"How We Evolve"

Until recently, the thought assumed by many scientists was that evolution had all but stopped. Evolution had not been observed in humans. On the contrary, scientists today have proven that human DNA evidence shows that culture acclerates evolution. Since population numbers have swelled, our world has changed with our DNA still trying to catch up. With an explosion in the global human population, technology has risen to an all time high. The advent of human culture has caused a dramatic increase in intelligence levels. Benjamin Phelan affirms, "Increasing intelligence increases the complexity of culture, which pressures intelligence levels to rise, which creates a more complex culture and so on." Intelligence levels in humans are directly connected to increasing levels in techonology. Technology has turned the horse-drawn carriage into a vehicle that carried us to the moon, and the howitzer into a fifty-megaton nuclear weapon. Paul Ehrlich, a professor of population studies at Stanford, discovers in the twentieth century "a minefield of near misses with extinction." In this situation, a solution has created a problem.

Evolution will be unable to help us in the case of a nuclear disaster. The environment is changing violently with forests clearing out and food chains coming undone. Benjamin Phelan states, "Science must evolve new tools to raise us to such a commanding vantage as well as to avert a self-inflicted extinction." Humans evolve "in the face of hunger, disease, and a changing ecosystem." However, culture may drive humans into becoming conscious codirectors of evolution. Humans may one day regret inventing howitzers. The possibility of a nuclear war is not unlikely. Although techonology enables us to control certain aspects of evolution, techonology could ultimately cause the extinction of humans. Culture may be evolution's most powerful nemesis. There is no doubt that humans will one day no longer be on this Earth. However, it makes sense to try to stay here as long as we can. I agree with Benjamin's Phelan's philosophy on human's "self-inflicted extinction." By the time people realize the consequences of their mistakes it will be too late. Knowledge must be acquired and used in a resourceful way. The evolution of humans is quite frightening in the direction we are going in now. Hopefully, everyone will remain calm in the next few decades and now blow everything up. Culture does not need to be the enemy. Culture should become evolution's most powerful tool.