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Carl Linnaeus even initially included all Crustacea under the 'Cancer' genus (using the Latin name for crabs), and his taxonomic classification has been heavily refined as further knowledge has come to light, in order to reveal this phenomenon.
 
Carl Linnaeus even initially included all Crustacea under the 'Cancer' genus (using the Latin name for crabs), and his taxonomic classification has been heavily refined as further knowledge has come to light, in order to reveal this phenomenon.
  
Apparently this principle is much stronger in the webcomic than in real life, as shortly after being told this, Megan notices that Cueball (not a crustacean!) has himself turned into a crab. This isn't really evolution as we know it (outside {{w|Gameplay of Pokémon#Pokémon evolution|Pokémon evolution}} at least), which refers to changes (usually gradual changes, but not always) in a species across generations caused by random mutations. The organisms individually never change{{Citation needed}}, they are merely different from their ancestors, and the organisms with changes that make them more fit for their environment are the ones who are more likely to survive long enough to pass down those changes. What happens to Cueball is more like a transformation, but it could still be called 'carcinization', since he becomes crab-like.  The comic strip might be an allusion to Franz Kafka's short story ''{{w|The Metamorphosis}}'' (another word used to describe life-forms that dramatically transform themselves, like caterpillars turning into butterflies), which starts with the main character suddenly waking up and finding that he has transformed into a giant bug.
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Apparently this principle is much stronger in the webcomic than in real life, as shortly after being told this, Megan notices that Cueball (not a crustacean!) has himself turned into a crab. This isn't really evolution as we know it (outside [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gameplay_of_Pok%C3%A9mon#Pok%C3%A9mon_evolution of Pokémon] at least), which refers to changes (usually gradual changes, but not always) in a species across generations caused by random mutations. The organisms individually never change{{Citation needed}}, they are merely different from their ancestors, and the organisms with changes that make them more fit for their environment are the ones who are more likely to survive long enough to pass down those changes. What happens to Cueball is more like a transformation, but it could still be called 'carcinization', since he becomes crab-like.  The comic strip might be an allusion to Franz Kafka's short story ''{{w|The Metamorphosis}}'' (another word used to describe life-forms that dramatically transform themselves, like caterpillars turning into butterflies), which starts with the main character suddenly waking up and finding that he has transformed into a giant bug.
  
 
Cueball's sudden transformation is perhaps explained by the title text, that "Nature abhors a vacuum and anything that's not a crab". The text is a reference to Aristotle's {{w|Horror_vacui_(physics)|Horror vacui}}, a statement about how empty space tends to be immediately refilled by surrounding things, so vacuums seem to be impossible to maintain. As does "not being a crab", it seems.
 
Cueball's sudden transformation is perhaps explained by the title text, that "Nature abhors a vacuum and anything that's not a crab". The text is a reference to Aristotle's {{w|Horror_vacui_(physics)|Horror vacui}}, a statement about how empty space tends to be immediately refilled by surrounding things, so vacuums seem to be impossible to maintain. As does "not being a crab", it seems.

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