By: T. Ryan Gregory

T. Ryan Gregory — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:50:00 +0000

I agree that it would have been better to phrase the question as whether humans are still under selection, since that’s the potentially contentious question (given that drift is inevitable) and the one that people mean anyway.

By: Larry Moran

Larry Moran — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:47:02 +0000

Everyone repeat after me: “Evolution is not the same as natural selection.” Corollary, “Evolution is not the same as positive natural selection.”
All populations evolve by random genetic drift. In mammals it is by far the predominant mechanism of evolution. There’s no way to prevent evolution by random genetic drift except by preventing mutations. Mutations have not been prevented in humans; therefore, humans are evolving.
The very question, “Are humans still evolving?” reveals a profound misunderstanding of evolution. Don’t you agree?

Comments on: Are humans still evolving?

By: T. Ryan Gregory

By: Larry Moran