Survival of the Fittest

In the natural world we see adaptation of living things to changes and challenges in the environment. Those organisms which, for whatever reason, are able to overcome the threat or exploit the opportunity provided by the change will thrive, whereas those organisms less able to do so will decline, die, or assume a lower rung on the natural pecking order. As humans we are cushioned against the harsh reality of "natural selection" because our intelligence makes it possible to cope and adopt more creatively and successfully, but also because our life cycles are long enough that it is rare that our generation cycles make possible a culling of the race. While the body of knowledge possessed by humans has grown exponentially, and the average person in 2010 has more information, there is no evidence that the proportion of people with high IQ has changed. Natural selection would suggest that smart people would have greater capability to survive while those of lower intelligence would be relatively less likely to survive, and that over time, average intelligence would rise on the IQ scale. This has not happened, for many reasons.

These thoughts will make their way around to health promotion applications. To be continued.