Perhaps I did not read the article closely enough, but the whole article did not seem to be about self-inflicted extinction, but just about the ways that humans are evolving... even if it is a sort of backwards way of evolving. Phelan made a great point about why we are not evolving the way we used to: "We nurse our sick back to health, and mating is no longer a privilege that males beat each other senseless to secure. As a result, even the less fit get to pass on their genes. Promiscuity and sperm competition have given way to spiritual love; the fittest and the unfit are treated as equals, and equally flourish." These days we do not need to marry people who will produce children with the best chance of living because it is hard to find a child who does not have a good chance of living.
It is funny that we had to read this article because just the other day I was thinking about this and wondering if we evolve. Our environments are so easily customizable that I can not think of any traits that actually hinder someone from living. For example, if it is too hot, we turn on the air conditioner. My father suggested that people of the future will need longer fingers because of things such as blackberries where people have to text very fast, but it's not as if having stubbier fingers hinders someone from texting and makes it harder for them to live.
Friday, April 30, 2010
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