A few wrinkles have been added to Darwin's theory by recent biologists. The process once regarded as gradual is now seen by many as punctuated by major calamities such as meteors, which might from time to time cause the destruction of otherwise viable species, such as the dinosaur. It may therefore be asked whether evolution is fundamentally (1) a series of accidents or (2) a progressive process of developing functionality.

Life is both delicate and complex: it can be destroyed by a single accident, but a complex form of life is never created by one accident. Furthermore, while many accidents may punctuate a chain of evolution, the product at the end of any such chain must be an organism that—although perhaps far from perfect—exhibits highly developed functionality. The most fundamental aspect of evolution is therefore not the accidents, but the pattern of adaptation. While an astronomical catastrophe might destroy many previously functional species, it would not enable a seriously dysfunctional species to survive. If the modern view of evolution has modified Darwin's original formula of "survival of the fittest," it nevertheless implies the non-survival of the unfit.     

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