5 ms·

How would that work? Non-sleeper's children are more likely to survive?

jules 16y ago
If not requiring a lot of sleep has an advantage in our society (which presumably it does) then all else being equal, a non-sleeper will produce more offspring. This is just evolution 101.
- Psyonic 16y ago
  Just about the only advantage you need to reproduce these days is a willingness to do so.
  - jules 16y ago
    That's only true for women. And it doesn't mean that there aren't still evolutionary incentives for women. If they are successful because they don't need to sleep, they can probably find a better mate (which will lead to an evolutionary advantage of the no-sleep gene long term).
- stoney 16y ago
  Assuming that societal advantage results in more offspring. Do the rich have more kids than the poor? I'm not sure that they do.
xiaoma 16y ago
Even a small differential in reproductive rates would lead to a rapid increase in the prevalence of the trait. Just look at the example of blue eyes -- 15000 years ago nobody had them and now nearly 7% if the world's population do.
- stoney 16y ago
  Do people with blue eyes reproduce more? I've not heard that before. I thought the ratio of blue to not blue eyes was due to the whole dominant/recessive gene thing (do I mean gene, or maybe allele? a long time since I learned this stuff at school).
  - xiaoma 16y ago
    Of course the trait was advantageous either in terms of natural selection, or more likely sexual selection. All the blue eyed people on earth can be traced back to a single ancestor living in the black sea region about 10,000 years ago. It is a recessive trait, but allele frequencies don't magically increase just because a trait is recessive. Without selection pressure, the ratio of blue eyed people would not have kept increasing after the emergence of the mutation. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-one-ancestor-helped-turn-our-brown-eyes-blue-776170.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-one-ancestor-h...

jules 16y ago

If not requiring a lot of sleep has an advantage in our society (which presumably it does) then all else being equal, a non-sleeper will produce more offspring. This is just evolution 101.

Psyonic 16y ago
Just about the only advantage you need to reproduce these days is a willingness to do so.
- jules 16y ago
  That's only true for women. And it doesn't mean that there aren't still evolutionary incentives for women. If they are successful because they don't need to sleep, they can probably find a better mate (which will lead to an evolutionary advantage of the no-sleep gene long term).
stoney 16y ago
Assuming that societal advantage results in more offspring. Do the rich have more kids than the poor? I'm not sure that they do.

xiaoma 16y ago

Even a small differential in reproductive rates would lead to a rapid increase in the prevalence of the trait. Just look at the example of blue eyes -- 15000 years ago nobody had them and now nearly 7% if the world's population do.

stoney 16y ago
Do people with blue eyes reproduce more? I've not heard that before. I thought the ratio of blue to not blue eyes was due to the whole dominant/recessive gene thing (do I mean gene, or maybe allele? a long time since I learned this stuff at school).
- xiaoma 16y ago
  Of course the trait was advantageous either in terms of natural selection, or more likely sexual selection. All the blue eyed people on earth can be traced back to a single ancestor living in the black sea region about 10,000 years ago. It is a recessive trait, but allele frequencies don't magically increase just because a trait is recessive. Without selection pressure, the ratio of blue eyed people would not have kept increasing after the emergence of the mutation. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-one-ancestor-helped-turn-our-brown-eyes-blue-776170.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-one-ancestor-h...