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Can you explain/expand on why you think it’s natural selection?
by handbanana 8y ago
Can you explain/expand on why you think it’s natural selection?
- danieltillett 8y agoThe number of children you have is selection (in an evolutionary sense) and because it is not a trait being selected for directly by anyone (we are not trying to breed people that want or don't children), the selection is being done by nature. The environment of humans has radically changed and we are undergoing very strong selection and adaption to this new environment. In the past the number of children you had survive to adulthood was tied to the amount of food you could bring in (as with most animals). In the new human environment the number of children you have is a consequence of how resistant you are to the cultural meme that children are undesirable.
- phamilton 8y agoI think he meant more that natural selection is essentially summarized as how many children various groups have. And for some weird reason, natural selection is biasing away from "smart people".
- dabbledash 8y agoI don’t think it’s too hard to figure out. Natural selection disfavors a strategy that requires significant investment in non-reproductive activity (education, career ladder-climbing) during prime reproductive years.
- greglindahl 8y agoNatural selection works on genes, not individuals. How do my career choices affect my brother's and sister's children?
- danieltillett 8y agoThe selection part works on individuals, what changes from selection is the frequency of alleles in the population. By not having children the alleles you carry will become rarer in the population of the next generation (all things being equal).
- tcbawo 8y agoAlso, having children later in life reduces the role that grandparents play in a childs life, reducing an important safety net.
- DoreenMichele 8y agoOr removing/reducing neurotic (or even abusive) family nonsense, depending on the family in question.
- danieltillett 8y agoNot having children removes the grandparents. Hard to be a grandparent unless you have children.
- Scarblac 8y agoNot just how many children the groups have, but also how many of those make it to healthy adulthood to reproduce themselves, etc. "Smart people" have fewer children but they're more likely to be successful.