3 ms·

Not really. Say I'm shortsighted, and still a potential mating partner due to a variety of other traits (being a billionaire, or looking suspiciously similar to

Not really. Say I'm shortsighted, and still a potential mating partner due to a variety of other traits (being a billionaire, or looking suspiciously similar to Ryan Gosling). In that case, I would be able to transmit my genes to my eventual offspring. The case with gay genes is different. Regardless of any other trait, I'm genetically prone to not have any offspring. Thus, eventually my genes would be less and less common.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
Brian_K_White 6y ago
Incorrect. All that's required for a trait to persist is that it benefits the pool. If the pool benefits from have 1% of members being blind, then so they shall be. We don't have to understand the benefit for it to exist either.
- lostphilosopher 6y ago
  I'm assuming you're right since I don't know much about this subject, but how does that mechanically work? How does a trait, even if it is beneficial to the community, get passed down if the members that have that trait don't have offspring?
  - antognini 6y ago
    It could be recessive, so it only gets expressed if an individual has two copies of the recessive gene.
- throwaway0a5e 6y ago
  >All that's required for a trait to persist is that it benefits the pool. Or that it's less bad than whatever beneficial trait it's coupled to. Humans consume a lot of water in order to shed heat. Our backs are pretty f-d up. Our brains waste a lot of energy and require a very long childhood. But on the flip side we're basically terminator compared to the African fauna our primitive ancestors hunted.
- erostrate 6y ago
  You're presenting group selection, natural selection at the level of the group, as an established theory. But that's not the case. From Wikipedia, quoting evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne: "Group selection isn't widely accepted by evolutionists for several reasons." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

Brian_K_White 6y ago

Incorrect. All that's required for a trait to persist is that it benefits the pool. If the pool benefits from have 1% of members being blind, then so they shall be. We don't have to understand the benefit for it to exist either.

lostphilosopher 6y ago
I'm assuming you're right since I don't know much about this subject, but how does that mechanically work? How does a trait, even if it is beneficial to the community, get passed down if the members that have that trait don't have offspring?
- antognini 6y ago
  It could be recessive, so it only gets expressed if an individual has two copies of the recessive gene.
throwaway0a5e 6y ago
>All that's required for a trait to persist is that it benefits the pool. Or that it's less bad than whatever beneficial trait it's coupled to. Humans consume a lot of water in order to shed heat. Our backs are pretty f-d up. Our brains waste a lot of energy and require a very long childhood. But on the flip side we're basically terminator compared to the African fauna our primitive ancestors hunted.
erostrate 6y ago
You're presenting group selection, natural selection at the level of the group, as an established theory. But that's not the case. From Wikipedia, quoting evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne: "Group selection isn't widely accepted by evolutionists for several reasons." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection