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Imagine that there is a neurotype that loves the idea of adopting (I have actually known people like this). So they adopt children in lieu of having quite so ma
by capulate89 8y ago
Imagine that there is a neurotype that loves the idea of adopting (I have actually known people like this). So they adopt children in lieu of having quite so many of their own. Or they have none of their own at all. Nature, our harsh mistress, will weed people like this out of the gene pool very quickly.
- rlucas 8y agoNow imagine that such a neurotype is an environmentally-mediated part of the phenotype, not a strictly hereditary trait. Maybe it's called "Amazing Grace," or maybe it's called a principled commitment, or maybe it's called love. And experiencing it from others (maybe by being adopted by them) inspires it in you. Then, our harsh mistress would in fact tend to favor its expression and grow its prevalence among the population.
- capulate89 8y agoDoubtful. Cultural practices are subject to the same selection dynamics that genes are. A cultural group that doesn't create its own children will eventually die out unless they have some other group producing new members for them at a very high and stable rate. See shakers for instance. Dead. Gone. Contrast that with homosexuals, who haven't until recently been having children en masse. But where there is a certain percentage of the population born with a tendency to be gay. So they can always count on having new members. Unlike being gay, people aren't born with "Amazing Grace" so ... it's a bad strategy that will be weeded out over time. Just like with the Shakers. This isn't to say that some highly fecund cultural group, like Mormons, can't get away with adopting children here and there. But if they start going too far with it their numbers will start to dwindle.