# Evolvability
## MicroSim spec
- **Recommended sim type:** lineage / mutation
- **Microsimmability score:** 75/100
- **Layout:** drawing region (canvas) on top; control region (sliders/buttons) below.
### Parameters (tunable controls)
- `Mutation rate`
- `Selection pressure`
- `Modularity`
### What animates
A population of variants accumulates changes; fitness improves over generations as modularity buffers harmful mutations.
### Learning objective
Relate long-term adaptive change to modularity and variation rate.
## Links (Wikipedia order)
<!-- injected from _registry/childlinks/Evolvability.json (2026-07-30T02:09:12Z) -->
[[Adaptation]] · `Andreas_Wagner` · `Asexual_reproduction` · `Baldwin_effect` · `Biological_dispersal` · `C._H._Waddington` · `Canalisation_(genetics)` · `Christiane_Nüsslein-Volhard` · `Cis-regulatory_element` · `DLX_gene_family` · `Developmental_biology` · `Directed_evolution` · `Dominance_(genetics)` · `Dual_inheritance_theory` · `Endless_Forms_Most_Beautiful_(book)` · `Engrailed_(gene)` · `Enzyme` · `Enzyme_catalysis` · `Epigenetics` · `Epistasis` · `Eric_F._Wieschaus` · `Evo-devo_gene_toolkit` · `Evolution_of_sexual_reproduction` · `Evolutionary_capacitance` · [[Evolutionary_developmental_biology]] · `Evolutionary_landscape` · `Evolutionary_tinkering` · `Experimental_evolution` · `Eyespot_(mimicry)` · `Fitness_landscape` · `François_Jacob` · `Gene_regulatory_network` · `Genetic_architecture` · `Genetic_assimilation` · `Genetic_diversity` · `Genetic_hitchhiking` · `Genetic_load` · `Gene–environment_correlation` · `Gene–environment_interaction` · `Genome` · `Genomic_imprinting` · `Genotype–phenotype_distinction` · `Hedgehog_signaling_pathway` · `Herbicide` · `Heritability` · `Heterochrony` · `Heterotopy` · `Homeobox` · `Homeotic_gene` · `Hox_gene` · `Immune_system` · `Inbreeding` · `Index_of_evolutionary_biology_articles` · `Jacques_Monod` · `Joanna_Masel` · `Lac_operon` · `Ligand_(biochemistry)` · `Mary_Ann_Liebert` · `Massimo_Pigliucci` · `Maternal_effect` · `Metamerism_(biology)` · `Michael_Levine_(biologist)` · `Modularity` · `Modularity_(biology)` · `Morphogen` · `Morphogenesis` · `Morphogenetic_field` · `Mutation` · `Mutation_rate` · `Natural_selection` · `Nature_versus_nurture` · `Neoteny` · `Neutral_network_(evolution)` · `Non-coding_DNA` · `Notch_signaling_pathway` · `Operon` · `Outcrossing` · `PAX6` · [[Pattern_formation]] · `Pax_genes` · `Penetrance` · `Pesticide` · `Phenotype` · `Phenotypic_plasticity` · `Pleiotropy` · `Polyphenism` · `Population_genetics` · `Protein_engineering` · `Protein_folding` · `Quantitative_genetics` · `Reaction_norm` · `Receptor_(biochemistry)` · `Regulation_of_gene_expression` · `Richard_Lewontin` · `Robustness_(evolution)` · `Sean_B._Carroll` · `Segmentation_(biology)` · `Sequence_space_(evolution)` · `Sexual_reproduction` · `Transcription_factor` · `Transgressive_segregation` · `William_McGinnis`
> p5.js MicroSim stub · part of System Quality Attributes · [Wikipedia source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolvability)
> Relation: subfield of system quality attributes.
## Concept summary
Evolvability is a [[System|system]]'s capacity to generate and absorb beneficial change over successive generations or releases.
## Build checklist
- [ ] Claim it: set `status: in-progress` + `lease` + `leased_at`
- [ ] Write the child page explaining the concept (tie it back to system quality attributes)
- [ ] Finalize parameter ranges and defaults
- [ ] Implement the p5.js sketch (drawing + control regions)
- [ ] Add caption + the learning objective on the page
- [ ] Set `status: done`
## p5.js sketch
```javascript
// MicroSim: Evolvability
let controls = {};
function setup() {
// createCanvas(...); create sliders for the parameters above.
}
function draw() {
// background(...); read controls; render lineage / mutation; respond live.
}
```
---
Back to System Quality Attributes · Wikipedia: [Evolvability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolvability)
---
<!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:START -->
## Semiotic profile
> *The semiotic universals this article invokes, machine-derived from the crossref — **unverified** (born so). Populated 2026-07-06 for the Systems room.*
**Universals (6):** 🟡 system (14) · 🟡 science (5) · 🟢 optimization (4) · 🟡 evolution (2) · 🟡 structure (2) · 🟢 pressure (1)
**Enter by sign:** Systems Semiotic Gateway · Alphabetum · Icon Registry · ← Systems Portal
<!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:END -->
## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolvability) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Evolvability)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parents: [[Complex_system]] · [[Cybernetics]] · [[Emergence]] · [[Feedback]] · [[Self-organization]] · [[Systems_science]] · [[Systems_theory]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 2 legacy notes. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*