he beat a biologist. Is there anything more outrageous than this?"

"It's hard to imagine how he learned. Can one person really learn so much knowledge at the same time?"

"Bruce is not only a biologist, but also a top biologist who has improved the theory of evolution."

"I think the theory of evolution will be divided into two types: Darwinian evolution and Bruceian evolution."

This statement was agreed by many people.

Suddenly the crowd in the venue shouted: "Blues Evolution! Blues Evolution."

Li Qiwei smiled. This Pavlo was indeed a remarkable person.

In this situation, the other party made the most correct choice.

He did not choose to cheat, but admitted defeat openly.

This actually reflects his broad-mindedness.

So, Li Qiwei responded to him with his eyes to show his understanding.

Biologists present, such as Bateson, Morgan and others, were all moved.

With this battle alone, Bruce's position in the field of life sciences is almost on par with these big guys.

It feels terrible to think about it.

He is also the top physicist!

As for the bigwigs in other fields such as geology, forestry, psychology, and education, they all looked strange.

A different idea suddenly arose in their hearts.

"What would happen if Bruce entered our field of expertise?"

“Can he make any earth-shattering statements or publish any great results?”

The bosses suddenly trembled and decided to give up, as it was a bit sensational.

This is like Leonardo da Vinci reborn.

If Ridgway knew what they were thinking, he would surely be eager to say: Ask me! Ask me! In geology, I have the theory of continental drift, and in psychology, I have Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory.
Thompson looked at Li Qiwei with relief and was happy for him.

He was not particularly shocked by Li Qiwei's theory.

This simple conjecture and logical reasoning is a piece of cake for these top physicists.

Thomson was confident that if he also studied evolution, he would be able to come up with similar views.

Should? Probably? Maybe?
Lao Tang was also a little unsure because the thunderous cheers from the audience shook him.

At this moment, Li Qiweigao was standing on the podium, enjoying the admiration and worship of the crowd.

His signature smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Wilson silently complained: Look everyone, this is the standard smile for pretending to be cool, you must learn it, you will need it sooner or later.

Bateson, Morgan and others were extremely excited.

The celebrity effect is indeed extraordinary.

With Li Qiwei's support, the name of genetics has become completely popular.

The content of today's speech will definitely spread, and then more people will pay attention to the development of genetics.

This is a very happy thing for these industry leaders.

Moreover, after today, Li Qiwei and his improved theory of evolution will surely shock the world!

Originally, the debate should have ended here.

However, Bateson and others did not notice that Francis, who had been resting in the back, looked extremely pale at this moment.

His face was full of anger!
At first, he was a little disappointed because he lost the debate.

Then, because of Li Qiwei's incident, he made a mistake and felt that he had lost face.

At the same time, I felt a little resentful towards Li Qiwei.

Then, Li Qiwei stole the show, and someone in the audience even shouted "The Evolution of the Blues."

This made Francis completely unbearable and very angry.

His father Darwin is his pride, and the theory of evolution is the totem of their family.

He would not allow anyone to tarnish the theory of evolution!

Yes, in Francis' mind, he believed that such statements tarnished the theory of evolution.

He also blamed Li Qiwei for this anger.

"Bruce, you're just lucky."

"A Qing Dynasty man dares to replace the name of evolution theory. Who do you think you are?"

At this moment, Francis was about to lose his mind.

In fact, all of this was just his imagination, and no one had that kind of thought at all.

Darwin is still great, but Ridgway is simply more outstanding and excellent.

No one is stupid enough to disparage Darwin.

Francis has been bathed in the glory of his father since he was a child.

Wherever he went, he was known as "Darwin's boy."

Over time, he came to believe that his father Darwin was the smartest man in the world and would not tolerate any slander.

And now, Li Qiwei even surpassed his father's reputation, and he couldn't stand it anymore.

Besides, he is old and becomes more stubborn as he gets older, and no one can persuade him.

He suddenly stood up and slowly walked to Li Qiwei's side.

Bateson and others thought that he wanted to thank Li Qiwei in person for helping him out, so they didn't think much about it.

Still discussing the future of genetics among themselves.

When Li Qiwei saw Francis coming, he was also very puzzled and didn't know what the other party was going to do.

Is he apologizing to himself?

But there's something wrong with the other person's expression.

That was clearly the expression of looking at an enemy.

Under Li Qiwei's puzzled gaze;

Under the indifferent gaze of Bateson and others;
Amid the discussion among the audience,
Francis picked up the megaphone and said something that he would regret for the rest of his life.

Thanks to the book friend [20222157] for the reward
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(End of this chapter)