In mainstream culture it's common to talk about natural selection as we learn about in school. Reddit comment sections are full of people awarding "Darwin Awards" when people die from risky accidents, and people generally understand the idea that living beings that die before procreating don't propagate their genetics. Similarly, most people understand that you inherit traits such as height, skin color and eye color from your parents, like the birch tree inherits its white and black bark from its ancestors.
But there is a more powerful selection mechanism which I want to talk about. Sexual selection. You see the existence of man and woman is no coincidence. There is a purpose to this division of humans in two separate genders. We see it in mammals and birds too.
But we don't see it in living organisms such as snails, bacteria and lizards that are either asexual beings or hermaphrodites which are perfectly capable of reproducing themselves independently or with any other member of their species. Which leads to the question, why don't humans, mammals and birds procreate in this manner? Wouldn't it be evolutionary advantageous if all humans could reproduce themselves independently?
I mean, this would practically solve the fertility crisis. And no human who wanted children would have to go through the dreadful dating game and work to keep a relationship working. Removing the division of humans into genders does carry many advantages indeed. So how come earth seem to be dominated by species that are divided into genders?
When humans invented and perfected agricultural food production they used a smart trick. When they turned wild wolves into many races of cute dogs they used the same trick. They selected for offspring of wheat, bananas and wolves they preferred and didn't let offspring that didn't serve humans' needs reproduce. In this manner the finite ressources on earth worked to propagate living beings that served humans, and the effects have evidently been powerful.
What if we could do the same with humans? What if there was a powerful selector up in the sky that only allowed the smartest, most industrious, cooperative, healthy and most beautiful humans to procreate? Then humans could work together and take over the entire universe in a short period of time.
No such picker exists up in the sky, but we have something close. We have women. In nature we generally see that the sex that invests the most in offspring selects sexual partners, as they bear the burden of rearing and caring for the offspring. It's similar in humans. Carrying a baby to pregnancy, giving birth and nurturing a baby is a huge and risky investment.
Naturally, women want to ensure that offspring of the burdensome process is the best it can be. So of course they want to select for a handsome and wealthy man, that can father handsome and wealthy children. And they do.
In the Netherlands, where the men are the tallest on average, women have reproduced with tall men, which has lead to tall offspring. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4426629/
In recent years sexual selection has accelerated as women have gained more rights and independence which Ali Akbari and David Reich from MIT have shown.
https://www.broadinstitute.org/news/massive-ancient-dna-study-reveals-natural-selection-has-accelerated-recent-human-evolution
Their work has looked at how human DNA in Europe has evolved in the past millennia and they have concluded that sexual selection has selected for:
Light skin tone
Lower chance of male-pattern baldness
Lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis and alcoholism
Health span” traits such as faster walking pace
Measures of behavioral and social status or cognitive functions, such as scores on intelligence tests, household income, and years of schooling
Reduced risk of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
Lower body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index
Less susceptibility to tobacco smoking
Similarly studies from Willerslev has shown that Scandinavians have become blonder in the past 1000 years. Which he attributes to sexual selection.
https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/viden/kroppen/stor-undersoegelse-smadrer-vikinge-myter-de-var-hverken-lyshaarede-eller
Summary. Empowerment of women is a good thing for humans. It lowers risk of mental retardation, bpd, schizophrenia and results in humans that are taller, more beautiful and smarter.
But there is a more powerful selection mechanism which I want to talk about. Sexual selection. You see the existence of man and woman is no coincidence. There is a purpose to this division of humans in two separate genders. We see it in mammals and birds too.
But we don't see it in living organisms such as snails, bacteria and lizards that are either asexual beings or hermaphrodites which are perfectly capable of reproducing themselves independently or with any other member of their species. Which leads to the question, why don't humans, mammals and birds procreate in this manner? Wouldn't it be evolutionary advantageous if all humans could reproduce themselves independently?
I mean, this would practically solve the fertility crisis. And no human who wanted children would have to go through the dreadful dating game and work to keep a relationship working. Removing the division of humans into genders does carry many advantages indeed. So how come earth seem to be dominated by species that are divided into genders?
When humans invented and perfected agricultural food production they used a smart trick. When they turned wild wolves into many races of cute dogs they used the same trick. They selected for offspring of wheat, bananas and wolves they preferred and didn't let offspring that didn't serve humans' needs reproduce. In this manner the finite ressources on earth worked to propagate living beings that served humans, and the effects have evidently been powerful.
What if we could do the same with humans? What if there was a powerful selector up in the sky that only allowed the smartest, most industrious, cooperative, healthy and most beautiful humans to procreate? Then humans could work together and take over the entire universe in a short period of time.
No such picker exists up in the sky, but we have something close. We have women. In nature we generally see that the sex that invests the most in offspring selects sexual partners, as they bear the burden of rearing and caring for the offspring. It's similar in humans. Carrying a baby to pregnancy, giving birth and nurturing a baby is a huge and risky investment.
Naturally, women want to ensure that offspring of the burdensome process is the best it can be. So of course they want to select for a handsome and wealthy man, that can father handsome and wealthy children. And they do.
In the Netherlands, where the men are the tallest on average, women have reproduced with tall men, which has lead to tall offspring. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4426629/
In recent years sexual selection has accelerated as women have gained more rights and independence which Ali Akbari and David Reich from MIT have shown.
https://www.broadinstitute.org/news/massive-ancient-dna-study-reveals-natural-selection-has-accelerated-recent-human-evolution
Their work has looked at how human DNA in Europe has evolved in the past millennia and they have concluded that sexual selection has selected for:
Light skin tone
Lower chance of male-pattern baldness
Lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis and alcoholism
Health span” traits such as faster walking pace
Measures of behavioral and social status or cognitive functions, such as scores on intelligence tests, household income, and years of schooling
Reduced risk of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
Lower body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index
Less susceptibility to tobacco smoking
Similarly studies from Willerslev has shown that Scandinavians have become blonder in the past 1000 years. Which he attributes to sexual selection.
https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/viden/kroppen/stor-undersoegelse-smadrer-vikinge-myter-de-var-hverken-lyshaarede-eller
Summary. Empowerment of women is a good thing for humans. It lowers risk of mental retardation, bpd, schizophrenia and results in humans that are taller, more beautiful and smarter.