Most ideas cannot be explained simply

The quote is (erroneously) attributed to Einstein, but I think it’s popular because it appeals to your ego and makes you feel like you could be as smart as Einstein, just by simplifying something you already know.

A “simple” explanation of evolution is “survival of the fittest”. But “fit” does not mean “strong”, it means “suitability”, or how much you “fit in” to the environment. So, if the environment favors traits that might seem weak (e.g. conserving resources), then the weakest organisms are “most fit” to that environment.

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.

Like the Einstein quote, it soothes your anxiety of “not being good enough” and makes you feel like all you need is to adapt to your circumstances.

For a species to “adapt”, the unfit members will die. No individual organism changes, just the composition of the population. But “fit” means “suitability”, so in an environment where weakness is more suitable, we could rephrase this as “For a species to adapt, the strongest members must die”. Now this is not a catchy slogan for anyone who wants to misinterpret evolution as justification for their racism.1

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