In the book Altenberg 16, a group of 16 scientists are trying to come up with an extended modern synthesis. Can any one explain in great lengths what does Massimo Pigulicci's phenotypic plasticity (characteristics of an organism change in response to changes in the environment)? Also how does Pigulicci's phenotypic plasticity differ from natural selection? The definition of phenotypic plasticity sounds a lot like natural selection's.