R. A. Fisher on J. A. Cobb’s The problem of the sex-ratio

Andy Gardner

doi:10.1098/rsnr.2023.0067

R. A. Fisher on J. A. Cobb’s The problem of the sex-ratio

Andy Gardner^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The logic of the rarer-sex effect, concerning how natural selection acts to
balance the sex ratio among newborns, was long supposed to have originated with Ronald Aylmer Fisher in his 1930 book The genetical theory of natural selection. However, the principle is now understood to have originated with John Austin Cobb in his 1914 paper The problem of the sex-ratio. Fisher did not provide a citation of Cobb’s sex-ratio paper, and it has been unclear whether he was aware of its existence. Here, I show that Fisher was indeed aware of Cobb’s paper in 1930, as revealed by his having cited it elsewhere that same year.
Fisher’s willingness to highlight Cobb’s sex-ratio work lends support to the view that his failure to mention it in his book reflects the lax citation standards of the time rather than an attempt to deceive readers as to the provenance of the rarer-sex effect.

Original language	English
Article number	20230067
Number of pages	3
Journal	Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science
Volume	Ahead of Print
Early online date	25 Oct 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2023.0067
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 25 Oct 2023

Keywords

Fisher's principle
John Austin Cobb
Rarer-sex effect
Ronald Aylmer Fisher
Sex allocation
Sex ratio

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10.1098/rsnr.2023.0067Licence: CC BY

Gardner-2023-RA-Fisher-on-JA-Cobb-Notes&Records-20230067-CCBY
Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
Final published version, 123 KBLicence: CC BY

SOCIOCOMPLEXITY - New Paradigms: H2020 ERC Consolidator Grant 2017
Gardner, A. (PI)
European Research Council
1/05/18 → 31/10/24
Project: Standard

Cite this

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title = "R. A. Fisher on J. A. Cobb{\textquoteright}s The problem of the sex-ratio",

abstract = "The logic of the rarer-sex effect, concerning how natural selection acts to balance the sex ratio among newborns, was long supposed to have originated with Ronald Aylmer Fisher in his 1930 book The genetical theory of natural selection. However, the principle is now understood to have originated with John Austin Cobb in his 1914 paper The problem of the sex-ratio. Fisher did not provide a citation of Cobb{\textquoteright}s sex-ratio paper, and it has been unclear whether he was aware of its existence. Here, I show that Fisher was indeed aware of Cobb{\textquoteright}s paper in 1930, as revealed by his having cited it elsewhere that same year. Fisher{\textquoteright}s willingness to highlight Cobb{\textquoteright}s sex-ratio work lends support to the view that his failure to mention it in his book reflects the lax citation standards of the time rather than an attempt to deceive readers as to the provenance of the rarer-sex effect.",

keywords = "Fisher's principle, John Austin Cobb, Rarer-sex effect, Ronald Aylmer Fisher, Sex allocation, Sex ratio",

author = "Andy Gardner",

note = "Funding: This work was supported by a European Research Council Consolidator Grant (no. 771387).",

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AB - The logic of the rarer-sex effect, concerning how natural selection acts to balance the sex ratio among newborns, was long supposed to have originated with Ronald Aylmer Fisher in his 1930 book The genetical theory of natural selection. However, the principle is now understood to have originated with John Austin Cobb in his 1914 paper The problem of the sex-ratio. Fisher did not provide a citation of Cobb’s sex-ratio paper, and it has been unclear whether he was aware of its existence. Here, I show that Fisher was indeed aware of Cobb’s paper in 1930, as revealed by his having cited it elsewhere that same year. Fisher’s willingness to highlight Cobb’s sex-ratio work lends support to the view that his failure to mention it in his book reflects the lax citation standards of the time rather than an attempt to deceive readers as to the provenance of the rarer-sex effect.

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KW - John Austin Cobb

KW - Rarer-sex effect

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KW - Sex allocation

KW - Sex ratio

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DO - 10.1098/rsnr.2023.0067

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JF - Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science

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R. A. Fisher on J. A. Cobb’s The problem of the sex-ratio

Abstract

Keywords

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Projects

SOCIOCOMPLEXITY - New Paradigms: H2020 ERC Consolidator Grant 2017

Cite this