15.0: Introduction

In which we consider Mendel's contributions together with their critique by William R.F. Weldon, including the realization that genetic elements behave in predictable but often complex ways and consider simplifications that can lead to inaccurate, genetically deterministic conclusions. We consider examples of how genes function within biological systems, including how molecular, developmental, and environmental variation combine to influence the uniqueness of individuals.^[504]

As we think about the historical origins of genetics, it is worth considering the biases imposed by the way that Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) did his work. These reflect the realities of science – understanding does not appear fully formed, like religious revelation, it is built up through experimentally constrained insights, some of which are productive and others that turn out to be distractions. Subsequent observations and experiments lead us to recognize the implications and limitations of original ideas, better termed tentative hypotheses and working models rather than theories and drive their refinement or abandonment. The path from an idea to new discoveries and concrete conclusions is rarely as linear as they are often made to appear in a scientific paper. In Mendel's case, he began his work around 1854 and published it 11 years later in 1865; it took 35 years from the time he published his work until it was recognized (1900) as establishing something fundamental about genetic mechanisms–its significance was not immediately obvious.^[505]

---