Well-sourced nonsense vs. unsourced competence - WikiEN-l

29 Aug 2009

Well-sourced junk that reads like it belongs on Simple En.wiki:

'''Adaptation''' is one of the basic phenomena of
biology.<ref>Williams, George C. 1966. ''Adaptation and natural
selection: a critique of some current evolutionary thought''.
Princeton. "Evolutionary adaptation is a phenomenon of pervasive
importance in biology." p5</ref> It is the process whereby an organism
becomes better suited to its [[habitat]].<ref>The ''Oxford Dictionary
of Science'' defines ''adaptation'' as "Any change in the
structure or
functioning of an organism that makes it better suited to its
environment".</ref> Also, the term ''adaptation'' may refer to
a
characteristic which is especially important for an organism's
survival.<ref>Both uses of the term 'adaptation' are recognized by
King R.C. Stansfield W.D. and Mulligan P. 2006. ''A dictionary of
genetics''. Oxford, 7th ed.</ref> For example, the adaptation of
horses' teeth to the grinding of grass, or their ability to run fast
and escape predators. Such adaptations are produced in a variable
population by the better suited forms reproducing more successfully,
that is, by [[natural selection]].

The above will be changed, obviously. Note also the large inline
<refs> make editing difficult, which in turn lets nonsense writing
persist. If we can't come up with some better technical means of
separation - all ref tags under their own invisible section maybe -
then at least carriage-returns - putting the <ref> on the next line -
would work well enough. Still showing up the same in view mode, but
the text can actually be readable in edit mode).

Anyway, working on something unsourced like:

In [[biology]], '''adaptation''' is an observed
''effect'' of the
process of [[evolution]]  &mdash;wherein canonical [[organism]]s
(species) appear to [[change]] over time to survive more efficiently
within their [[habitat]]. The concept of adaptation was developed
before the theory of evolution &mdash;Lamarck had made some
groundbreaking observations which inspired Darwin. "Adaptation" in
reality does not refer to changes within individual organisms, but to
the canonical form of the species &mdash; changes brought about by a
process of [[natural selection]]. "Adaptation" in the context of
biology, thus is a largely a colloquialism for natural selection.

-Stevertigo
Sources available upon request.