4 ms·

You know what really derailed our evolution? Western medicine. Those pesky doctors have virtually ended the selection pressure against people with myopia, or

You know what really derailed our evolution? Western medicine. Those pesky doctors have virtually ended the selection pressure against people with myopia, or those who are vulnerable to pneumonia. If we really wanna get evolution back on course, we need to start letting the weak die. Personally, I think that sounds awful, and I think derailing our evolution is a small price to pay.

igorgue 11y ago
It really does sound awful, but think about all those brights that are "weak" physically.
raimondious 11y ago
That's why the concept of "derailing" evolution is silly. There's no set course for evolution to be derailed from... in fact that's the entire basis of the concept of evolution. Diet and medicine are just evolutionary pressure, just like every other part of the environment since life began.
erispoe 11y ago
Yes, there is nothing morally good or bad about evolution and natural selection. It just happens to be. People say we stoppped evolution like it's a catastrophy. First, evolution is still happening, we provide a very different context for it. Second, we benefit way more from modern medicine than from slow natural selection. We made our choice, and there is nothing wrong about it.
Retra 11y ago
>If we really wanna get evolution back on course Evolution doesn't have a "course," it's just what happens when organisms reproduce with modifications. Until we stop reproducing, evolution is working exactly the same now as it always has.
olalonde 11y ago
To add to your point, I think it should be fairly clear by now that human progress outpaces DNA based evolution. Within a thousand years (barring a global catastrophe), we will likely have cured age death and be able to edit DNA at will, making heredity a thing of the past (that is, if humans are still living in meatspace).

4 ms·

You know what really derailed our evolution? Western medicine. Those pesky doctors have virtually ended the selection pressure against people with myopia, or

by knodi123 11y ago

igorgue 11y ago
It really does sound awful, but think about all those brights that are "weak" physically.
raimondious 11y ago
That's why the concept of "derailing" evolution is silly. There's no set course for evolution to be derailed from... in fact that's the entire basis of the concept of evolution. Diet and medicine are just evolutionary pressure, just like every other part of the environment since life began.
erispoe 11y ago
Yes, there is nothing morally good or bad about evolution and natural selection. It just happens to be. People say we stoppped evolution like it's a catastrophy. First, evolution is still happening, we provide a very different context for it. Second, we benefit way more from modern medicine than from slow natural selection. We made our choice, and there is nothing wrong about it.
Retra 11y ago
>If we really wanna get evolution back on course Evolution doesn't have a "course," it's just what happens when organisms reproduce with modifications. Until we stop reproducing, evolution is working exactly the same now as it always has.
olalonde 11y ago
To add to your point, I think it should be fairly clear by now that human progress outpaces DNA based evolution. Within a thousand years (barring a global catastrophe), we will likely have cured age death and be able to edit DNA at will, making heredity a thing of the past (that is, if humans are still living in meatspace).