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Originally Posted by vMike  Evolution, by its definition, is about survival and adaptation, so think again and tell me where exactly you see "self-destructing" on a global scale. |
So far intelligence has resulted in:
* massive pollution of the air and the oceans
* massive overpopulation
* extinction or endangerment of much of the biosphere that we rely on for survival.
* ongoing degradation of previously fertile soils
* invention of atomic weapons in quantities that could eradicate humanity, and many other species besides
* not yet for biological weapons, but give it time
* global warming doesn't help, even if your unusually optimistic interpretation is correct
It's far from decisive, but it's also far too early to applaud intelligence as one of nature's more successful experiments.
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Originally Posted by vMike it's not bad luck, it's evolution - the fittest survive (not the strongest), dinosaurs couldn't fit to the quickly changing environment, mammals did. |
Yeh, that word 'fittest' is confusing - it brings to mind "bigger, tougher, stronger" when really it means the "best fit" to the environment.
Bleicke has a point though. A random event of sufficient magnitude
can stop evolution dead in its tracks. It's a slow process best suited to gradual change.