Quote:
Originally posted by Jim Cesiro
So the onset of cancer and aids are possibly a evolutiobary process. The fact that typical men lived 100's of years 4000 years ago and now are lucky to reach 100 today is proof we are de-evolving?
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Not quite. I never heard that typical men lived 100`s of years 4000 years ago. Where did you get that information? I heard of tibetan monks who have been reported to live several hundred years, but it has always been the exception, not the norm. Regarding aids an cancer, its occurence has more to do with environmental factors and life habits, and despite their occurence, life expectancy has been increasing, not decreasing. However, if the exposure to human made chemicals or radiations results in transmissible genetic changes, there could be evolution caused by man on himself...
So not only your suggestion that we are de-evolving is wrong, but it is also based on the premise that evolution means increase of life expectancy, which is not what it is. Evolution means change that is transmitted to the next generations, like evolving from a fish to a monkey and to you (or me). The fact that a human happens to live longer than a fish is just a byproduct of evolution. There is no such thing as de-evolution. Even if we became dumber, smaller and lived shorter lives, it would still be part of evolution. And actually, we became taller in the past 60 years, mostly due to better nutrition after WWII. And now, kids are born taller, which seems to be an example of recent evolution.
Aurel