The Correlation Between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inheritance
Encyclopedia
The Correlation Between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inheritance is a scientific paper by R.A. Fisher
which was published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1918, (volume 52, pages 399–433). In it, Fisher puts forward a genetic
model that shows that continuous variation amongst characters could be the result of Mendelian inheritance. The paper also contains the first use of the term variance
.
followed Darwin's
idea that small differences were important for evolution. The Mendelian school, led by William Bateson
, however thought that Mendel's
work gave an evolutionary mechanism with large differences.
Joan Box, Fisher's biographer and daughter states in her book that Fisher, then a student, had resolved this problem in 1911.
Fisher had originally submitted his paper (then entitled "The correlation to be expected between relatives on the supposition of Mendelian inheritance") to the Royal Society, to be published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London. The two referees, the biologist R. C. Punnett and the statistician Karl Pearson
, believed that the paper contained areas they were unable to judge, due to lack of expertise, and expressed some reservations. Though the paper was not rejected, Fisher carried a feud with Pearson from 1917 on, and instead sent the paper via J. Arthur Thompson to the Royal Society of Edinburgh
, which published it in its Transactions.
, as the square of the standard deviation
, because of the manner in which variances of independent
random variable
s may be added. He notes the continuous variation in human characters.
Ronald Fisher
Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher FRS was an English statistician, evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and geneticist. Among other things, Fisher is well known for his contributions to statistics by creating Fisher's exact test and Fisher's equation...
which was published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1918, (volume 52, pages 399–433). In it, Fisher puts forward a genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
model that shows that continuous variation amongst characters could be the result of Mendelian inheritance. The paper also contains the first use of the term variance
Variance
In probability theory and statistics, the variance is a measure of how far a set of numbers is spread out. It is one of several descriptors of a probability distribution, describing how far the numbers lie from the mean . In particular, the variance is one of the moments of a distribution...
.
Background
Mendelian genetics was rediscovered in 1900. However, there were differences of opinion as to the variation that natural selection acted upon. The biometric school, led by Karl PearsonKarl Pearson
Karl Pearson FRS was an influential English mathematician who has been credited for establishing the disciplineof mathematical statistics....
followed Darwin's
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
idea that small differences were important for evolution. The Mendelian school, led by William Bateson
William Bateson
William Bateson was an English geneticist and a Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge...
, however thought that Mendel's
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian scientist and Augustinian friar who gained posthumous fame as the founder of the new science of genetics. Mendel demonstrated that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance...
work gave an evolutionary mechanism with large differences.
Joan Box, Fisher's biographer and daughter states in her book that Fisher, then a student, had resolved this problem in 1911.
Fisher had originally submitted his paper (then entitled "The correlation to be expected between relatives on the supposition of Mendelian inheritance") to the Royal Society, to be published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London. The two referees, the biologist R. C. Punnett and the statistician Karl Pearson
Karl Pearson
Karl Pearson FRS was an influential English mathematician who has been credited for establishing the disciplineof mathematical statistics....
, believed that the paper contained areas they were unable to judge, due to lack of expertise, and expressed some reservations. Though the paper was not rejected, Fisher carried a feud with Pearson from 1917 on, and instead sent the paper via J. Arthur Thompson to the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
, which published it in its Transactions.
Fisher's model
Fisher defines his new term of varianceVariance
In probability theory and statistics, the variance is a measure of how far a set of numbers is spread out. It is one of several descriptors of a probability distribution, describing how far the numbers lie from the mean . In particular, the variance is one of the moments of a distribution...
, as the square of the standard deviation
Standard deviation
Standard deviation is a widely used measure of variability or diversity used in statistics and probability theory. It shows how much variation or "dispersion" there is from the average...
, because of the manner in which variances of independent
Statistical independence
In probability theory, to say that two events are independent intuitively means that the occurrence of one event makes it neither more nor less probable that the other occurs...
random variable
Random variable
In probability and statistics, a random variable or stochastic variable is, roughly speaking, a variable whose value results from a measurement on some type of random process. Formally, it is a function from a probability space, typically to the real numbers, which is measurable functionmeasurable...
s may be added. He notes the continuous variation in human characters.
External links
- The University of AdelaideUniversity of AdelaideThe University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
has made the original available in pdf format: http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/digitised/fisher/9.pdf