The Most Controversial Idea in Biology

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Most people don’t fully understand evolution. Sponsored by Hostinger - visit https://ve42.co/hostingern8n and use the code VERITASIUM to get an extra discount on top of the sale prices. If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV Sign up for the Veritasium newsletter for weekly science updates - https://ve42.co/Newsletter We have a tabletop game launching! Pledge your support now - https://ve42.co/KickStarterD ▀▀▀ 0:00 Why does poop smell bad? 2:51 The Beginning Life 7:15 What is gene mutation? 8:01 Simulating Evolution 13:25 How natural selection works 16:39 What do we pass on? 19:40 Kin Selection 22:04 The Selfish Gene 25:35 It’s all a simulation ▀▀▀ A big thanks to Dr. Jack Szostak at the University of Chicago, Dr. John Sutherland at Cambridge University, Dr. Joanna Masel at the University of Arizona & Dr. Gerald Joyce at the Salk Institute for their expertise and help with the video. And a huge thank you to Joe Hanson from @besmart for his help! Check out @PrimerBlobs here! Check out Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene here - https://ve42.co/SGRD ▀▀▀ References: https://ve42.co/SelfishGeneRefs Images & Video: Emperor Penguins Chicks via National Geographic - https://ve42.co/NatGeoPenguin Child in bed - https://ve42.co/FeverChild Photo of G.C. Williams - https://ve42.co/GCWilliams Photo of J. M. Smith - https://ve42.co/JMSmith Photo of Bob Trivers - https://ve42.co/RTrivers ▀▀▀ Special thanks to our Patreon supporters: Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alex Porter, Alexander Tamas, Anton Ragin, Anupam Banerjee, armedtoe, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, David Tseng, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Ibby Hadeed, Jeromy Johnson, Jon Jamison, Juan Benet, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Matthias Wrobel, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Bush, Michael Krugman, Orlando Bassotto, Paul Peijzel, Richard Sundvall, Robert Oliveira, Sam Lutfi, Tj Steyn, Ubiquity Ventures, wolfee ▀▀▀ Writers: Gregor Čavlović, Casper Mebius, Daniel Leonard & Derek Muller Producer & Director: Gregor Čavlović Editor: Peter Nelson Camera Operator: Andrew Abballe Animators: Fabio Albertelli, Andrew Neet, Emma Wright & Peter Nelson Illustrator: Jakub Misiek Simulations: Callum Cuttle Researchers: Aakash Singh Bagga & Callum Cuttle Thumbnail Designers: Abdallah Rabah, Ren Hurley & Ben Powell Production Team: Josh Pitt, Matthew Cavanagh, Anna Milkovic & Zoe Heron Executive Producers: Derek Muller & Casper Mebius Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Storyblocks Music from Epidemic Sound