John Maynard Smith
John Maynard Smith (1920–2004) was a British evolutionary biologist and professor at the University of Sussex, known for applying game theory to evolutionary biology and for co-authoring the framework of major evolutionary transitions. Originally trained as an aeronautical engineer, he studied under J. B. S. Haldane before moving into genetics and evolutionary theory.
Evolutionary game theory
Maynard Smith introduced the concept of the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS), a strategy that, when adopted by most members of a population, cannot be invaded by any rare alternative strategy. His book Evolution and the Theory of Games (1982) established contest behavior, sex ratios and animal conflict as problems solvable with game-theoretic methods, providing a rigorous alternative to verbal group-benefit arguments in behavioral ecology.
Major transitions
With Eörs Szathmáry, he wrote The Major Transitions in Evolution (1995), which organized the history of life around a small number of transitions in the way hereditary information is stored and transmitted: genes to chromosomes, prokaryotes to eukaryotes, asexual to sexual populations, single cells to multicellular organisms, and solitary individuals to societies. Each transition raises the same theoretical questions — why cooperation among the lower-level units is stable and what prevents defection from within.
Honors
Maynard Smith received the Royal Medal, the Crafoord Prize and the Kyoto Prize, among other awards.
Notes
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