Neutral syndrome

【Author】 Leroi, Armand M.; Ben Lambert; Rosindell, James; Zhang, Xiangyu; Kokkoris, Giorgos D.

【Source】NATURE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

【影响因子】24.252

【Abstract】Leroi et al. argue that neutral models, which are evolutionary models that do not involve a process of natural selection, must be applied with care, and that alternative methods are often needed to conclusively explain the diversity of variants. Neutral models of evolution assume the absence of natural selection. Formerly confined to ecology and evolutionary biology, neutral models are spreading. In recent years they've been applied to explaining the diversity of baby names, scientific citations, cryptocurrencies, pot decorations, literary lexica, tumour variants and much more besides. Here, we survey important neutral models and highlight their similarities. We investigate the most widely used tests of neutrality, show that they are weak and suggest more powerful methods. We conclude by discussing the role of neutral models in the explanation of diversity. We suggest that the ability of neutral models to fit low-information distributions should not be taken as evidence for the absence of selection. Nevertheless, many studies, in increasingly diverse fields, make just such claims. We call this tendency 'neutral syndrome'.

【Keywords】

【发表时间】2020 AUG

【收录时间】2022-01-02

【文献类型】案例研究

【主题类别】

区块链技术-平台项目-Ripple