{"id":48996,"date":"2023-05-22T09:00:28","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T07:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/?p=48996"},"modified":"2025-12-12T00:38:32","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T23:38:32","slug":"what-is-natural-selection-and-what-has-engineering-learned-from-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/en\/2023\/05\/what-is-natural-selection-and-what-has-engineering-learned-from-it\/","title":{"rendered":"What is natural selection, and what has engineering learned from it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natural selection<\/b> is the phenomenon by which some favorable mutations help different organisms survive longer than others without them, granting them evolutionary advantages and thus more chances of survival and passing on those genes.<\/span><\/p>\n

This concept is often used to talk about the success of certain sectors, companies, or products, though there are differences. The key is in the adjective <\/span>natural<\/span><\/i>. While <\/span>evolution doesn’t have conscious influences<\/b>, the economy is full of management mechanisms. But what does this have to do with the color of industrial machinery?<\/span><\/p>\n

What is natural selection?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Natural selection is an evolutionary process<\/b> by which less fit individuals do not transmit their genes to the following generations by not reproducing before dying, and vice versa: better-adapted individuals do manage to do so, giving rise to the phenomenon of <\/span>unintentional selection<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While natural selection is now known not to be the only cause of evolution, it undoubtedly plays a fundamental role in <\/span>selecting<\/span><\/i> (involuntarily) certain genetic lines over others due to reproductive success. The most adapted have more offspring. But how can this be applied to engineering?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Mutations<\/p>\n

Wilfredor<\/span><\/a>,<\/span><\/p>\n

Aptitude and evolution through selection<\/b><\/h2>\n

In the modern theory of natural selection, the concept of <\/span>aptitude<\/span><\/i> is crucial, hence the phrase <\/span>survival of the fittest<\/b>. Of course, this applies to entire species, not just individuals, and statistics comes into the picture. If one species has a fertility rate of 3 and another of 2.5, the former displaces the latter.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the fittest species multiply, it is more likely that <\/span>mutations leading to new species in the future<\/b> will emerge. For example, humanity has long obeyed not natural selection but human selection, which can be applied to our domesticated animals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cows<\/p>\n

Leon Ephra\u00efm<\/span><\/a>,<\/span><\/p>\n

Our current bovine varieties<\/span> have been modified<\/span><\/a> by humankind over millennia.<\/span><\/p>\n

A brief history of natural selection<\/b><\/h2>\n

The first time the concept of biological evolution was described by <\/span>natural selection<\/span><\/i> was in Charles Darwin’s renowned <\/span>The Origin of Species<\/span><\/i> (1859), where he discusses this topic. However, his work was built on that of previous authors.<\/span><\/p>\n