I find evolution terminology funny.<p>Aren&#x27;t the terms &#x27;something going extinct&#x27; and &#x27;inability to adapt&#x27; essentially same. They are symmetrically causal to one another. It has inability to adapt, hence it went extinct; it went extinct hence we say it didn&#x27;t have the ability to adapt. What new unit of knowledge do we gain by saying something like the OP&#x27;s title?<p>In short, the &#x27;ability to adopt&#x27; is itself measured in terms of whether &#x27;something is extinct or not&#x27;