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My theory about evolution and aging is that evolution just doesnt care about individuals after they created offspring. There is no advantage for an individual (
by dorgo 11y ago
My theory about evolution and aging is that evolution just doesnt care about individuals after they created offspring. There is no advantage for an individual (or a species) to live longer than to create offspring. Hence evolution never cared to optimize us for a longer life.
- GFK_of_xmaspast 11y agoDidn't your grandparents ever baby-sit you.
- darkmighty 11y agoBaby-sitting and also verbal/demonstrative knowledge before written language was a thing.
- secabeen 11y agoThere's something to that, but it doesn't explain menopause in women. If reproduction is the end-all-be-all, why not evolve the ability to reproduce throughout the natural lifespan. See the Grandmother Hypothesis for a possible explanation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmother_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmother_hypothesis
- alejohausner 11y agoHumans are different from other primates, in this respect. For example, chimpanzees don't have menopause: female chimps continue to give birth until death. Elephants too. And Galapagos tortoises, I think. This fact argues against the theory that "nature just wants you to reproduce and then die". Why do chimps (and many other species) keep on reproducing in old age? Why are human women different?
- dorgo 11y ago>Why are human women different? Some mutation in early histroy maybe? Evolution never cared to fix it, because it happens later in life and most woman are done with reproducing at this point in life. >"nature just wants you to reproduce and then die" No. Nature just wants you to reproduce. Wheter you die afterward doesnt matter.