Extended phenotype

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The main idea — popularized by Richard Dawkins — is that phenotype should not be limited to biological processes, but should include all effects that a gene has on its environment, inside or outside the body of the individual organism. so a beaver’s dam is an extended phenotype.

If you make yourself really big, you can internalise everything.

Compare with the management consultant’s reverie: “If you make yourself really small, you can externalise nearly everything.”

See also

• Evolution