Misconception: The fittest organisms in a population are those that are strongest, healthiest, fastest, and/or largest.

By looking at the misconception, it is apparent how the average person would agree with the statement. If you have no previous experience with fitness in terms of its biological context, one could assume that fitness is referring to someone’s health and strength. However, fitness is the ability of an organism to pass on its genes to the next generation:

1. A higher fitness means that an organism is successful at leaving viable offspring
2. A lower fitness means that an organism is not successful in passing on its genes to the next generation of its offspring. 

If this concept is still confusing, you should watch this Khan Academy video for some clarification:  

Now that we know what fitness means in terms of biology, it should be evident that our statement is false. As a society, we have anthropomorphized what it means to be “fit.” In nature is that it’s not always the strongest, fastest, healthiest, and largest organisms that have the highest rates, or success, when it comes to reproduction and the passing on of their traits. Throughout our blog, you will see various examples and trade-offs that show how evolution has caused differential fitness across numerous species.