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This is a commonly-held misunderstanding! Natural selection doesn't stop acting once you've reproduced. Characteristics ("traits") which are potentially not he
by tony_cannistra 8y ago
This is a commonly-held misunderstanding! Natural selection doesn't stop acting once you've reproduced.
Characteristics ("traits") which are potentially not helpful for direct reproductive success but have an impact on the success of the group of people you're a part of are conserved through evolution. However, the exact formulation of this idea (known as kin selection or group selection) is still quite controversial [1] among evolutionary biologists.
[1]: https://blog.oup.com/2015/01/kin-group-selection-controversy/ https://blog.oup.com/2015/01/kin-group-selection-controversy...
- lm28469 8y agoSure, it depends at which scale you observe it. It's probably impossible to study individual traits vs "group" traits though. As I see it it's one of these problems with so many co-founding variables that we'll never agree (depending on who you listen to: fat is good/bad, carbs are good/bad, sun is good/bad, ad infinitum) My point was, something can be good at some point (vitamin D production) and turn bad in the long term (increased cancer rate), but being ultimately bad doesn't mean evolution failed.
- amanaplanacanal 8y agoYes. Otherwise there would be no reason to live as long as we do.