biology

Ludwig Hermann Plate

Ludwig Hermann Plate is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ludwig Hermann Plate rather than just read about it. In short: Ludwig Hermann Plate (16 August 1862 – 16 November 1937) was a German zoologist and student of Ernst Haeckel. He wrote a "thorough and extensive defence" of Darwinism, but before Mendel's work had been assimilated in the modern synthesis.

Key takeaways

Ludwig Hermann Plate belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ludwig Hermann Plate to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ludwig Hermann Plate from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ludwig Hermann Plate (16 August 1862 – 16 November 1937) was a German zoologist and student of Ernst Haeckel. He wrote a "thorough and extensive defence" of Darwinism, but before Mendel's work had been assimilated in the modern synthesis. Born in Bremen, Plate studied mathematics and natural sciences Bonn and in Jena, where he attended the lectures of Ernst Haeckel. In 1888, he achieved the 'Habilitation' in zoology at the University of Marburg. He was offered the Chair of Zoology at Jena University in 1909 through the help of Haeckel, and also became director of the Jena "Phyletisches Museum". He coined the term Pleiotropy.

Evolutionary views

Plate was a proponent of what he called old-Darwinism or orthoevolution, which included a supposedly directed form of natural selection, orthoselection. According to Plate, old-Darwinism follows the ideas of Charles Darwin but also integrates other mechanisms of evolution. He attempted to combine Lamarckism, natural selection and orthogenesis into a unified framework. Many of the factors of the modern synthesis of the early 20th century were first mentioned by Plate. He held that random mutation and natural selection have a major role in evolution. He also acknowledged population thinking. He differed from the modern synthesis in accepting non-Darwinian mechanisms of evolution such as the Lamarckian inheritance of acquired characteristics and orthogenesis. Plate coined the term orthoselection. This term was later used by modern synthesis theorists such as Julian Huxley and Bernard Rensch. In his later writings he incorporated research from genetics into his evolutionary writings.

Legacy A species of Chilean lizard, Liolaemus platei, is named in his honor.

Publications Die Anatomie und Phylogenie der Chitonen (1901). Über die Bedeutung des Darwin'schen Selektionsprincips und Probleme der Artbildung (1903). Selektionprinzip und Problem der Artbildung: ein Handbuch der Darwinismus (1913). Die Abstammungslehre: Tatsachen, Theorien, Einwände und Folgerungen in kurzer Darstellung (1925).

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ludwig Hermann Plate

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ludwig Hermann Plate claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ludwig Hermann Plate before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ludwig Hermann Plate ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ludwig Hermann Plate

In research: Ludwig Hermann Plate appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ludwig Hermann Plate in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ludwig Hermann Plate is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1862 births, 1937 deaths, 20th-century German zoologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ludwig Hermann Plate outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ludwig Hermann Plate in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ludwig Hermann Plate means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ludwig Hermann Plate out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ludwig Hermann Plate in simple terms?

Why does Ludwig Hermann Plate matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ludwig Hermann Plate?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ludwig Hermann Plate.