3 ms·

Evolution is dumb. What dictates evolution is who survives. People wish to live 100 years old and be like 20, but that would be very complex, and eventually, hu

Evolution is dumb. What dictates evolution is who survives. People wish to live 100 years old and be like 20, but that would be very complex, and eventually, humans exist as a species just fine without it, that is, the DNA keeps existing and replicating without that advantage. If conditions dictated that the humans who are young for 100 years leave more of their DNA than those who do not, then eventually that is the path we would have taken - maybe that is the path we WILL take, if conditions allow. But it's just a selfish wish. It's like saying an ant worker should live decades. Good for itself, maybe, but adds little value to the survival of the species, the job gets done as it is.

rowanG077 6y ago
You are assuming evolution leads to the best adaptation. That's simply not true. It finds a local minimum and that's it. It's evident that a human that stays fertile and young for 100 years leaves more offspring then the current human. But the way to get there might not be continous improvement of fitness and thus evolution will never get there by itself.
- orestarod 6y ago
  It does not "lead" anywhere. It's a wandering in the wild. Some paths lead to cliffs, some will keep you going for a long time. A vast number of paths will be taken, but in any given time you only see the species - better yet, the individuals - who have not fallen off a cliff. I like the idea of evolution, because "it is what it is". It happens whether you believe it or not. It has no goal, it just happens. And, it's not that evolution "changes" species, it's that whoever survives becomes the definition of what a species is at all, therefore "evolution" is just the observable outcome, the process is natural selection. So, it's pointless to "blame" evolution, to say "it is not good enough". I, you, we don't even know what's "Good enough" and for whom. Even whatever we consider "humanity" is the outcome of our natural selection. Your very wish to live forever, is the outcome of our natural selection. The wish to genetically engineer our species' future members, will only be judged good or bad by its outcome, not by our planning. What you see now is what works, and the proof it works is we are still here. For example, if we end up destroying the world and our species with nuclear weapons, the path of evolution giving us intellect will have proven to be a bad one for this branch of DNA called "human species". I can only say I have a very bad gut feeling about conscious genetic altering of humans, and I trust there are many arguments to find if I analyze it. Perhaps it's only some aspect of my DNA's self preservation not wanting to lose over some made-up DNA.

rowanG077 6y ago

You are assuming evolution leads to the best adaptation. That's simply not true. It finds a local minimum and that's it. It's evident that a human that stays fertile and young for 100 years leaves more offspring then the current human. But the way to get there might not be continous improvement of fitness and thus evolution will never get there by itself.

orestarod 6y ago
It does not "lead" anywhere. It's a wandering in the wild. Some paths lead to cliffs, some will keep you going for a long time. A vast number of paths will be taken, but in any given time you only see the species - better yet, the individuals - who have not fallen off a cliff. I like the idea of evolution, because "it is what it is". It happens whether you believe it or not. It has no goal, it just happens. And, it's not that evolution "changes" species, it's that whoever survives becomes the definition of what a species is at all, therefore "evolution" is just the observable outcome, the process is natural selection. So, it's pointless to "blame" evolution, to say "it is not good enough". I, you, we don't even know what's "Good enough" and for whom. Even whatever we consider "humanity" is the outcome of our natural selection. Your very wish to live forever, is the outcome of our natural selection. The wish to genetically engineer our species' future members, will only be judged good or bad by its outcome, not by our planning. What you see now is what works, and the proof it works is we are still here. For example, if we end up destroying the world and our species with nuclear weapons, the path of evolution giving us intellect will have proven to be a bad one for this branch of DNA called "human species". I can only say I have a very bad gut feeling about conscious genetic altering of humans, and I trust there are many arguments to find if I analyze it. Perhaps it's only some aspect of my DNA's self preservation not wanting to lose over some made-up DNA.