Sexual Selection

Sexual Selection

A few weeks ago I wrote a piece on my feelings about the slowdown or halt of human evolution. After giving it some further thought and study, I felt I needed to come back and make an essential clarification. Often I am thinking out a idea in my head that is framed within a certain set of parameters that may not be expressed when I expound on the idea. This was the case in my previous blog.

In that blog I was speaking solely to "Natural Selection Pressure". That is the distilled down version of the more crude idea of "Survival of the Fittest". Not to say that SOTF is in any way incorrect, however, natural selection pressure is so complex that "Fitness" is not to be defined lightly.

Many people are unaware (sadly) that Darwin stated that evolution is driven by two main engines, "Natural Selection" and "Sexual Selection". For many reasons, the first is well known while the second has been rather obscure until lately.

The easiest definition is "Natural Selection" determines "If you survive to sexual maturity". "Sexual Selection" determines if you get to mate or not once you get there.

Due to somewhat prudish overtones in society and science, sexual selection has been given a reserved cubical in the back of the room. Which is strange, since it is responsible for most of the unique characteristics of the human race. Art, Culture, Music, Sports, Etc. all developed by sexual selection. There are no survival advantages to being able to play a guitar, or to using your resources to buy a Ferrari. However, when you bring in the likelihood of mating.....that's another story.

It has been theorized that the development of the human brain was entirely the result of sexual selection. From an evolutionary standpoint our brains got far too large, far too quickly for natural selection. They took a lot more energy than they gave back. Later, they would develop energy saving devices that would offset this, but natural selection isn't an investment banker. It doesn't give something now with hopes of return in the future. Natural selection must have results now. So, that wasn't the reason for our brain development. HOWEVER, sexual selection answers the question nicely. Those with larger brains, given to more creative, entertaining minds..... mated more often and produced more offspring.

So how does this change my earlier ascertains? It doesn't. If anything it makes the prognosis worse. You see where Natural Selection has a blind, relentless drive toward survival, Sexual Selection is very suggestive and given to whim. Sexual selection assumes you have already survived and then makes changes to suit itself. Those changes are not at all tied to the survival of the species and may in fact be detrimental to that survival.

Take for example the Peacock / Peahen relationship. Peahen's sexual selection favored big, brightly colored plumage displays. 3 foot long feathers with blue and bronze coloration. Taking the early, defensive "Eye" pattern of the male's feathers and expanding it to extreme proportions. The bigger, longer tail made the male awkward. It was easier to be caught by predators and overall less likely to survive. If it weren’t for domestication, it probably would have gone extinct. Yet, this was the direction Sexual selection took it. Down a path to extinction.


Think about that next time you are watching some hottie on the "X-Games".

C

The awkward position of humans

Those who have read my previous writings know that I am a firm believer in the natural order of the universe. Things happen by cause and effect, selection pressure, environmental occurrence. Not by magic fairy dust, happy thoughts, or any other form of myth. (including yours).

I am currently struggling with being human. Ok, I know I AM human and can’t change that. But as a human, I am the only top level predator that is subject to “Memes” and as such I am the top level predator that is in the most danger! (except for the ones humans endanger by insane actions, caused by Memes of course).

I guess my biggest fear is that so many humans are so unaware of their part in the grand scheme of things. Through any number of mythologies, they have conveniently abdicated their responsibility, and thus moved on, gleefully destroying and maiming.

Do I think humans will destroy the earth? No, probably not. Do I think we will extinct ourselves through our own actions? Probably.

Other creatures understand the world around them on a fundamental level. Or rather, they live, not possessing the need for “Understanding”.

Killer whales eat, swim, reproduce. That’s it. Nothing eats them. They live, do their thing, and die. They have complex hunting strategies, they mate, they produce baby killer whales, they hunt until they are too old to survive, and then they return to the oneness of the universe.

I don’t do that. I developed a neo-cortex apparently and everything went down hill from there. According to Douglas Adams, the three stages of civilization are “ How can we eat, Why do we eat, and Where shall we do lunch”. Once we moved past the “How” things started to get a little fuzzy.

The “Why” shouldn’t be the major question that it has become. We eat so that we don’t starve and die. Let me try to address some of the “Meme” based issues that come out of this questions-

Should we eat to fulfill our souls? No, you should eat so you don’t die.

Does the universe want me to eat? The universe doesn’t care.

Does God want me to eat? Which god do you mean?

I mean “the one god”. Ok there are several 100 “One gods” you have to be more specific than that.

Can I eat anything? Sure, but different things come with different consequences.

Ok, that’s a few of them.

But, that isn’t the issue…. I am bouncing a bit far-a-field here. But hang with me, it gets better.

I guess at this point I have to be sure that everyone understands “Memes”. The dictionary defines a Meme at-

a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation); "memes are the cultural counterpart of genes"

Sooooooooooo, what does that mean? Well, a Meme grows and is shaped by the same method a creature is. The parts of a meme that strengthen it, hang on and the parts that weaken it are pared away by selection pressure. Ok, fine. What’s the problem?


The problem is that the meme projects into the extended phenotype in a way that nothing else does. Bear in mind that the meme doesn’t have to be beneficial to the host (human), it is only in it for its own survival.

To understand the depth of this effect we have to take a look at one of the previously ok parts of evolution that has become problematic with humans. One of the core elements is that to be “Successful”, a creature only needs to live long enough to reproduce and nurse its young to an age where it can survive. That’s it. That defines ultimate evolutionary success. ( in a rudimentary way, but it does it).

If we are talking about a deer, we don’t have a problem. Say an idiot deer is born. Not bad enough to starve to death, but pretty dumb. It runs into trees a lot. But it mates, reproduces, stands still long enough or is unconscious from running into trees long enough for the fawn to reach self-sufficient age. Then it runs off a cliff, leaving an idiot fawn to repeat the process. (somewhere down the line one of the fawns with run off the cliff before reproducing, ending the cycle). But here is the rub. In this example, the worst thing that will happen is you will be left with some dented trees and a puddle at the bottom of a cliff that raccoons and vultures will enjoy.

In humans, we not only reproduce, but we carry memes, just like rats carried fleas with the plague. When an idiot human reproduces, it not only sends on the idiot gene, it sends along all the memes that go with it. And as we discovered before, memes have far-reaching effects in the extended phenotype. So, instead of dented trees, you get people who blindly support organizations who are raping and killing the planet, because their memes tell them they are morally obligated to do so. And since other memes cause humans to take extraordinary measures to keep the idiot humans from being weeded out by selection pressure, the gene travels farther and faster than it ever could in nature.

Add to that the fact that the idiot gene doesn’t know not to reproduce beyond its means to support its young…..BUT, the memes step in and make sure the young survive…………

I don’t mean to sound harsh here, but the bottom line is we are heading for a future that will closely resemble Mike Judge’s “Idiocracy” in short order. As Green Day said so eloquently, “I’ve been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding”.

So my dilemma is, how do we fix it? Can we fix it? And if not, how do I keep the idiots out of my way on a more regular basis?

The Beauty of Selection Pressure

The Beauty of Selection Pressure.

I received several comments on my statement that the crafting work of selection pressure was a beautiful thing. I thought, perhaps I should expound on this issue.

I am an actor / director. I love art and beauty. Art and beauty is often portrayed as being in stark contrast to science, but for me, it isn’t the case.

I live in the Texas Hill Country, about 100 miles northwest of Austin. Ahhhhh, Austin, a shining patch of gleaming blue in a big red state…… But that is an issue for another time. We are talking about science, art and beauty. When I walk through the woods behind my house, I am taken with the beauty of the trees, the animals, the earth as it presents itself to me….. The most beautiful part, is how selection pressure has crafted each element to be the best it can be for the environment. Except for me of course. To quote Bill Hicks, humans are a virus in shoes. I wear size 12 -½.. (see my blog “has evolution stopped for humans”)

To understand selection pressure, you first need to understand fidelity in reproduction, or the lack thereof. Each time biological reproduction happens, there is a recombination of DNA. Doesn’t matter if it is a tree, a moose or Tommy Johnson, it was created by combining DNA. (there are a few species that reproduce from asexual means, but they are essentially clones and are a different class that doesn’t evolve, so they aren’t relevant to the discussion) So back to fidelity. Each time a copy is made, there is the opportunity for mutation. One particle hops over another, and the copy…….Changes.

I forget the exact statistic, but something like 97 percent of these mutations are fatal, pre-birth. Of the ones that survive, many are insignificant in the large scheme of things. That is to say, they have no effect on selection pressure because they provide no advantage or disadvantage. But the few that do….. WOW, they change everything.

I am trying not to ramble here, but I have to cover many diverse points in order to pull this into a cohesive statement. Another unavoidable factor is time. Evolution takes time more than anything else. Many mutations will happen, some will happen again, and over time, the ones that provide an advantage will be reinforced. When you look at the several billion years that the earth as existed and you see how there is plenty of time for the process to work.

So most mutations are fatal, some do nothing, and some provide an advantage, be it large or small. Imagine if you will, the first hominid to walk erect. A mutation changed his/her spine, hips, etc. and suddenly a new form of locomotion was born. This new creature was the top of the chain. He went on the hunt and was never eaten (I don‘t have to outrun the saber tooth, I just have to outrun you…) . He could reach the high branches. Those who wanted to reproduce flocked to this one, as he/she had the strength and the resources to produce many healthy offspring that lived to reproduction age themselves. WHAM, we have evolution at play.

Creatures are crafted by the environment around them, to fit as well as is possible. Only when the environment changes at a rate beyond the optimum reproduction rate do problems happen, usually resulting in extinctions. Sometimes this happens from a natural event, other times, more recently, it happens from an artificial event. (See those who believe in “Dominionism” for details on this.)

Occasionally there is an environmental change that drops an ill or well suited entity into the mix, but that is a rare condition called environmental displacement and is generally the result of a catastrophic weather event.

In most cases, the environment crafts the species. That’s what is so beautiful. Small subtle changes, refined over long periods of time, bring us miraculous creatures. Each minor mutation, each small mistake in fidelity, has the opportunity to craft the species in a new direction. So after billions of years of the earth’s existence we have tigers who attack with brutal quickness, we have chameleons who change pigment to match their environment. We have giraffes, polar bears, kangaroos, and alligator snapping turtles (including the one who lives in my office, his name is Spike). All uniquely suited to their environment, crafted by selection pressure.

I have been told that this scientific explanation takes the wonder out of nature. I am baffled by this. To me, it is wonder and majesty. To see all of this at work. This is the art and beauty I see in nature.

Has Evolution Stopped?

Has Evolution Stopped??

For those who don’t know me, evolution is one of my favorite subjects. Not any debate about it, for no “REAL” debate has existed for more than 40 years now, but just the pure, simple, truth of it. It has been suggested that natural selection has joined prime numbers as the true universal language.

In 2007, I almost retch at the need to make this preface. But here goes.

1) The theory of evolution has been proven 1000's of times over. It is accepted as fact in the scientific community. The only ones who try to disparage it as speculation are the fear mongering, hate pushing, children of pure evil who are VERY afraid of losing their tax free billions to a small nugget of actual truth.

2) If you hear anyone begin a discussion of “Evolution” and it begins with the words “Humans” and “Monkeys” in the same sentence. They are clueless and should be avoided. If you can’t avoid them, slap them. HARD. Try to get the heel of your palm involved. Hopefully you will dislodge the “stupid” factor.

So, if you are still reading, I will guess you are in the small percentage of intelligent people who know the truth.


Sooooooo….. Here is what is troubling me this evening. This isn’t a new theory, and I forget who’s shoulders I am standing on. But I wanted to throw it out anyway……

Here is the question-

Did evolution stop for humans with the advent of speech and written word?

That sounds a bit odd on its face, but when you really think about it, it makes perfect sense.

All evolution happens by selection pressure. Remove that pressure, evolution stops. Generally when it stops, either the creature is at a very stable, near perfect level, or it goes extinct. Most of the ones who make it are top level predators of some sort.

So how does speech figure into this?

Lets go back pre-speech. A group of hominids are living an a valley. There are red berries in the valley and a very steep cliff that drops to very sharp rocks. Over time, selection pressure will favor those who have a predisposition to avoid the berries and the cliff. Or it will favor those who have an immunity to the berries. Either way, the environment will shape the inhabitants to better survive in it.

Enter speech and later writing. Now, smart hominid sees someone die from the red berries. Dumb hominid sees the same thing. But dumb hominid later gets hungry and the red berries are close. He walks toward the bush, and smart hominid says “Hey, Dummy, don’t eat those, you’ll Die”. Dumb hominid doesn’t eat them, lives, reproduces a bunch more dumb hominids and the crafting ability of selection pressure is removed.

Later, written word allows the same thing to happen, but the knowledge bringer doesn’t even have to be present.

Something to think about.

For more on the subject read Richard Dawkins “The Selfish Gene” and “The Blind Watchmaker”


Xtian