A reader emailed me to ask what I thought would be a good way to better understand some of the more technical posts I put up.
First, two course notes which I’ve found useful as personal references:
– EEB 5348 — Population Genetics
– Evolutionary Quantitative Genetics, Uppsala University (if you are ambitious, bookmark this too)
Some people might argue that John Gillespie’s Population Genetics: A Concise Guide (Kindle edition) is a touch too abstruse and cryptic for the introductory reader. It’s short, and the mathematics isn’t challenging, but because of its concision the author can sometimes unleash upon your nearly cryptic formalism, perhaps defeating the purpose of a soft introduction in the first place. To get the most out of this book you probably ironically have to have a more thorough textbook on hand to clear up those particular points which you find confusing. But to get the general logic of population genetics and establish familiarity this seems to be the right entry point (assuming you’re not to terrified by algebra).
Of course most readers of this weblog are focused …