Quote:
Originally Posted by Scruff
The thing is, we aren't evolving into a more intelligent species. In my mind, the problem solving ability (or intelligence if you will, because after all that is what intelligence actually is) to create the wheel is comparable to that of creating the code for this forum. I feel this is due to #2. Though certainly some people are more successful than others, often due to intelligence, this does not equate the same increased survival or reproduction it used to. I'd say most people have 1-3 children and live into their 70s or 80s. Standard of living is high enough that there isn't a drastic seperation even between the wealthiest 1% and the lower 50% because the human race seems prone to succumbing to terminal or compounding illness after a certain point.
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That only describes the developed western world (and only some of the people in it). In many parts of the world, survival is much more tenuous. Also, survival is only one part of (evolutionary) sucess, not ony do you have to reproduce, but you have to have sucessful offspring as well. Smarter people in our society get an education, and make sure their kids do the same, which primes them to be a little wealthier than those who don't and therefore a more attractive potential mate (no one wants to date a looser... well, OK, one of my best frends did for awhile, but we talked her out of actually
marrying him.)
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