Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Green little men?

In many science fiction movies and books the aliens and the men of the far future are always depicted the same way: short, slim, green or blue -often pale-skin, bald and with big head and eyes.
This image is in fact the extension of the "evolution" process that separates us from the other primates: we are slimmer than the gorillas, we have less hair and our head -brain- is supposedly more developed, thus the man of the future should follow the same path, or not?
The big question here is, are we still under selection? Are we still evolving genetically?
The answer is no.
Selection means that different phenotypes have more probability of leaving descendants than others. This process leads to stronger lions, faster cheetas, smarter monkeys but it does nothing to human beings because our society-our mind child- was projected to erase all the effects of selection and the laws in mot modern countries states clearly that every man is equal.
The truth is that in our society, being bigger, faster or stronger makes no difference since the "fitness" and status are defined by the capacity of acumulating money.
Does this should mean that the man of the future will be a yuppie?
The answer is no.
Even the wealthiest men on earth have in average 2-3 children, some only one. Most middle-class families in rich countries in Europe and USA are composed only by the husband and wife, they have no kids (double income no kids: dinks) what is a lot less compared to the families in poor and miserable countries where the number of children can't be counted on the fingers of the two hands.
This process will indeed lead to a future where most of the humans will be decendants of the poor people of the countries under development today and since poverty is not a genetic trait but a historical condition, mankind shall remain the same yet for a long time.

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