Science & Technology

Did Frankenstein actually save mankind ?

By T.K. Randall
October 30, 2016 ·  4 comments

A depiction by Shelley herself of Frankenstein working in his laboratory. Image Credit: Mary Shelley Written in 1818, the gothic horror masterpiece, which tells the tale of how Victor Frankenstein created a monster, has been retold time and time again for the better part of two centuries.

Perhaps the most interesting thing of all about the story however is what it teaches us about the fundamental concepts of ecology and evolution as well as about mankind's own mortality.

One pivotal moment in the book concerns a meeting between Frankenstein and the monster in which the creature asks him to create a female companion to help combat his loneliness.Frankenstein ultimately decides against this having considered the ramifications for mankind if such a pair of unnatural beings were to reproduce and spread unchecked throughout the world.

In retrospect, his decision may have actually saved the human race from extinction.

"The principle of competitive exclusion was not formally defined until the 1930s," said Nathaniel J. Dominy, an anthropology and biological sciences professor at Dartmouth College. "We calculated that a founding population of two creatures could drive us to extinction in as little as 4,000 years."

While the study is of course little more than a thought experiment, it demonstrates how much of a grasp Shelley had on such concepts and how, even today, her writing can still shed new light on the biology of an invasive species and on mankind's own potential for extinction.

Source: Phys.org | Comments (4)

Tags: Frankenstein