John Maynard Smith

Also known as John Maynard-Smith, J. Maynard Smith, J. Maynard-Smith, Maynard Smith, Maynard-Smith, Smith JM, J. M. Smith

British theoretical evolutionary biologist and geneticist (1920-2004)

Person · Open Library

Born: 1920
Works: 52

Top works

Organizational Constraints on the Dynamics of Evolution
Mathematical Ideas in Biology
Yaşamın Kökenleri
Evolution: Prozesse, Mechanismen, Modelle (German Edition)
Evolution and the Theory of Games

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Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person

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Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 7
Total plays: 36

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Academic profile · OpenAlex

93h-index

Works: 416
Cited by: 68,666

Research areas

BiologyGeneticsComputer sciencePhilosophyEvolutionary biology

Most cited works

Evolution and the Theory of Games1988 · 8,019 cit
Evolution and the Theory of Games1982 · 6,915 cit
The Logic of Animal Conflict1973 · 6,188 cit
The hitch-hiking effect of a favourable gene1974 · 3,564 cit
The Major Transitions in Evolution1997 · 2,592 cit

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Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple
· 1996 · cited 200,687x
Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test
· 1997 · cited 47,804x
Colorimetric Method for Determination of Sugars and Related Substances
· 1956 · cited 41,928x
Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold
· 2021 · cited 41,733x
Gene Ontology: tool for the unification of biology
· 2000 · cited 36,361x

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Quotes

“It is in the nature of science that once a position becomes orthodox it should be subjected to criticism.... It does not follow that, because a position is orthodox, it is wrong.”
“Тhе сепtгаl роіпt геmаіпs that Darwin provided a theory which predicts that organisms should have parts adapted to ensure their survival and . This has led to the suggestion that life should be defined by the possession of those properties which are needed to ensure evolution by natural selection. That is, entities with the properties of multiplication, variation, and are alive, and entities lacking one or more of those properties are not.”
“It is an occupational risk of biologists to claim, towards the end of their careers, that the problems which they have not solved are insoluble.”
“Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is the only workable explanation that has ever been proposed for the remarkable fact of our own existence, indeed the existence of all life wherever it may turn up in the universe.”
“Natural selection is the only workable explanation for the beautiful and compelling illusion of 'design' that pervades every living body and every organ. Knowledge of evolution may not be strictly useful in everyday commerce. You can live some sort of life and die without ever hearing the name of Darwin. But if, before you die, you want to understand why you lived in the first place, Darwinism is the one subject that you must study.”
“The last decade has seen a steady increase in the application of concepts from the theory of games to the study of evolution. Fields as diverse as sex ratio theory, animal distribution, contest behaviour and reciprocal altruism have contributed to what is now emerging as a universal way of thinking about phenotypic evolution.”

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Key facts

Born: ( 1920-01-06 ) 6 January 1920, London , England
Died: 19 April 2004 (2004-04-19) (aged 84), Lewes , East Sussex , England
Education: Trinity College, Cambridge , University College London
Known for: Game theory , Evolution of sex , Signalling theory
Fields: Evolutionary biologist and geneticist
Institutions: University College London , University of Sussex
Doctoral advisor: J. B. S. Haldane
Doctoral students: Sean Nee

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Wikidata facts

Image: John Maynard Smith.jpg

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date of birth: 1920-02-06
date of death: 2004-04-19
Erdős number: 4
Commons category: John Maynard Smith
name in native language: John Maynard Smith

Sources (4)

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~10 min read

Article

John Maynard Smith (6 January 1920 – 19 April 2004) was a British theoretical and mathematical evolutionary biologist and geneticist. Originally an aeronautical engineer during the Second World War, he took a second degree in genetics under the biologist J. B. S. Haldane. Maynard Smith was instrumental in the application of game theory to evolution with George R. Price, and theorised on other problems such as the evolution of sex and signalling theory.

Biography