Not a bit of it. Plenty of detrimental mutations don't actually affect reproductive fitness, so they don't go anywhere. Plenty of beneficial mutations have an energy cost that doesn't translate into increased reproductive fitness, so they disappear again.
-
-
It's not ENTIRELY true, to the extent that having grandparents around helps the grandchildren survive, but yeah.
-
It's more complicated than that, yes, but it's not like evolution is a conscious entity that sat down and had a plan Human social evolution seems as likely to be the accidental result of there being no selection pressure to have a "kill switch" after our kids are born either
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
Evolution doesn't care at all if your old age is horrible and debilitating, or whether you live for fifty more years after your kids are born or you immediately drop dead once they're old enough to feed themselves As long as you passed on your genes they're "good" genes
-
There’s something to be said for social animals selecting for somewhat longer lives so non-reproductive members can help raise offspring, but having old people is certainly not the only solution too that pressure
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.