To what extent are humans in a technological society exempt from natural selection?

[-Demosthenes-]

Are you serious! No way!

[H.P.T Mobbster]

Originally posted by Sayonara³

True, but natural selection can happen with or without outside influences.

 

And changing the environment simply changes the influences it has on us; so selective pressure is only shifted, not removed.

 

Well thank you Sayonara and everyone else who was involed in this thread, for answering my question. cya soon in another thread that is...

[YT2095]

Sayonara³ said in post # :

When I was at school they told us lies like that deliberately, because at that level it was easier than spending 5 days trying to explain it properly, and in context, when we had a syllabus to cover.

 

ESPECIALLY in bloody physics

 

actualy they do the same in Chem too

but they also add the caveat that it`s not entirely true across the board, but it`s all you need to know for now

[Sayonara]

It turned out when I was doing my degree that they were still doing the whole "yes, we were lying" thing at A-level in chemistry.

 

Save a bit of time, create problems later on (especially for those who don't pursue further education, and therefore might not find out that they were told half-truths).

 

[JaKiri]

I once got thrown out of a lesson for answering a question too correctly.

[Sayonara]

I got thrown out of French for making Godzilla shadows over Paris during a slide show, but that's a whole other thread

[YT2095]

ROFLOL, yer not the only one then

 

I did that on the F block, she tried to convice me that Lanthanum and Actinium were F block, I said NO Miss, they`re still D block.

and I was threatened with a fail if I didn`t write it as such on my exam, did I listen or pay her head? did I hell! I wrote the right answer and passed with 100%, another student also did the same as we`de have a drink in the pub at lunch time when I explained, she got 100% too

seemed like a nice poke in the eye from the little guy for a change

the ajudicator saw it, hence the 100% )))

[Sayonara]

"The placement of lanthanum in the d block instead of the f block of the table is controversial ... and may change."

 

Interesting. Sure taking their time deciding.

[YT2095]

We (me and this Girl) out is as D block instead of F as we were told to, we got the 100%`s

obviously we aced the other stuff too, that was only one question on there.

but yeah, 5 D La to 4 F Ce and 6 D Ac to 5 f Th is correct accoridint the periodic table photocopies she handed out.

all my books at home concured with my thinking as did the net, so I went for it

[H.P.T Mobbster]

Has anyone thought about the afects of Biochemistry&Genetic Engineering. I think its possible that if we alter ourselves too much our bodies will become dependent on self aternazation and cancel out the Natural Evolution Process. With cloud be for better or worse.Please state your opinons.

[jadote]

Sayonara, YT, and mrL_Jakiri, what are some of the lies/half truths that they told you? It's not that I don't believe you, because I do, I was just wondering if the teachers do the same/similar things in my school.

[des-esseintes]

Contemporary human evolution is 99% social instead of biological evolution. In order for biological evolution to kick in, you have to fuck (or be prevented from fucking). I'm afraid people who are bad traffic dodgers get laid just as often as the good ones. Darwinism simply isn't applicable to human civilization.

[Sayonara]

Contemporary human evolution is 99% social instead of biological[/i'] evolution.

Not really. Certainly it's more social than that of every other species we know, but I haven't seen any studies that show social pressure has overtaken biological pressure in terms of gross evolutionary driving forces.

 

In order for biological evolution to kick in, you have to fuck (or be prevented from fucking). I'm afraid people who are bad traffic dodgers get laid just as often as the good ones.

While your first point is more or less true (colourful language notwithstanding, and ignoring more interesting evolutionary and ecological effects), your conclusion is flawed. If you get killed, you can no longer reproduce. Someone who is good at, as you say, "traffic dodging" will have a much longer reproductive period which means more opportunity to produce offspring, and a greater 'share' in the gene pool. And of course their offspring are more likely to have longer reproductive periods themselves (assuming that for the sake of argument we are attributing traffic dodging to genetic factors).

 

Darwinism simply isn't applicable to human civilization.

Evolutionary biology has come on a bit since the voyage of the Beagle. Regardless, natural selection does still apply to humans - even if we isolated ourselves from all other species, it would still apply.

[Sayonara]

Sayonara, YT, and mrL_Jakiri, what are some of the lies/half truths that they told you? It's not that I don't believe you, because I do, I was just wondering if the teachers do the same/similar things in my school.

I forgot what it was in physics... something to do with electromagnetism I think.

 

In chemistry it was usually the 'rules' that shape the periodic table, iirc.