I read recently that there may be something to the idea that humanity has actually, measurably, evolved more rapidly than previously thought since the onset of civilization.
Of course, speech, thumbs, and society have been around longer than hill forts, agriculture and job specialization... In terms of evolution, civilization is still a drop in the bucket of human history; the bucket being filled to the brim with hunting and gathering. But, in that one tiny drop there exists more humans than have ever lived before moving faster than ever before and interacting with one another in ways never before imagined. We have excelerated our own evolution by inventing modern medicine, jet engines, and the internet.
Oh, I Googled it: http://www.slate.com/id/2179998/
I didn't read that particular article (until now) but it references the same study. This quote struck me as particularly relevant to your post:
Rapid population growth has been coupled with vast changes in cultures and ecology … creating new opportunities for adaptation." Such "rapid cultural evolution" has "created vastly more opportunities for further genetic change, not fewer, as new avenues emerged for communication, social interactions, and creativity."
Y'see that? They just switched out "tool use" and threw in "creativity".
Yeah. I've always thought the Nature vs. Nuture argument was a bit of a waste of time. You can't really separate the two and test for these things separately, unless you attach a sensory deprivation tank to a birthing mother's hooha...
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branchandroot
Instinct vs. Indoctrination
Date: 2007-12-15 06:18 am (UTC)I read recently that there may be something to the idea that humanity has actually, measurably, evolved more rapidly than previously thought since the onset of civilization.
Of course, speech, thumbs, and society have been around longer than hill forts, agriculture and job specialization... In terms of evolution, civilization is still a drop in the bucket of human history; the bucket being filled to the brim with hunting and gathering. But, in that one tiny drop there exists more humans than have ever lived before moving faster than ever before and interacting with one another in ways never before imagined. We have excelerated our own evolution by inventing modern medicine, jet engines, and the internet.
Oh, I Googled it: http://www.slate.com/id/2179998/
I didn't read that particular article (until now) but it references the same study. This quote struck me as particularly relevant to your post:
Rapid population growth has been coupled with vast changes in cultures and ecology … creating new opportunities for adaptation." Such "rapid cultural evolution" has "created vastly more opportunities for further genetic change, not fewer, as new avenues emerged for communication, social interactions, and creativity."
Y'see that? They just switched out "tool use" and threw in "creativity".
Yeah. I've always thought the Nature vs. Nuture argument was a bit of a waste of time. You can't really separate the two and test for these things separately, unless you attach a sensory deprivation tank to a birthing mother's hooha...