My daughter asked me the other morning why it is that people have to shave. I replied with the non-direct answer that it's unlikely that we'll ever evolve to the point where we don't have to, even though we'd like it better that way. That's because we've worked out these ways around it, and made it easier and easier to deal with, so that in the evolutionary picture, a hairy (and thus less attractive?) person has no appreciable disadvantage over a smooth-skinned person. Unless my peach-fuzzed rival is out there procreating while I'm shaving.
In fact given that entire industries (which aid the survivability of employees and investors) now depend on our dependence on shaving, are we even less likely to "evolve"? This question is maybe more relevant to the drug industry or bioengineering vis-a-vis GMO food. To generalize: the overall societal organism invents organs (industries) that helps the survival of the individual components, thus assuring the persistence of the new organs.
It's a favorite topic of mine. This post was stimulated by this article found via A&L daily, which I'll have to read more closely.
July 13, 2004 02:23 PM