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> Or do you seriously believe all prehistoric humans had 20/20 eyesight? The prehistoric realities were harsh and nearsighted individuals had little chances of
by lr1970 4y ago
> Or do you seriously believe all prehistoric humans had 20/20 eyesight?
The prehistoric realities were harsh and nearsighted individuals had little chances of survival and procreation (natural selection). In the modern society perfect eye-sight is not as important for survival as in the prehistoric society, thus more tolerance to its greater variability.
- idlehand 4y agoSunlight exposure has been shown to be protective of eyesight, and we spend more time indoors focusing on screens. The timespan is too short for evolution to have had a considerable impact.
- lr1970 4y ago> The timespan is too short for evolution to have had a considerable impact. I am not talking about evolution as in developing new species but about survivability of naturally occurring variations. Modern humanity timespan is not enough in developing new genetic traits but long enough to alter effects of natural selection. BTW, due to advances in medicine nowadays we have children born and survive into adulthood with medical conditions that were terminal just 100 years ago. Survival variability (in developed world) is much broader that it was in recent historic past (e.g. middle-ages). This is a plain fact.
- idlehand 4y agoBut the timeline is too short even for that. The number of children who survive today, despite genetic issues, who would not have survived 100 years ago, is miniscule compared to the extent of nearsightedness today.