Divergence refers to the process where two or more things become increasingly different from each other over time. This can happen in various contexts, such as in nature, where species evolve in different directions, or in ideas, where opinions split into distinct viewpoints. For example, the Darwinian theory of evolution illustrates how species diverge from a common ancestor, adapting to their unique environments. In mathematics, divergence is a specific term used to describe how a function behaves as it moves away from a point. For instance, in vector calculus, the divergence operator measures how much a vector field spreads out from a point. Understanding divergence helps in analyzing complex systems, whether in biology or mathematics.