He's one of the most terrifying creations in literary history. Frankenstein's monster has inspired countless films and Halloween costumes, a nightmarish Creature with "yellow skin scarcely [covering]the work of muscles and arteries beneath". Thankfully, the Creature is a work of fiction. But what might have happened if he'd been let loose in the real world?
Two biologists in the US decided tofind out. In Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, the Creature demands that VictorFrankenstein make him a mate, arguing that he deserves to be happy. He promises that he and his companion will vanish into the wilds of South America, never to be seen again.
Frankenstein ultimately refuses, destroying the companion-to-be,but what would have happened if hehadreleased a pair of loved-up Creatures into the South American wild?To find out, the researchers created a mathematical model, using human population densities from 1816.
"We calculated that a founding population of two Creatures could drive us to extinction in as little as 4,000 years," saysNathaniel J. Dominy, Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College.
Our extinction would be caused bythe Creatures competing with usforresources, ultimately leading to our demise. It's a concept known as 'competitive exclusion', and this research is further proof of Mary Shelley's genius in repackaging scientific and philosophical ideas to invent a whole new genre: science fiction.
And thank goodness it's only fiction...
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