https://jinyung.github.io/tag/ge/ GE Source Themes Academic (https://sourcethemes.com/academic/)en-us©2026 Wong Jin YungSat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://jinyung.github.io/images/icon_hud9e986e855b8e3846c4fec80f7a61c84_40920_512x512_fill_lanczos_center_3.png https://jinyung.github.io/tag/ge/ https://jinyung.github.io/courses/life_science/ Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://jinyung.github.io/courses/life_science/ <h2 id="course-code">Course code</h2> <p><code>GEAE2514A</code>/<code>GEAE2514B</code> (undergrad), under general education courses</p> <h2 id="semesters-taught">Semesters taught</h2> <p>113-1, 113-2, 114-1, 114-2, 115-1 (offered regularly every semester)</p> <h2 id="course-description">Course description</h2> <p>I cover half of this general education course, focusing on the evolution of organisms and their interactions with each other and with the environments they inhabit.</p> <p>The class is designed for non-biology majors and introduces students to the fascinating world of living organisms. I aim to show that life sciences are highly relatable and touch on fundamental questions related to our own existence and daily life. I also connect life sciences to other disciplines, so students from different majors can see how these ideas connect with their fields.</p> <p>Here are some of the topics I will cover:</p> <ul> <li>Evolution by natural selection is a big idea. Where did it come from? Influences on Charles Darwin, including economic theories of resource competition.</li> <li>Why Charles Darwin&rsquo;s theory of evolution is not just about &ldquo;survival of the fittest&rdquo;.</li> <li>Mutation can cause cancer, yet without it long term evolution is impossible.</li> <li>Survival of the luckiest: not all evolutionary changes are adaptations; some are simply the outcome of random sampling.</li> <li>Nature vs. Nurture: If evolution acts only on genes, does choice still matter?</li> <li>To fight or not to fight? Peace benefits everyone, but why it is so hard to maintain and why doesn&rsquo;t aggression take over entirely in nature?</li> <li>If evolution acts on individual rather than group survival, how can cooperation and even self-sacrificial behavior evolve?</li> <li>Why have peacocks evolved a large, colorful tail that handicaps them? How sexual selection explains &ldquo;illogical&rdquo; mate choice in animals.</li> <li>Will the human population continue to grow? What limits it, and how does it compare to other organisms?</li> <li>Why do animal populations cycle or fluctuate? The link to the &ldquo;the butterfly effect&rdquo;</li> <li>If extinction is natural, why should we save species? If survival of the fittest rules nature, why save the losers?</li> <li>The race to resource exploitation: are we doomed, or can we escape &ldquo;the tragedy of the commons&rdquo;? Is reducing consumption the answer?</li> <li>How close are we to climate tipping points? Why didn&rsquo;t we notice them coming earlier?</li> </ul> <h2 id="prerequisite">Prerequisite</h2> <p>None. My classes are quite different from high school biology. It doesn’t matter much whether you have studied biology before.</p> <h2 id="syllabus">Syllabus</h2> <ul> <li>The origin of species and the tree of life</li> <li>Principles of evolution</li> <li>Animal behavior, conflicts and cooperation</li> <li>Sexual selection and evolution summary</li> <li>Population and community ecology</li> <li>The Anthropocene and conservation biology</li> <li>Exam</li> </ul>