Equation 2 · Part 4 · One Gene, Forty Eyes: What Evo-Devo Did to the Convergence Story
superscript
superscript
What this part means
A raised number can be a power. When it is a label or bound, it selects a case or the upper limit of a sum; the formula’s structure distinguishes these uses.
Its job in the formula
A raised mark can be a power or an index. Its position and the surrounding notation determine which.
Full expression→superscript→Article meaning
The passage around this formula
Compounding that per-generation rate to reach the full 1,829 steps of one-percent change — equivalent to a single structure lengthening by a factor of just over eighty million — requires solving: . which gives n 363{,}992 generations [ 4 ] . Assuming a generation time of one year, common for small and medium-sized aquatic animals, the authors state the headline result directly: a camera eye could evolve from a light-sensitive patch in less than 364,000 years [ 4 ] . Measured against a fossil record that places the first animal eyes at roughly the early Cambrian, about 550 million years ago, that is short enough for the transformation to have run more than fifteen…
Learn the underlying idea
An exponent tells how a base is used in multiplication. In x³, x is the base and 3 is the exponent: x³ = x × x × x.
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Sources cited in the surrounding passage
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