Natural selection is the basic mechanism of population evolution. When the environment changes, individuals with more adaptable characteristics have more chances to survive and pass their genetic code via breeding. Often the natural selection is seen as something that introduces only better features and improves the life quality of the population, but it’s just an illusion. Natural selection just provides changes, but not always in a good direction. In this video, the author explains how natural selection works via simple mathematical simulation. He puts some creatures into the virtual space with a certain amount of food to create a population and he explains that natural selection is not for the good of species.
Questions:
1. Can you get some examples of natural selection in the human world?
2. What do you think: supporting, for example, people with disabilities and mental disorders is a disturbance of natural selection or the way to do our world better?
3. As you know, many European countries, including Poland, have a demographic problem, so they are trying to increase their population. Do you think this has any negative effects on the planet?
Comments
Yes, If you have various skills you can manage in modern times, get better job, better partner, better place to live. Only the skills involved somewhat changed but not all. Suprisingly even if we don't want to have kids, we still follow the same path of gathering resources in order to allow us to live and feed other beings in our homested.
2. What do you think: supporting, for example, people with disabilities and mental disorders is a disturbance of natural selection or the way to do our world better?
In my opinion people with disabilites can be in fact, this may sound rough, but nature experiments. Nature tries to create people with new traits and maybe one time some disability may involve into future human with some advanced traits. It can also punish us to not be destructive I don't know, it can work both ways. But will helping them make the world better, I believe yes. There are disabilities that can actually taught us many things about ourselves, but some sadly have low propability of survivng.
3. As you know, many European countries, including Poland, have a demographic problem, so they are trying to increase their population. Do you think this has any negative effects on the planet?
It's not demographic problem actually. People invest more in themselfes, we tend to live longer and we have less childs fatalities in comparison to previous years. So yes people's numbers have to go down. This planet won't be able to feed us all. The number of people should go down as we don't have a place to live. Many of us lives in tight building many would never call a proper home. This is not how it should be. The problem with negative demographic is mostly called out because of pension system, or rather how stupid it is, in Poland at least. The way it works it require more and more people to be born in order to suffice for the old ones. But it won't work anymore as the more civillised we become, the less children we have and we decide on them later as we need to gather stuff in order to even raise them. One day we could simple stop because we may create so complex world that noone would want to raise kid in it.
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I totally agree with you. As it was said in the video, natural selection isn’t about population increasing or life quality imprówing. It’s only about an adaptation of the population to the actual environment and conditions. Another question is what are the results of these changes. For me, the fact that someone resigns from having children is also the result of natural selection. Our society responds quite freely to such decisions, and our requirements for the conditions for having children are high. We have to count that our society is also an environment.
I was really satisfied with your answer about disabled people. Not only does the environment change population, but the population also can change the environment. And under the right conditions a disabled person can function normally. Quite often I see disabled people move around Warsaw freely. They also can work and have normal families.
Also I think that our “demographic problem” is not a problem at all. Our lives are quite long so every person is more effective as before. And we don’t need to have 5 children per family at all, because the risk that our child will die is minimal. Our population grows very fastly, we grew from 6 to 8 billion people in only 20 years and our planet can feed only 13 billion people.
1. A very simple example: people from Africa have lived in this area for millennia and their skin contains a lot of melanin which protects them from UV radiation. As you know, UV radiation can be harmful to humans, therefore their organisms have created a certain mechanism of protection against radiation.
2. Trying to counteract such situations, fighting diseases, helping others also boils down to the fact that we want to increase the welfare of our species. In addition, problem-solving stimulates our brains. Willingness to help others is the best that can happen to us - I believe that it is the highest form of responsibility, it works very well for our evolution and, additionally, I believe that it is fully compatible with natural selection. Natural selection is not indifference but adaptation to environmental conditions. Isn't making ramps for the disabled a good step towards their independent functioning? We are able not only to adapt to the environment, but also to adapt the environment to our needs.
3. Planet Earth is overpopulated. The earth can support a certain number of people. With more, the resources will wear out faster and we can face a serious problem. I can't even imagine how serious it is.
Yes, it is very simple. People who do not adhere to health and safety in everyday life. An example is the failure to use the safety guards on an angle grinder or a power saw. Then such a man can be damaged with the sharp part. Natural selection
2. What do you think: supporting, for example, people with disabilities and mental disorders is a disturbance of natural selection or the way to do our world better?
This is a difficult and very delicate question. on the one hand, people are taught that everyone should help so that joy and help reign in the world. On the other hand, it interferes with natural selection. There are more and more people in the world and overpopulation in some places.
3. As you know, many European countries, including Poland, have a demographic problem, so they are trying to increase their population. Do you think this has any negative effects on the planet?
Yes, the more people the more pollution for the planet.
On the economic side, promoting a very large amount of fertility is the wrong approach. This is shortsighted thinking because it will become more and more difficult to achieve a positive result every year if more people are born. The most stable solution is to try to make the fertility rate slightly above 0, because you have to take into account that young people are also dying too
I would say that getting any type of life-time illness is a type of natural selection. It's much more difficult for those people to live properly, they have to invest in medicines and pretty often they die much earlier than people without this type of disadvantage.
2. What do you think: supporting, for example, people with disabilities and mental disorders is a disturbance of natural selection or the way to do our world better?
I don't think it's such a disturbance, because you can live with some kind of those disorders, you are only more vulnerable. Also, it's really important to give parents a choice, because they take care of this kind of person, and they should choose if they want to give up their life on taking care of their disabled child.
3. As you know, many European countries, including Poland, have a demographic problem, so they are trying to increase their population. Do you think this has any negative effects on the planet?
I think that trying to increase the population is really stupid. This planet is too small for so many people. We already have an overpopulation, mostly because of countries where women have to born more children because they have a lot of illnesses and they might die. I think that we should try to make all countries as developed as Europe, so this way the demographic will get lower, and we will stop the overpopulation.
2. Well, looking strictly without any feelings people with disabilities should be pushed aside when it comes to natural selection. These people have some more important weaknesses than the ones we have (everybody has some bad points, but we are talking about significant disabilities here). This makes their "fight" harder, but it doesn't affect the whole model of natural selection, because there are always weaker units. Helping them may take some "power" of the person who helps them, but it may still be enough to make them both survive.
3. Population of people on earth keeps growing, but due to people living on other continents. I think that the trials to increase the population of people in Europe will not change the situation so dramatically, that the planet won't be able to handle it. It's worth saying that there is a trend in Europe to not abuse the planet, so we focus on ecology, reusable resources, etc. so we are in a better position to growing the population than for example China.
I think everything around is "natural selection": at work, school, business, pandemic, epidemic, and etc. The strongest people always survive and adapt to certain conditions.
Moreover, in modern times the market is changing rapidly and in order to stay afloat you need to be very flexible.
2. What do you think: supporting, for example, people with disabilities and mental disorders is a disturbance of natural selection or the way to do our world better?
It's a difficult question, of course, the support of people with disabilities and mental disorders is important and no one is immune from this. However sometimes I feel sorry for people who spend their time and life supporting them. I think it would be much better if the state paid more attention to such people and there would be special centers for people with disabilities and mental disorders, where they could develop their skills and abilities because their life is harder and they need to work more then usually. And of course family support is very important.
3. As you know, many European countries, including Poland, have a demographic problem, so they are trying to increase their population. Do you think this has any negative effects on the planet?
Since I know little about this and generally learned about this problem recently, I can not say anything.
However as a foreigner, I was very surprised that young couples have more pets than kids and that pets wear children's clothes but now I am used to it. )
Yes, I think a human skin is a good example.
People living in Africa have a dark complexion because there is very hot and has a lot of sun. And for people who live in cooler climates, sunbathing for a few hours in the sun can burn the skin. You can immediately see that the environment is very important of natural selection in the human world.
2. What do you think: supporting, for example, people with disabilities and mental disorders is a disturbance of natural selection or the way to do our world better.
It was said in the movie that defects that occur in nature can be a way to better improve our world. The fact that someone cannot walk or has mental disorders does not mean that it spoils and harms our environment. I think that supporting people with disabilities and mental disorders is a way to better improve our world.
3. As you know, many European countries, including Poland, have a demographic problem, so they are trying to increase their population. Do you think this has any negative effects on the planet?
In my opinion, the demographic problem of Poland is huge. This has huge negative consequences for us. We should parent more children. But yes, looking at the world as a whole there is a huge demographic problem and I think it could be having a negative impact on our planet. But it does not depend on the number of people living on the planet, but on the quality. we can give to the world and not take it away.
I believe that it is necessary to help people with disabilities. Unfortunately, I also think that medicine has crossed the line of natural selection and I don't understand saving children who will live with great disability... like plants.
I think that there are too many people living in the world anyway, and I am against the idea of increasing the population.
Wow, you got right to it. To be honest I think that both are true. It is bad for the future generation to pass those genes, but those can occur naturally, so it is just increasing the probability. However, I would like for those people not to feel indifferent and have a chance in life, with all its joy, including the children if that's they desire. Tough topic, man. Can't answer more...
OH MY, YES. It is just a solution for now, not for a longer period. I have no idea how this model got approved.
i dont know if natural selection is still valid in society that was created by humans. As a society we reated many oportunities for poeple with different skills and support the weakest ones so i dont know if natural selection is still something that we should look up to.
2. What do you think: supporting, for example, people with disabilities and mental disorders is a disturbance of natural selection or the way to do our world better?
It is the disturbance of natural selection but as a homo sapiens we created somethig as global society which isnt "natural" in a sense of the organizms on earth. Any other currently living species havent been even close to develop such skill to create something like that. So we should start asking if society is a disturbance in natural selection.
3. As you know, many European countries, including Poland, have a demographic problem, so they are trying to increase their population. Do you think this has any negative effects on the planet?
Growing population of human race is having negatice effects on the planet. As the predictions suggest we will almost double current state of the population in some time and people wont stop producing waste by that time i guess.
Answer for Maciej Antonik
It’s a great example of adaptation and natural selection. But I wonder if maybe white skin was an adaptation, because the first people appeared in Africa. So I think that firstly all humanity had black skin but after we moved to colder areas we needed more sun, so our skin, hair and eyes got brighter. But it’s just my suggestion maybe you are right.
Concerning people with disabilities. You exactly described my opinion. Answering previous comments I also wrote that not only the environment changes population, but the population also can change the environment. I believe people can create an environment, where a person with disability can live like an ordinary person.
Answer for Piotr Marchewka,
Hmm… I don’t consider your example of natural selection. Natural selection is about changes in population, not about species.
In my opinion, a better way to support people with disabilities is to change the environment. Building disabled friendly city space with elevators, crossings, traffic lights with sound, good public transport etc. In this case disebled people don’t need any support, they can live normally, work, study, meet their friends, etc.
Answer for Marcin Węgłowski
I think we should support people with disabilities by creating a friendly environment for them.In any case, someone from the family will take care of disabled person, because they love that person and don’t want to dump him or her. If the environment is not adapted for this type of people, their family members devote their lives to care. I think disebled people and their families should have a normal independent life.
In my opinion natural selection changed into economical selection, survival of the richest is more accurate nowadays.
2. What do you think: supporting, for example, people with disabilities and mental disorders is a disturbance of natural selection or the way to do our world better?
Does an animal helping other animal is a disturabnce of natural selection? I don't think so.
3. As you know, many European countries, including Poland, have a demographic problem, so they are trying to increase their population. Do you think this has any negative effects on the planet?
I think that this is negative effect of being a human. Planet would be better without us, desrtuction is the only thing that humanity has brung upon this planet.
I’ll agree with you. For me supporting people with disabilities is not a disturbance. In developed countries, it’s also a kind of adaptation. Because in the developed world mental work is more worthy than physical, people with disabilities also can provide normal life. In developing countries, unfortunately, can’t live normally, because they can’t do physical work. So I don’t think that we disturb natural selection.
About overpopulation. For me, it’s really sad that in some countries women are seen only as an incubator. I think if these countries want to develop, they definitely should give women an opportunity to become more than just a mother.
It’s a great example of natural selection. You are right, it’s everywhere, and nowadays flexibility is definitely one of the most important skills.
I think that not only the state should support people with disabilities, but also entrepreneurs should more often accept disabled people for work. I think as a foreigner you will understand, I was really surprised when I saw a disabled teenage girl in a wheelchair having fun with her friends on a food court in the mall. Or when I noticed that cashier in “Carrefour” is silent. I can’t even imagine that disabled girl can live with normal life. My grandma was disabled. She functioned normally at home, but she never left her house since she lost her legs. She said she feels ashamed when someone outside the family sees her in a wheelchair.
Hm, I never noticed pets in children clothes. Maybe you meant pet clothes?
It’s an interesting theory about pheromones. I don’t think that smell of pheromones has any impact on choosing a partner, but it’s true that the smell of someone you love is really pleasant. Also, I noticed that parents really love the smell of their children. Maybe it’s natural because animals and birds recognize their children by the smell.
You said man choose a woman with bigger hips. I remembered one more interesting example of natural selection. Before the cesarean section was invented, the woman with narrow hips often dyed during childbirth. Because a woman could not give birth to a daughter with the same narrow hips. But thanks to our medicine, now almost every woman can give birth independently of hips size, but at the same time count of women who needs caesarean section increases every year.
Yes, our world is so weird… I suppose we shouldn’t think about natural selection in the modern world only from the level of genes. We pass not only our genes but also experience, knowledge, social status and possessions. Child from a wealthy family has more possibilities for better education and life. His or her parents can pay for college, can buy some property and car. Everything that a child from a poor family can get only by hard work. Also, an influential parent can help a child to get a better workplace or to open his/her own business.
From the level of genes, in terms of health people with disabilities have not the best genes. But a person with a disability also can be a great scientist or artist. Mental health in the modern world is much more important than a physical one.
I won’t agree with you. I think natural selection exists also in the modern world. As we know, life in the past was much slower. Regardless of the fact that life was shorter. Imagine that your travel from Warsaw to Gdansk take several days. Or that you can send a message only by letter. Earlier kids just inherited their family profession or business. If your father sold boots, you also will sell boots during all your life.
After cars, television, the computer, the phone, electric light and the internet were invented or life becomes faster. You can change your profession several times during your life, you can travel really fast. The environment changed, so the pace of our lives also changed.
Yes, skin colour is a good example of natural selection. Life in a hot and sunny country for a person with white skin can be dangerous and the risk of skin cancer is higher. In the same time person with black skin in the cold and cloudy country doesn’t get enough sun so his or her body generates not enough of vitamin D. So that person has worse immunity than native ones.
I will agree with your opinion about disabled people. Supporting people with disabilities makes our world better. A person with a physical disability still can be useful for society. For example, Stephen Hawking is a great astrophysicist and Frida Kahlo was a great painter. Also, there are many talented people with mental diseases like Leslie Lemke or Kim Peek. Also on Instagram, I subscribe to a teenage girl with celebratory paralysis. She is only 16 years old, but she already working as a journalist in the newspaper.