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Humans & Evolution
Feb. 20th, 2007 12:47 pmThought: in the past few thousand years, genetic evolution in humans has been largely -- though not wholly -- supplanted by technological innovation.
What sets humans apart from other animals is the ability to adapt to selection pressure on an individual rather than generational level. For example, in response to colder temperatures, rather than grow a warmer coat of fur over a thousand years of breeding, we could simply kill a creature that already has a lot of hair and wear its skin. Another example might be the invention of spectacles for people with poor vision, a trait which would otherwise be crippling in.
This is not to say that such innovation can completely replace biological adaptation. Our technology has limits -- and we can see those limits; but we can also move them. Nevertheless, we can't guarantee we can move those limits in time.
Anyway, in the absence of the environment as a driver of evolution, are there other, perhaps societal sources of selection pressure?
What sets humans apart from other animals is the ability to adapt to selection pressure on an individual rather than generational level. For example, in response to colder temperatures, rather than grow a warmer coat of fur over a thousand years of breeding, we could simply kill a creature that already has a lot of hair and wear its skin. Another example might be the invention of spectacles for people with poor vision, a trait which would otherwise be crippling in.
This is not to say that such innovation can completely replace biological adaptation. Our technology has limits -- and we can see those limits; but we can also move them. Nevertheless, we can't guarantee we can move those limits in time.
Anyway, in the absence of the environment as a driver of evolution, are there other, perhaps societal sources of selection pressure?
