On 12/5/06, Matt Mahoney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
--- Eric Baum <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Matt> We have slowed evolution through medical advances, birth control > Matt> and genetic engineering, but I don't think we have stopped it > Matt> completely yet. > > I don't know what reason there is to think we have slowed > evolution, rather than speeded it up. > > I would hazard to guess, for example, that since the discovery of > birth control, we have been selecting very rapidly for people who > choose to have more babies. In fact, I suspect this is one reason > why the US (which became rich before most of the rest of the world) > has a higher birth rate than Europe.
...
The main effect of medical advances is to keep children alive who would otherwise have died from genetic weaknesses, allowing these weaknesses to be propagated.
The "disagreement" here is a side-effect of postmodern thought. Matt is using "evolution" as the opposite of "devolution", whereas Eric seems to be using it as meaning "change, of any kind, via natural selection". We have difficulty because people with political agendas - notably Stephen J. Gould - have brainwashed us into believing that we must never speak of evolution being "forward" or "backward", and that change in any direction is equally valuable. With such a viewpoint, though, it is impossible to express concern about the rising incidence of allergies, genetic diseases, etc. ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?list_id=303
