Evolution isn't a force. There's no evolutionary effect that madscientists can shine onto a being and see how the species will evolve in the future.
REAL Evolution is 'a change in the frequency certain genetic traits appear in a gene pool over time.' (the book says 'alleles' but i can't spell 'allele's and i'd have to explain it anyway)
It's a scorecard. We compare the genetic profile of a species at two different times. IF there's a change, then there's been evolution.
A quick example would be yellow canaries. THey used to be gray. A mutation produced yellow ones. They were encouraged to breed. Now the bulk of the species that lives is yellow. The genetic profile of the species has changed, and what used to be rare as all get out is the standard.
Mankind is a compassionate herd animal in the large. That compassion is a survival trait we hit on that lends itself to the formation of societies, which allows the protection of the weak.
The weak are living longer as a result. The weak are finding mates more often than they would have been if we were still living in trees. More and more medical research, and higher standards of living, promotes reproduction by more and more of those with a genetic predisposition to kicking the bucket before puberty.
A gene pool is blind. Doesn't see what the individuals are doing. What it does see is that certain genetic traits are expressed in a given generation, certain ones are not. Successful ones tend to express in many generations. Lethal ones can't. Less successful ones tend to get expressed less often. So, if a gene trait is successful, it's retained.
We do it backwards.
We tend to preserve as many people as we can, as a race. We protect the innocent, the lame, the sick, the halt, the pun inclined, the disco enthusiasts... To the gene pool, the genes are retained in succeeding generations, therefore they must be successful.
So, the frequency of less than benign genetic traits is increasing. The genetic profile of the race is changing. We're evolving.
REAL Evolution is 'a change in the frequency certain genetic traits appear in a gene pool over time.' (the book says 'alleles' but i can't spell 'allele's and i'd have to explain it anyway)
It's a scorecard. We compare the genetic profile of a species at two different times. IF there's a change, then there's been evolution.
A quick example would be yellow canaries. THey used to be gray. A mutation produced yellow ones. They were encouraged to breed. Now the bulk of the species that lives is yellow. The genetic profile of the species has changed, and what used to be rare as all get out is the standard.
Mankind is a compassionate herd animal in the large. That compassion is a survival trait we hit on that lends itself to the formation of societies, which allows the protection of the weak.
The weak are living longer as a result. The weak are finding mates more often than they would have been if we were still living in trees. More and more medical research, and higher standards of living, promotes reproduction by more and more of those with a genetic predisposition to kicking the bucket before puberty.
A gene pool is blind. Doesn't see what the individuals are doing. What it does see is that certain genetic traits are expressed in a given generation, certain ones are not. Successful ones tend to express in many generations. Lethal ones can't. Less successful ones tend to get expressed less often. So, if a gene trait is successful, it's retained.
We do it backwards.
We tend to preserve as many people as we can, as a race. We protect the innocent, the lame, the sick, the halt, the pun inclined, the disco enthusiasts... To the gene pool, the genes are retained in succeeding generations, therefore they must be successful.
So, the frequency of less than benign genetic traits is increasing. The genetic profile of the race is changing. We're evolving.
