Are we still evolving?
A new study claims that, contrary to what many had assumed, the process of evolution in human beings is actually speeding up. Ever since first understanding natural selection I’d always believed that technology and culture would have slowed the process down because they some how accomplished things more quickly than nature ever could; why evolve wings when we can build airplanes? It seemed reasonable to assume that evolution took place with much more urgency for our hunter gatherer ancestors than for us central heating enjoying, pill-popping, telly watching automatons. This idea still permeates through our culture to some extent. But as I now understand, this was a stupid assumption. It’s lucky we have scientists to sort these things out for us.
I think these findings ought to be a source of optimism. I find it comforting to have a reminder that humanity is still subject to the same processes now as millenia ago, that the development of civilization didn’t constitute a bowing out from the cosmic jam. It’s reassuring that on some fundamental level anyway, we’re no different from the simplest living organisms on earth. Above all it’s nice to know we’re still in a condition of flux rather than atrophy.