# Evolution by Selection Explains What We Are and Where We Are Going by Paul W. Ewald > “My nominee is the concept of evolution by selection (which encompasses natural selection, sexual selection, and the selective processes that generate cultural evolution). It offers the best explanation for what we are, where we came from, and the nature of life in the rest of the universe. It also explains why we invent and why we believe the inventions described in this list are important. It is the invention that explains invention.” > **— Paul W. Ewald**, *1999, Edge Annual Question, “What Is The Most Important Invention In The Past Two Thousand Years?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Evolutionary Biologist](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11626) — Edge published this exact passage in its 1999 Annual Question collection, *WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INVENTION IN THE PAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 1999 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 1999 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|Valley Roots]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|Never Going to Make It!]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] - [[wiki/Cultural Evolution|Cultural Evolution]] - [[wiki/Gene-Culture Coevolution|Gene-Culture Coevolution]] - [[wiki/Evolutionary Dynamics|Evolutionary Dynamics]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “My nominee is the concept of evolution by selection (which encompasses natural selection, sexual selection, and the selective processes that generate cultural evolution). It offers the best explanation for what we are, where we came from, and the nature of life in the rest of the universe. It also explains why we invent and why we believe the inventions described in this list are important. It is the invention that explains invention.” — Paul W. Ewald, 1999, Edge Annual Question, “What Is The Most Important Invention In The Past Two Thousand Years?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-paul-ewald-evolution-selection-explains-going ```