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Give it a few generations. In the past, having a family was status quo and basically required. Now, it’s a choice. Natural selection will heavily favor those
by thehappypm 6y ago
Give it a few generations.
In the past, having a family was status quo and basically required.
Now, it’s a choice.
Natural selection will heavily favor those with the “I want kids!” gene.
- rimliu 6y agoThat's not how natural selection works. Most of us want sex because of that gene. But we do know about contraception, which natural selection knows nothing about.
- bondarchuk 6y agoContraception is part of the environment in which natural selection occurs, in that sense it "knows" about it. Concretely, if there is a set of genes that makes it more likely to have children in spite of contraception, that can be selected for.
- rimliu 6y agoNo. You do not pass e.g. ability to read via genetic code. So you do not pass knowledge about the contraception (or lack of it) either.
- __s 6y agoIf reading is advantageous to select for, you'll find that natural selection will prefer whichever genes facilitate reading ability There are a lot of subtle hereditary hints. This isn't to say a person can't consciously counteract those hints, but that in the long run those hints will have an impact on behavior which feeds back into selection It's possible to inherit traits which will hint one to choose not to use contraception This is the whole nature vs nurture debate. Ultimately it's both
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- mellosouls 6y agoAstute observation, but given the fact that we also seem to be seeing an increase in fatherless/split families (indicating poor choice in parenting partners and decisions) it's not likely to simply see-saw back in necessarily healthy ways.
- raziel2p 6y agoI think the point here is that the people who don't want kids are still a useful part of our gene pool, and we should look critically at what factors in to the decision not to have any kids - I don't think it's genetic at all. It's impossible for me not to think of Idiocracy while writing this - which was extremely exaggerated, but still...
- scollet 6y agoAre you thinking of memetics?
- pyhtel 6y agoThat assumes there is such a thing as a "I want kids" gene, which I personally have never heard of.
- thehappypm 6y agoNot necessarily one gene, per se. More like a set of characteristics and pre-dispositions that make kids seem fun and desirable will be selected for, while the opposite will be selected out.