Evolution does not optimise away. If a mutation serves no purpose it remains unless it is replaced for a reason (or a gene has more than one function—God reuses

Evolution does not optimise away. If a mutation serves no purpose it remains unless it is replaced for a reason (or a gene has more than one function—God reuses constants ;-)). What does 'pinnacle of evolution' mean? Sharks and spiders have been around since before dinosaurs so they must be there, surely? Do we reach it if we hit a suitably low level of child mortality? There is an argument that we are already at the pinnacle of evolution for our environment and we will remain there until something changes and we are tested and our children start dying. That mostly happens in chunks… everything is fine, everything is fine, everything is fine, bang meteor! although it can happen in smaller steps. Whether we are still evolving in the rich, medicalised west is a matter of debate. The third world certainly has many children dying but the cause is often not something that natural selection can fix: politics & war.