Modern Human Evolution and the Gene Pool...

[tyler.durden]

I'd like to offer a dissenting opinion or two.
Evolution as presented by Darwim does indeed posit the fittest surviving ... but here the word "fitness" needs to be elaborated a bit.
The machinery of human evolution (genes mutating and being cut&shuffled) is as active as ever. Also the environmental drivers for evolutionary selection is also as active as ever.
But imo that is only half the argument, because it neglects a very powerful force shaping the bank of genes and heritable traits that underlied the human phenotypes.
The missing half is sexual selection, which until very recently (and most of the time still) was the prerogative of females to exercise. In simplest terms, "which of you lucky fuckers do I choose as a likely partner and parent to my children?" Now after reading some of what passes for romance and flirtation on RIU, I could add the cynical observation that many many females of the current generation are neglecting this right-and-duty ...asleep on the job, as it were.
So I think that we have not stopped natural selection in its tracks.

On a related topic, Tyler mused about an event, which - if it can be developed and exercised with some generality of access - I consider to be the next great evolutionary step ... the conscious feedback of mind and intellect into the substrate of its expression - the human gene pool.

However (forgivably considering recent history of technology) we have a tendency to view the genetic DNA as a simple digital storage and reproduction format for the hard info of the genotype. Nature has had no compunction about employing human engineers' concept of beauty and design in making the hardware or software. The genetic info is packaged very tightly, very contingently (?word) on those few billion basepairs, and having a molecular-level transcript of one or several human genomes hasn't led to the sort of breakthroughs we can reasonably expect of the packaging of information were simpler, more modular. Look at how few genes and their (protein) products are directly involved in the embryonic pageant of the "unpacking" of a zygote into a human fetus. Almost all of that dance is managed using things like hormone concentration gradients. Bottom line: the molecular machinery of inheriting, expressing, changing genetic info is compact but very far from simple. I believe it will be achievable, but we'll need some more advancement in the both the theory and practice of molecular genetics.

But when we do, hang onto your hat, because I believe that once the tech is released, it will lead to a complete redefinition of what it means to be human. Devastating wars have been fought for lesser stakes, and these will be the biggest of them all: Whose children get the stars? Jmo. cn

Good post, Neer. It's nice to read that there is someone besides myself that feels it is a woman's responsibility to choose the best man for the 'job'. When they let just any old loser get their hands in their cookie jar, it seems against what the selection process was meant to be. In this way, they have a great responsibility/accountability in regards to the quality of the human race...

 

[kpmarine]

Good post, Neer. It's nice to read that there is someone besides myself that feels it is a woman's responsibility to choose the best man for the 'job'. When they let just any old loser get their hands in their cookie jar, it seems against what the selection process was meant to be. In this way, they have a great responsibility/accountability in regards to the quality of the human race...

One could blame popular religions that encourage submission to men, from a very young age. Plus the fact that birh control is demonized, combined with "mr. right" isn't always "mr. right now", as it were; yet, sex is just as awesome as it's always been, I'm pretty sure.

 

[Zaehet Strife]

There should be at least one lion residing in every single fast food restaurant in the world...

 

[cannabineer]

... so long as it isn't an Express Lion. cn

 

[tyler.durden]

... so long as it isn't an Express Lion. cn

True, going 'express' doesn't seem to have benefited the pandas

 

[mindphuk]

I think its good. IF there is a mass extinction only the best characteristics will be left because our genetic diversity is so large

Actually, humans have a very low level of genetic diversity when compared to other species. This is because our ancestral population was very low due to at least one bottleneck.

 

[Bigtacofarmer]

I often feel guilty when I see that family walking through the store. Have you ever seen the family with three huge women in wheelchairs with oxygen on and the three generations of overweight kids all buying more candy and already wheezing from the exercise of shopping. I want to neuter them. When I was a kid there were like 3 fat kids in school, now half of my kids class is fat and the other kids are not even allow the pick on them (not that bullying is good but someone needs to tell those kids what mom and dad didn't). In a few years there will be a lot less people smart enough or healthy enough to keep up this pattern, do you think that 200 lb 10 year old is gonna ever be a doctor or build anything? It will work itself out soon enough.

 

[Pipe Dream]

For all of history, only the strongest and fittest members of each species has survived...It's evolution's way of ensuring that each species remains as strong as possible from generation to generation...only the strongest and fittest survive. All well and good.

But modern humans, with their big brains, have discovered ways to sidestep evolution's age-old way of ensuring "survival of the fittest", and strength of the gene pool. Specifically, modern humans have discovered ways (through medical "advancements") to allow people to survive who would have not survived in years past. Diabetes sufferers, people with terrible eyesight, kids with leukemia, people with congenital heart disease, people with suicidal tendencies, people with tendencies to develop cancers, etc.

Thus, these heretofore early "diers" are now living long enough to pass their genes on to the gene pool.

Is this a good thing?

Please understand, this post is not meant to incite angry responses. Rather, it's meant to elicit mature (albeit possibly emotional) responses.

All rational opinions welcome.

I feel the same way. I think that human evolution is far from normal. Probably our most substantial evolution has been of our brains. In the future technology might even play a more important role in our evolution.

 

[drive]

selective genetic manipulation will only further homoginize the human genome. As for the fatties nature seems to take care of its children, perhaps there will be a real long winter and all these fat fucks will be able to live of their reserves.