(October 1, 2010 at 11:20 am)Chuck Wrote:(October 1, 2010 at 11:00 am)Jaysyn Wrote:(September 30, 2010 at 6:46 pm)Minimalist Wrote: In a strict Darwinian sense I would say no when it comes to humans. Of course, humans are not the only species on the planet - much to the chagrin of the religious fanatics - and evolution continues among isolated populations much as it always has as Dawkins showed in his latest book.
Humans are not really "isolated" and human culture interferes with reproduction and survival anyway.
Humans as a whole have become significantly taller on average since the 1700-1800's. Wouldn't this be a result of large scale evolution? No pun intended.
No, not any more than the fact that Americans have become fatter over the last 100 years represent any sort of evolutionary change. Evolutionary change has to be genetic and heritable, not just a biological reflex to environmental changes such as diet and nutrition that would go away if the change is reversed.
That's a good analogy, Chuck.
